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Unfortunately I think a lot of people are riding duff Devilles as I think there was a big batch of oversized internals which cause the issue. The fork still felt slightly better than my Lyrik when duff but amazing once sorted. Plusher than a plush thing which is not always the reviews you hear.
Yup. Definitely rideable even when it was not working correctly.
Had I not started investigating how forks work (I'm an engineer, so I can't stand when I don't know how stuff works), and then found this forum, I think I would have happily kept riding with the BOS the way it was.
Thinking about making a video to put on Youtube about this issue. Not much info about the Devilles are available online.
However, super-satistfied with the result, and the service from YT and BOS.
Btw. Regarding the original topic of this thread, I talked to a riding-buddy today, who told me that the Devilles are basically awesome at the standard settings, so he told me to set slow and fast compression at 15 click (right in the middle), and then just adjust the rebound to my liking. At least while I'm getting to know the forks (my last bike had Rockshox Dart, so this is a pretty big upgrade for me).
Had the Devilles not come back in working order, I'd have bought some Marzocchi 55R anyways. Adjusting rebound is something I can relate to 🙂
Maybe I'll get a bit more picky with the settings later, but it's good to know you don't go completely wrong with the standard-settings.
My Deville after it came back from repair:
Aha, the thread I've been looking for.
Wish I''d seen this thread sooner.
I had a bad deville, returned to Bos, first ride out felt amazing, then towards end of the ride went back to feeling like a pogo stick.
let the air out and it sinks down, but, the rebound damping does NOTHING to feel of the fork. Tried another Deville in LBS and rebound damping and a massive effect.
Anyone else had that issue ?
FYI - these guys are an authorised BOS warranty/service dealer in Dublin
http://www.madelkcycles.com/brands.html
Has anyone else noticed a funny dead feeling in the first 25mm of travel on their Devilles?
Its feels very undampened, still smooth, just a bit springy
As soon as you go past the 25mm, they are perfect and work like a dream
Interested in other peoples thoughts before i mess with my settings
Thanks
Anyone else had that issue ?
Yes, the third set(that's right, the third set!) had this problem.
At that point I got a refund.
Had a good read of that Madelkcycles site. Something very foreign about the text. Does anyone know about them, do they have a track record? All looks a little odd?
Regards the issues above, luckily not had any of them so can not comment.
Yes, the third set(that's right, the third set!) had this problem.At that point I got a refund.
mmmm, think I may stick with the refund and go back to good ol safe work well revs.
My fork seems fine after it came back from repair. Real test will be next weekend, where I'm going on my last bikepark-trip this year.
However, I will be seriously considering a Marzocchi or Rockshox next time, as those can be serviced locally here in Denmark. But right now, very happy with the BOS.
Despite the importer issues I bought a set of Deville's that arrived last week, having read a couple of forums I knew about the issue with some neg chambers and had the shop let all the air out and hooray, they sucked down immediately. Pumped them back up to 4.5 bar and went for a ride.
I decided today that I'd set them up properly so let all the air out again, when I re-inflated the chambers I noticed that not enough stanchion was showing, made a couple of calls and apparently there was too much air trapped in the neg chamber and the forks weren't equalising.
After much filling and deflating (10x I pumped em up to 8-9 bar in 1 bar increments and back down again), I finally fixed the problem by pumping them to 9 bar in 1 bar increments then dropping them back down to 2 bar in 1 bar increments, when back at 2 bar I put my foot on the wheel and heaved on the bars, pulling the stuck stanchion out of the lowers, let me tell you, it made a very disconcerting clank.
Now it appears that there's too much air trapped in the positive chamber and they're not equalising, now when I inflate in 1 bar increments, the forks are absolutely rock solid by the time I get to 5 bar (I weigh about 78k) and have the same suspension characteristics as a pogo stick! When I drop all the air out of them they no longer suck down.
Does anybody know if there's an at home solution to this or should I send them back to the frenchies?
Back to bos I would think...
mr plow - Member
Had a good read of that Madelkcycles site. Something very foreign about the text. Does anyone know about them, do they have a track record? All looks a little odd?
They're Polish lads as far as I know, just got set up in Dublin, they're friends of a friend who rides with them a good bit, very nice chaps according to him. They've been to Toulouse to train with BOS, I can't vouch for them beyond that.
I'll be giving them a go when my fork/shock need fettling, but can't really give you anything first hand on them.
thered - I had the same problem, has your left hand dust seal popped off yet? Mine went from that (the clunking thing) to too much air in the neg chamber giving them 70mm of rock hard travel. They went to R53 (when they were around) and then went to France.
I've had 2 sets of Devilles now, & a couple of mates have them, & none of us have experienced any issues whatsoever by following the instructions [u]TO THE LETTER.[/u] I've just read about all your faffing about going up by 1 bar increments & part of me was confused & the other part was incredulous.
