[Closed] BOS Deville or 36 Van

Pike if you have tapered headtube

I have Lyrik Solo air on mine, really happy with them, if weight saving was my goal i would be using Pikes.

I lost a lot of weight of mine by going DB Air and SRAM XX1.

I have a spare set of bos deville 170's which i used on my nomad carbon. They have only had about 12 hours riding on them max. The 170 only come with a tapered steerer and weigh 2000gs!
By far the best enduro orientated fork i have used, these are my second set.
I've had most forks on the market, including new pikes, 36, 55rc3ti to name a few and the bos, in my opinion are miles above the rest in terms of build quality and performance. Never had any issues with bos and my first pair i rode constantly for over a year.
600 pounds if you're interested.

I'd also go for pikes. Tapered is not an option on my older model alpine 160 so I went for devilles, really impressed with them but I would've preferred the back up from a bigger company that keep good stock of spares should I need them! I've kept my coil lyriks in case the devilles end up broken awaiting parts!

Waldo - you would say that though 😉

Pikes - is another option I'm considering, they seems to get a good write up but they are not old enough to see how they fair long term yet.

Pike everything else is too heavy for what you want/expensive/not as good/or you can't get parts of 😉

Out of that lot, Pikes, without a doubt.

The difference between them and a Deville is inconsequential, yet they are noticeably lighter, and should you have any issues, there is a huge support network of backup.

Or buy a BOS. Who have are on their 4th distributor in as many years. Everyone I know who has run BOS has had issues (me included). Which is awesome, because you can't get them fixed officially, you have to go to a third party, someone like J-Tech and pay for the privilege.

At the moment, I don't know why you wouldn't run anything but Pikes.

What Hobnob said.
I've just put Pikes on my Nomad c, lost almost half a kilo off the front end in doing so.
Going single ring up front with a narrow/wide ring would shave another chunk of weight off too.

You guys are pretty much confirming what I was kind of hoping you wouldn't about BOS. I ride 2/3 times a week so can't really afford for the bike to be out of action with knackered forks, which is probably why I have stuck with the Vans for so many years/bikes.

twohats - not sure I get the current trend for single rings, I would be hanging by the end of some of the 30/40 mile routes I do if I didn't have the ability the drop into the granny.

I have some 170 rc2dh lyrics with little use, £350 if you want them. Under a year old and in good nick...

Man selling forks recommends them big surprise 😉

Pikes seem like the best thing going at the moment, I went for xfusion slants as pikes were too much moolah

I've got a set of Devilles 140's on my foes. Out of the box they didn't work, sent them back to be repaired which was done in a week. They are a lovely plush fork but I wouldn't say that they are any better than the foxes and you'll have the back up of Mojo with the foxes.

34lbs for a nomadc! I'd expect to get 29lbs...
But yeah pikes for sure, slants get good reviews - my friends love theirs. BOS are best performing out the box in my eyes but rockshox have the reliability and spares side covered.

are miles above the rest in terms of build quality and performance

to the OP, re weight, I'd also loose the coil shock with the steel spring lol (or at least get a decent air shock if you want to shed some poundage :-))

oh good lord, thought it was already air at the back - change the rear shock first surely!

Air shock (CCBD air?), single front ring, thinner flat pedals, and lighter wheels and tires (tubeless?) are the other places to look at if you want to shed weight from the bike.

Some of these will affect the way it rides more than others, and it depends on how much you are willing to compromise on strength and durability.

I'd not thought of doing that, cheers for the advice.

The thread was about forks though.

The thread was about forks though.

Definitely pikes. Those vans are about 2400g, and pikes are less than 1900g according to sram. That's a pound off straight away, and all the usual rockshox reliability and levels of service (hopefully). There's too many bad reports of people struggling to get spares and repairs on BOS forks.

By far the best enduro orientated fork i have used, these are my second set.
I've had most forks on the market, including new pikes, 36, 55rc3ti to name a few and the bos, in my opinion are miles above the rest in terms of build quality and performance. Never had any issues with bos and my first pair i rode constantly for over a year.

I haven't had new pikes so cannot comment butt in general I would agree with this.

In terms of outright performance they're the best forks I've ever owned or used. I've never had anything go wrong with any of them and so cannot comment in problems.

