With a new UK distributor coming in, hopefully there will be better back-up for Bos – but there do seem to be plenty of horror stories about their (un)reliability.
Any Deville users on here with tales to tell, good or bad?
Cheers
Stu

Owned mine for over a year, no issues at all

Had mine about 1 1/2 years great fork, no probs at all

I’ve had 2 sets of Deville & a Vip’r shock – no problems whatsoever. They’re used daily all year round in some fairly atrocious weather. Best fork I’ve ever had.

Good to hear folks, thanks for your replies

Only had mine a few weeks – 160trc’s. So far, so good!

1 3/4yrs ish, no problems

With a new UK distributor coming in, hopefully there will be better back-up for Bos

I don’t see how this will change, the problem has always been from BOS’s end. It was the same when TF were dealing with them.

I had a set, they were the only fork i’ve ever had seal issues with.

I’ve written about the performance before – people seem to have an amazing ability to wax lyrical about how they are ‘head & shoulders’ above anything else on the market, which if you ask me, is b*llocks.

They feel different, but no better than the MiCo Lyrik or 2012 36 Float I have also tried. I raced before I had them, raced with them & raced after, my times were no better or worse – I still managed to win a couple of races…

I couldn’t get them serviced by R53 at one point, as they were out of parts, then they had such a small shipment from BOS they couldn’t fulfil the obligations they had prior to me, then not long after R53 sacked them off. At that point I did a bit of digging, TF suggested the new SKF seals from a Fox 34 would be a good fit (they were), and despite BOS not wanting to sell the oil for the lowers, it’s very similar in consistency to a normal 7.5wt fluid. Inside there is nothing out of the ordinary, it’s just a normal open bath damper.

The one benefit I think they have over the other 160mm forks with a 20mm axle is they are ever so slightly lighter. Knowing what I do now, I would consider a set of used ones at the right price, as I can look after them myself. But if you’re after an easy life & don’t want to go inside your forks, then I would look elsewhere.

I’d also take the ‘2 year service interval’ with a pinch of salt too. They need as much work as any other fork IME.

Ive had a set of devilles for about six months.after about two months they started playing up.loosing travel and sticking.i bought them when r53 were a service centre but when fault developed they were no longer servicing and were no help whatsoever.tried contacting bos direct.still waiting on reply!!after about ten emails.
ended up sending to j tech who were very helpful and sorted for£60.
still shouldnt have to be paying to fix new forks.
In summary they are good forks but i wouldnt buy again unless they have a uk service centre.

BOS customer service SUCKS!

I don’t know what happened in the past, but like many new businesses, they are experiencing growing pains I imagine, when suddenly the entire world spots you have a unique product, that does tend to put pressure on the best of companies. Lots of the brands we have represented here over the years have had problems behind the scenes that never leaked into the public domain, because certain steps were taken to prevent that happening.

So, our plan is to have the necessary back up before the problems arise, how do we know what they are likely to be? Because we’re a company that use the stuff we sell ourselves, are in regular discussion with other riders that push the envelope with the kit we sell, and often break stuff before our customers do, it’s part of how you survive for thirty odd years selling hardware to extreme riders of all manner of sports.

Not saying we’re prefect, but we do at least understand your pain of being off the trail through equipment failure. Now the guy that’s heading up the sharp end of the BOS operation is also a really good rider and will spot problems before they arrive, so will hopefully have a decent stock and supply of what you need, so yes we hope that as the new distributor we will make a difference and yes they are better for all sorts of reasons than other forks on the market, if they weren’t we wouldn’t be selling them, there are plenty of other suspension brands and OEM builders we could have chosen if we just wanted to sell ‘another fork brand’.

And as a backstop, there is always me, if anything really is going pear shaped, I’m around to help email is in the profile, but better to ring in.

igrf…any chance of getting my £60 back that im out of pocket for.Realise this is not your problem.but would help restore my faith in bos

You’ll have to explain in the real world rather than online, help is always more forthcoming there.

In the short term I must say I prefer my Devilles over 2012/2010/2009 36’s, 2011 Revelations, 2011 Float 150 RLC”s and 2007 tuned Specialized E150 forks. All of those forks obviously have a variety of characteristics but in general subjectively the Bos appear to:
– Feel more composed and less ‘soggy’
– Offer greater smoothness in action when riding
– Ramp up more smoothly – through the stroke so no hard transition from linear to progressive travel
Factually I can also state that:
– They use less travel in any given situation without any increased harshness
– Operate more in the mid-range if their travel rather than the two bordering extremes
– Need less sag to operate positively throughout their stroke
– Better resist bottoming

Just my experience though so not definitive nor based on long-term experience of the Bos

i have never used a pair but have met riders who have them and have nothing bad to say. dunno if they match the marz 55’s though 🙂

Would love to see a proper head-to-head between the Bos Deville and Marzocchi 55 Evo RC3 Ti with the same frame.

I need a new fork this year.

i my be able to do thatfor a vblog 🙂

I’ll sell my “faith” in BOS for just £50 😉

i have never used a pair but have met riders who have them and have nothing bad to say. dunno if they match the marz 55’s though

I’ve not used the 55 rc3ti but I have used the 44 & 66 rc3ti extensively. The biggest difference is at normal trail speeds; the Marzocchi are softer and react to rider input far more – what most folk refer to as that “traditional Marzocchi Plushness”. The Bos is firmer at lower speeds (which possibly just points to a lot more slow speed damping). However, when you point them both down the hill (particularly fast, rough & repeated big hits), there is virtually nothing between them. They both seem almost intuitive in their damping. I think it’s impossible to split them (for me at least) performance wise.

With me it boiled down to being realistic about what and how I ride. Most of the time is spent at normal trail speeds and I much prefer the support (particularly mid stroke) that the Bos offered, but I also know the performance is as good when it all gets a bit hectic. The Marzocchi were marginally more expensive, but offered a better warranty. In the end it was very much personal preference.

I think between most top end forks the differences boil down to personal preference. I’ve had most of the main contenders – 36 rc2, lyric MiCo & MoCo (not rc2dh), & I still have a set of Totem MiCo & Bos do feel better to me. I really struggle to set the other up to my liking. E.g. The slow speed damping on the RS MiCo system just seems to make the fork feel lazy, whereas the Fox system is either incredibly subtle or it only seems to make a difference when at either end of the adjustment spectrum, with little happening in between.

As mentioned above, take service intervals with a pinch of salt.

I am a year and a half into ownership and I like them, I like pretty much most topend forks though they all have ther own feel. Most of which have been described above.

The good news is that Marzocchi are back in the game and the Rock Shox stuff in the 160mm bracket is good… my only real issue is with Fox who seem completely unable to make a Float 36 that doesn’t allow the oil in the lower left leg to migrate to the upper thus reducing travel.

My experience of BOS is that they are as fallible as any other fork – but their service backup is a different league of bad.

They felt good for the first 4 months though.