All this sinking into their travel... What? It's a very crude measure of whether they're working properly. Let all the air out. Take off the pump. Cycle te fork up and down and then let more out. Pump them up the correct pressure then put the stanchion o-ring to 1cm. Gently and slowly pump the forks to the o-ring about 15 times.
Go & ride your bike, your forks are set. By all means, check the -air after a few ride by letting the air out, but remember when you pump them back up, cycle the fork 1cm for about 15 times. To [i]homogenize[/i] the air chambers. All this 1 bar at a time is totally unnecessary. Also remember - 8 bar max or you'll break them..!
I greatly appreciate your condescension Mildred.
Having followed the setup instructions TO THE LETTER and finding that they're not working, what do you suggest then o' learned one?
All air let out, check. Forks cycled, check. Pump to correct pressure, check. Cycle forks, check. Your process appears to have failed in this instance, it appears I have a faulty fork.
Not working how ? You're describing how they look in a static setting - have you actually ridden them?
I don't mean to condascend, but none of what you've written mentions actually riding them.
I weigh 78k. When first ridden there was only 140mm of stanchion exposed and I was using 120mm of it at 4.5 Bar. After getting the excess air out of the neg chamber, I reset them and pumped them to 5 Bar. Now when I sit on the bike to check sag, they don't compress at all. They will not compress unless I put all my weight on them and push hard.
Are your forks the TRC version, and are they new or used? It sounds like you're setting them with TRC on - this is the exact symptom of reduced air chamber; even effects the damping side.
Be aware that when you unscrew the air cap, the TRC lever pulls off, and if you (or shop, or previous owner if 2nd hand) don't put it back correctly (correct orientation), then it is easy to have it set wrong.
They are TRC and are brand spanking. The TRC lever moves through 1/8 of the circumference of the top of the fork leg (does that make sense) when flicked between on and off (off being towards the back of the fork) and is very stiff, could this be the prob?
Both my sets were/are stiff but not [i]very[/i] stiff, Just a mechanical friction to hold it in position.
It definitely sounds like a TRC issue to me. Though my current set are only a few weeks old my last set were 18 months old & never serviced. Judging by mates forks and my own experiences they're very reliable. The feel of the forks hasn't changed since day 1, but only work well when the instructions were followed to the letter.
To be honest, I said that part of me was incredulous, but to clarify, if they were so bad they would've been on the shop counter the moment I thought they were faulty. Having said that, if you've forced more air in than recommended, you may have knackered them.
Yeah, mine were also fine, that is until I bent a stanchion coming up short on a gap jump.
Just been picked up on the way to BOS now, expect a telling off for using j-tech and none BOS parts for servicing.
Will be interesting to see how long it takes for them to get back to me with a repair cost, their service sheet says they will service forks on the Tuesday after arrival. How very french
Dasnut - please let us know how you get on and cost of postage etc. Many thanks 
well, so far £50 including £500 insurance for the way out there.....
hopefully they go missing, I get the £500 and spend it on some lyriks with the avalanche cartridge 🙂
I will indeed keep this thread upto date with progress....
howdy,
I'm from Dublin. Somebody asked if the Madelkcycles lads are ok. Yep, they are. They are foreigners living in Ireland hence some errors in text but they are well known here. Nice, hard working lads and very good mountain bikers too..
They sponsor a local MTB club (probably the biggest one in the whole country) see here http://www.madmtb.com/
You'll should be able to see their tent on 2013 Irish Gravity Enduro Races.
Regards
Luka
Anyone have any suggestions on how to keep these from diving quite so much? I weigh around 75kg, have the 160mm TRC fork and am currently running 100psi in them and have the low speed ramped all the way in to keep them from diving, and still sometimes turn on the TRC feature to keep them up in the travel...
Seem unusual to me that people who are obviously competent at tuning suspension recommend running more sag for DH than for flat riding, since a greater proportion of weight is over the front of the bike for DH, and the speeds and impacts are likel to be much higher also.
Is this an issue with correctly filling the positive/negative chambers? Or is there some internal problem with the damping circuitry?
Any help appreciated, it seems like i am running the pressure for a 95kg rider and still it doesn't stay high in the travel...
That sounds very odd - in my experience, they're the least "divey" fork I've ever used.
The neg chamber would be my guess. Might not be equalising and is a lot lower than it should be. This is reported to have a knock on effect on damping.
I will retry the procedure for equalising the chambers in that case, and see what difference it makes.
The fork is still plush, and i'm happy with the grip at the front, it's just that the settings i have to use to get the fork to perform how i'd expect are totally at odds with what the users manual states...
I'll try again and see what happens. Do you guys use the 15 clicks out on all adjusters for damping, and find it acceptable?
That's concerning.. Other than scottys dive problem (which is hopefully just the negative air chamber), how do the bos deville forks feel climbing hard out the saddle? (Not the trc ones preferably)
My settings are close to the 15 out. Think I add a couple of clicks of rebound and slow speed compression but my high speed compression is run further open - maybe 20 clicks.
Climbing hard out the saddle is like any other open fork in your normal settings. No special settings with no TRC fitted.