That said, I now have Marzocchi 55 rc3ti that are so close in performance that I'll willingly give up the extra 3% in performance for the sake of a 3 year no service warranty.

I've recently swapped my 36 Van RC2's for a pair of Devilles and am a very happy bunny. I normally hate air forks, but the Devilles are the best air forks that I've ridden and are really plush. They're not as stiff as the 36's; barrelling through rocky bits, you can feel a bit more flex and deflection but they're certainly not noodles.

I bought mine second hand (I'm too tight to pay the best part of a grand for some forks). They were easy enough to strip down, grease and refill with oil. The insides are really nicely made and all CNC'd.

I was really happy with my 36's but was having issues running 1 1/8th forks in a tapered head tube. The lower bearings were getting really beaten up so I wanted to swap to a tapered fork.

The Pike's are really popular although personally I've always find that Rock Shox feel a bit odd. I can't out my finger on it and I know I'm in the minority (I hated my old Pikes but most love them).

With regards to the CCDBa....great shock, but mine weighs loads for an air shock.

I had Marzocchi 55's on my SX Trail in around 2007, managed to destroy them pretty quickly, they also seemed REALLY heavy. Windwave also took forever to repair them when the TST cartridge blew so I've kind of disregarded them ever since.

Mindmap - I would also be buying used (if going for BOS) some pretty helpful information there, cheers.

No worries.

The ATA cartridge on my AM I's tormented me too. Those forks spent more time at Windwave then they did on the front of my bike.

There was a thread on here about servicing BOS forks which I used (although some of the bolt / nut sizes were different on mine). They have a whole load of oil in the damper side. You can use Fox 34 seals too which are easy enough to get hold of.

Didn't the ATA nearly bankrupt marzocchi?

the new marzocchi RC3Tis are superb forks and reliability is up there with marzocchi of old, (they missed the boat on 650b forks though)

Didn't the ATA nearly bankrupt marzocchi?

Think it did...useless thing!

I wanted the RC3 Ti's but couldn't find any in budget. I've heard nothing but good things about them and if they're as reliable as my old Z1's that are still in use, happy days.

mindmap3 - Member

I bought my devilles second hand (I'm too tight to pay the best part of a grand for some forks). They were easy enough to strip down, grease and refill with oil. The insides are really nicely made and all CNC'd.

Sounds good, do you think the parts are French/German made ?

I quite liked my 55rc3ti(2013) but found that the only REAL way to set up the compression damping to how i liked was a heavier oil. Adding air in the bottom chamber only made them sticky was best left empty. I went back to bos after those and was happy again. The high and low speed damping works great and is perfect to fine tune.
I ride a 2014 enduro sworks at the mo with Ccdba and 650b pikes(also second set of pikes) and i still think the bos are better built, better damping and easier to fine tune.
Another thing to consider is that the nomad is 67 deg ha with 36s, a pike is shorter(if i remember correctly) and will Steepen your head angle.
What about xfusion vengeance? Theres a few around second hand and they're similar in design to the 36. I haven't owned them but have ridden them and they're pretty good.
Also if you're keeping a coil out back then i highly recommend a push link. The original link is designed for an air shock and the push one changes the leverage ratio to suit a coil. Best mod i made to my nomad.

Used to run BOS Devilles up until Xmas

After a 2nd failure in 18 months, changed to the new Pikes

Feel just as nice as the Bos, just as stiff, lighter and have aftermarket support

No contest really

The Pike's are really popular although personally I've always find that Rock Shox feel a bit odd. I can't out my finger on it and I know I'm in the minority (I hated my old Pikes but most love them).

I know what you mean - I put it down to the damping, which seems all or nothing; the low speed seems to effect the high speed & stifle the fork. I find them impossible to fine tune. That said I've got some 2010 revelation teams with blackbox dual flow damping and these seem a lot better than any of the others I've had.

Another thing to consider is that the nomad is 67
deg ha with 36s, a pike is shorter(if i remember
correctly) and will Steepen your head angle.

Pikes are a whole 3mm shorter than a 36! That won't make any difference to the head angle.

Best fork I have used was a 55 RC3-Ti with an Avalanche Downhill damper, but that wouldn't save you any weight 😉 .

