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Bos Deville vs. New Pike user experiences please!
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thegnarlycenturionFree Member
guud evening singletrack massive!
I’m after some personal experiences of people who have used a bos Deville and a new Pike and what they’d recommend? Also if you’ve got the travel adjust on the Pike wether that’s a noticable nicety over the Bos (who does a travel limit, but stays at the same height, so wobbly climbing continues)
Any other 650B forks at the 150/160mm range with (or maybe without) travel adjust you think are worth looking at?
The criteria are – damping ability (it’s for a hardtail if that matters, reliability, lack of maintenance, strength, weight, stiffness, ease of maintenance etc.
Thanks in advance, it’s appreciated! 🙂
sandal100Full MemberI’ve used both and found they feel fairly similar. They both ride high in their travel but both provide good grip and good control. The bos may just pip the pikes but when you compare the prices and after sale/ warranty support its pike hands down.
I did a deal on my deville for some Fox, long story, and shortly after that one of the oil seals went and they were a nightmare to get hold of, think fox 34 seals were fitted in the end. Pikes come with a seal set in the box! Weight wise, my pikes are lots lighter than the bos were. They were heavier than fox 36’s. I came to the conclusion BOS weigh them without oil, fox send them without oil.
getonyourbikeFree MemberThey both ride really well but the Pike wins hands down when things go wrong. I blew my BOS Vip’R rear shock up about 3 months ago now and the parts from BOS still haven’t arrived…
thegnarlycenturionFree Memberah that’s really interesting to hear – it corresponds with what i’d gathered looking at all the user reviews etc. Is the ‘pip’ that noticeable? The bike’s going to be used (hopefully) from dh and enduro races – peaks/wales/scotland ragging, hopefully megavalanche etc. So any noticeable performance may be worth the small inconvenience? :s Then again, pikes have travel adjust! (hardtail)
sandal100Full MemberThe pip isn’t really noticeable and definitely not worth the hassle!
waldo1Free MemberBoth are good but the bos is great. I’ve got both, deville170 and pike 650b solo air.
The pike feels very light , small bump sensitivity is remarkable but they do fly through their travel often and have a ‘toy-ish’ feel to them.
Brilliant fork for the money.
The bos is another level in terms of damping and adjustability. I would say they’re much more controlled when on the limit.
Both are close in terms of stiffness, slight edge to the heavier bos (1860 to 2000).
This is my second set of bos deville and I’ve never had any reliability issues whatsoever. Too early to tell yet on the pike.I think the pike is a better light weight trail fork but the deville a better harder hitting fork.
thegnarlycenturionFree MemberThats very interesting waldo1 ! I’ve heard that the pike actually ramps up more making it better for hard hitting? (not disagreeing, just curious 😛 ) these forks will be used from the Megavalanche/Morzine/DH races/ Enduro to Peaks ragging – i’d edge on the ‘harder hitting side of things’.
R.e. ‘help’ my understanding was fox 34 seals fit dandy and the HUGE service intervals means nothing should go wrong unless you get a dud (less likely as they once were & it could happen in either case)
Any other experiences/thoughts on the above? thanks for all the help people!!
n.b. the other consideration is the Bos costs more, so i’d sacrifice other parts of the build.. but nothing major, i already have the frame/wheels so the rest is.. secondary? 😛
kimbersFull MemberIm not sure about the RCT3 pike, but my solo air does seem to use all its travel a lot, the funny thing is I dont really notice its only when I look at the O-ring that I realise its used it all, it feels very controlled
Loco do you stock the volume reducer tokens (ive stuck the 2 supplied in but I believe I can go up to 4?)
Hob-NobFree MemberThats very interesting waldo1 ! I’ve heard that the pike actually ramps up more making it better for hard hitting? (not disagreeing, just curious ) these forks will be used from the Megavalanche/Morzine/DH races/ Enduro to Peaks ragging – i’d edge on the ‘harder hitting side of things’.
R.e. ‘help’ my understanding was fox 34 seals fit dandy and the HUGE service intervals means nothing should go wrong unless you get a dud (less likely as they once were & it could happen in either case)
The Pikes will be fine for that.
If my, and everyone I’ve ever ridden with experience of BOS is anything to go by, then you can expect the Deville to go wrong, a lot. The supposed service intervals are largely b*llocks, the seals will give up way before that point! at which you will find you can’t get any spares anyway. Fox 34 seals do fit, and J-tech can do most of the work needed to keep them running. Obviously at a cost, but you won’t wait months for nothing to happen.
The new Pike is probably the closest feeling fork to the BOS I have ridden, blind test, I’d struggle to tell the difference. The massive advantage is they are cheaper, lighter, have good support, can be fixed anywhere and a warranty worth having. The reality is any decent fork won’t make you ride any slower than the other. People don’t all of a sudden go faster because of the mythical damping properties of BOS forks and shocks…
dirtbiker100Free MemberI heard the comparison the other day of the Devilles being like an Alfa, for those 10 minutes they work they are the best thing on the planet.
Pikes are good. Bos are superb.
If you want a cheap pair of bos, mine have a nick in the front of the right stanchion and beginnings of a wear line next to it. They need a service too. Offers welcome.