Of the Bos Deville vs Pike I would agree with what has been said above in that the Bos feels more controlled. The Pike feels good but there is an inconsistency to the damping in that it sometimes feels a bit on/off leading to occasionally blowing through the travel (still feels better than most other forks and is not the end of the world... won't stop me buying one).

The Bos and Pike feel similar but different, they both hold up in the travel but the Bos has a more pronounced feeling of control/firmness which may or not suit you; if you like running a soft rear spring it probably won't. The Deville rides very firm in the first part of its travel and if you run a saggy rear end (oooh er missus) its likely to feel unballanced.

What rear shock are you going to run? Its worth thinking hollistically if you want a ballanced set-up

For some balance, I've been running a Deville for three years trouble free, and love it. Been by Mad Elk Cycles in Ireland, and do oil changes myself.

The marzocchi 55 rc3 ti evo 2 forks from the last couple of years are flipping brilliant, but they're not going to save you any weight over the fox 36's you have now , but they wont be any heavier. They will perform much better though.

If saving weight is the name of the game, then switch to CCDBa on the rear, and go tubeless with a lighter set of rims.

I'm a bit disappointed with my Bos Deville's. After all the hype I found I preferred the Fox Float 32's they replaced. Maybe they hold up more on steep stuff and dive less under breaking but they don't have much plushness. They are probably better than most other forks if you can ride at the same level as Nico Vouilloiz, but I don't 🙁

Loving my Marz 55 micro ti's though 🙂

Wow you preferred the float 32's to a deville?!! You've either got the best set of 32's ever produced or there was something seriously wrong with your devilles!

[b]stevede[/b]

Wow you preferred the float 32's to a deville?!! You've either got the best set of 32's ever produced or there was something seriously wrong with your devilles!

I can see why someone would think like this. My experience of the Deville (and VIPr) is that it is not the typical "plush" suspension of (say) Fox, it is a firm feeling suspension which a rider may not like; especially if they have a firm front and soft rear (or vice versa).

More balance. Have had all the forks mentioned except the Avalanche. By far my favourite is the BOS Deville. Nothing I've used finds grip like it or feels as plush and controlled. I ride a 29er now so had to change but my Devilles survived as the bike went to my best mate. All in all they've been used constantly for 3 years with no maintenance and have never gone wrong!
I like the pikes on my 29er, but when I ride the bike with the Devilles still they have an undefinable damping quality,
I'm still struggling to find the balance between big hit support and plushness on my Pikes, however they are the second best fork alive ever used.

I would love another set of a devilles but I have to confess I'd be reluctant to buy them due to the support/spares., ultimately all forks need servicing. If jungle turn it around, great.

I think the Avalance option is excellent, although it adds weight compared to a stock fork like the Pike. There is a similar package available for Fox from a French company that adds an open bath damper with full LSC/HSC and LSR/HSR.

If it was me, now, I'd still chose a pike. Amazing VFM too.

I'm surprised no-ones asked.. but what's your riding style like? The bike set up seems pretty burly - If you're riding warrants this then all more credit to you (i edge on the side of safety when it comes to parts), but otherwise air back and front - which if you sold both your current ones you could easily do. The fusion Vengeance is meant to be on a par with the pike according to some reviews + proved long term reliability!! And general lightening of the bike. New rubber, a wheel build around your current hubs, the works! 😀

(as an aside, if anyone happens to be selling some 650B devilles.. 😀 160 or 150 please. ingegneremaurizio AT gmail DOT com Grazie! )

I may be wrong but I thought "plushness" is about high speed rebound and high speed compression damping and not "softness" which I would suppose is sag (say 30%) and less compression damping. I've tried my mate's Devilles (set up by J tec) and have some Idyles on my DH bike. I'd say all of them were firm rather than plush. I just don't think Bos do plush.

That's a good point about matching both ends - my SX and Rune never felt totally balanced with an air shock and coil forks, but the Rune with air both ends does feel better. Air suspension is getting better and better, but a coil is still much smoother. The combination of Devilles and a CCDBa has pretty much converted me.

I really do rate the Deville's so far but not enough to think that they're good value at RRP especially if they go pop (no modern fork is). I'm not so fussed about this because whatever forks I'd have bought would be second hand so would need to got to Loco, J Tech etc if broken.

It's a fair point not he description plush. My definition when I sue it could also be described as compliant or ground hugging, I don't mean soft.

Having been totally blown away by the performance of my Bod Devilles in Morzine last summer I ordered another pair for the front of my Production Privee Shan. The Devilles ironed out all the braking bumps (no arm pump all week!) and managed a run down the Champery Worlds track in relative safety. No issues with either fork yet - the first set are getting on for a year old now.
I'll admit they aren't car park plush but they definately take the fatigue out of a ride better than any fork I've previously owned (36's,Sektors,old Pikes,Mavericks,Bombers).They are more of a race fork than a comfort fork so its down to riding style really.Playing with the tuning dials afects the performance massively too,it took a while before finding the absolute sweet spot

Dave

@Thegnarlycenturion i don't know about 140 or 160 but the 170 clear 650b easily even on full compression with a hans dampf and mavic 2.4.

Sorry if I confused people by using the word "plush"?

The dictionary definition of plush is luxurious - I take this to mean soft and compliant. If you think how Fox/Marzocchi/RS forks and shocks typically feel in the showroom/car-park this to me is plush. You can almost get all the travel out of them with a quick thrust down; I think this test gives the prospective owner a feeling of confidence that the fork feels good and will ride well.

From my experience this is not a great test of how a fork and shock will feel on the trails. The Bos and Avalanche stuff I have used (and liked) do not respond well to this type of test, they do not give up all the travel due to the compression damping. But on the trails they use all the travel when its required.

I think those that have ridden them will agree that Bos (and Avy) feel different to Fox/etc. Some people will like it (or love it) and others won't; but its good to be aware that it is a little different when shopping. I don't think there is a wrong or a right; people just like different things.

Intersting Waldo, thanks for the info - I had heard that the standard ones can run 650B, but I'm having trouble finding this info on the net again and as I want to run chunky tyres on wiiide rims upfront I'm a bit cautious about it! (might have to start a thread 😆 )

The settings in the manual aren't too far off although the do feel odd in the car park bounce test, but they work really well once you're riding off road.

Mine seem pretty plush to me, certainly for an air fork although they don't deal with really small 'chatter' like the coil 36's did.

There's a fair bit of clearance between the crown and my Hans Dampf's although I'm not sure if it will take a 650b wheel with a chunky tyre.

The Pike's are really popular although personally I've always find that Rock Shox feel a bit odd.

Agree. Always prefered Fox to modern RS. Not tried the Pike yet though.

Having been totally blown away by the performance of my [b]Bod[/b] Devilles

Do you get Aunt Flo and Farmer Barleymow to service them?

Bos ain't soft....

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There is a grouptest in this months German magazine 'Bike' featuring the new Bos AM 140 fork v Pike and Fox. I'll report back when I've read it.

thegnarlycenturion - I also noticed that reccomendations were made without anyone asking what my riding style is, i've taken a lot of the comments with a huge pinch of salt (this is singletrackworld after all;))

My usual riding is mainly natural, steep, off-piste trails Guisborough/Hamsterley are my locals. I also ride Ae/Inners/Hamsterley downhill tracks quite frequently. I did have a DH bike but couldn't really justify having multiple bikes, to be honest I think the Nomad works better anyway.

The main reason I have avoided air in the past is I can't be arsed fiddling with pressures all the time, which has been my previous air experience. Tech has moved on a bit now hence looking to switch to air.

It looks like the Pike is going to be the way forward if I do swap.

A couple of small points regarding the Pike

Not available with 20mm axle

Have they been out long enough for anyone to comment on reliability?

Dave

Not heard of any issues so far, few of our customers have had them a few months now and given them a proper pasteing locally in horrid conditions with no issues.

20mm axle isn't really an issue as the standard has been around for a while, bit of a pain if you front hub is non convertible though.

tasteslikeburning - Member

I'm a bit disappointed with my Bos Deville's. After all the hype I found I preferred the Fox Float 32's they replaced. Maybe they hold up more on steep stuff and dive less under breaking but they don't have much plushness.

Make sure you follow the BOS instructions to equalize the air chambers otherwise the fork will feel over-damped.