I have pikes now.
boltonjonFull MemberSo, the new aftercare offered by Surf Sales isn’t quite as good as they’d imagined it to be?
Tom_W1987Free MemberA Pike with an avalanche damper would be the bomb.
But yeah go for the Pikes, 99.99 percent of the performance with less weight, less cost and better reliability.
messiahFree MemberI liked the Deville I rode but it was not as stiff as a Fox 36. Having read the poor reviews of the Fox 34 forks I had an idea I could buy a set secondhand as they are bound to be available cheap, fit an Avalanche downhill racing cartridge and have an utterly brilliant fork (I have the Avy damper in a 36 and a 55 and they are brilliant… but my 36 is a little old in the tooth). Problems with this are that despite the poor reputation of the 2013 34 fork they are not available that cheap, and making the fork open bath will add 150g+ from my 36 experience, and the Pike fork is generaly available for less… its kind of hard to justify buying anything other than the Pike at the moment since it’s the lightest and has been getting good reviews. My only big concern is that I’ve never really gotten on with RS damping after the honeymoon phase…
waldo1Free MemberThats very interesting waldo1 ! I’ve heard that the pike actually ramps up more making it better for hard hitting? (not disagreeing, just curious )
? this is what I read also before purchasing, however, it has not been my experience. They do fly through their entire travel easily but you don’t notice it harshly. In this sense they’re similar to my 55 rc3 ti but with more progression (and better sensitivity believe it or not! ).
I’ve experimented with the volume spacers and am currently running one in there. The added progression that they give is understandably focused at the end of the stroke but can also give a slight feeling of a lesser travel fork even though we know they have no bearing on travel.
With the bos you are not governed by these volume spacers and the high and low speed compression adjusters offer a wider range of adjustability.
Stiffness of these pair vs a 36 isn’t the same. The 36 is a fair bit stiffer bit you won’t notice it whilst riding. In fact the sightly more flex of these forks is actually a benefit as they will track the ground better and won’t be pushed off line as much with a deflection.
I’ve also read some reliability issues with the bos which I still can’t quite get my head round because I hammered my first set for a long time without a hitch. Roger Estrader told me they were one of the first set of 170s brought in and my second set are only a couple of months old…. no probs with either.
I put my bos up for sale a couple of weeks ago and was going to stick with the pikes mainly due to the lighter weight for trail riding and the logistics of dropping them at local Loco for servicing but am still in two minds which ones to keep. (The bos are mint with only slight cable rub at the top of the Crown £690).
It’s a tricky one,
The bos are better quality, 10mm more travel and better on the gravity orientated limit but the pikes are lighter, have the compression lockout and feel slightly better suited to trail riding.
Either one you decide to go for you won’t be making a bad choice, they’re both great fun.waldo1Free MemberTo add.
The bos also clear 650b fine on full compression.Also, regarding pikes giving up their travel, a friend of mine runs his in the middle compression setting as he feels they are ‘too’ open in the open/decend setting. …
chiefgrooveguruFull MemberWhat controls do the Pike RCT have and how many clicks on each? My old Fox 32s have so few clicks on the rebound that the best setting for me is in between two clicks!
WozzaFree MemberLong story short, I’ve got a set of BOS DeVilles on a pre-owned bike I’ve bought. They’re having a service and then they’re going in the classifieds next week for below the going rate if you’re interested? I’ve got a Marzocchi 66 ATA that i’m very happy with other wise i’d be keeping them.
waldo1Free MemberPike rct3 has 13 clicks of low speed compression via a small dial above the charger pedal assist dial, which has three settings. .. climb/trail/open.
Rebound has 19 clicks and is located at the bottom of the right leg.
Up to 4 volume spacers can be added to left leg. Mine came supplied with two.justmeFree MemberI have the pike rct solo airs and they are excellent. They dont fall thro the travell despite having non of the volume adjusters in them, I would suggest that if you have 2 of them in and theyre still blowing through the travell you need to be looking at the set up again more air and more low speed should help. cant help but think that 4 is way ott and the problem lies elsewhere. g
kimbersFull Memberhmmm im trying to get a similar feel to marzocchi RC3Tis
I dont want to loose the small bump sensitivity by adding too much airfwiw dirt reckons you need to add the spacers to get the best out of them and at 14 stone I think I may justify some extra spacers!
chiefgrooveguruFull MemberThanks Waldo!
What’s the pedal/trail setting like? Any use for more pedally but still mostly downhill singletrack?
waldo1Free MemberThe climb/trail/decend (or whatever they’re called) settings work very well. The climb setting works that well its only need on road, maybe long/smooth fireroads. The middle setting seems to be sufficient to use in most climbs whilst still providing some compliance over the terrain.
My friend runs his in this all the time, up/down… whatever.
The open setting is where I like to leave them so I don’t forget to adjust before decending.
Really smooth in this setting.
The differences between the three are very noticeable.jk1980Free MemberI was facing the same choice and went for the Devilles. The 15mm bolt through on the pike massively put me off
YetimanFree MemberI’m really liking my Pikes (29er 150mm dual air). The damping feels similar to the black box 150mm Revs I used to have on a Blue Pig, but with more balanced control on really fast rocky descents. There’s a linearity to its travel if you run the pressure on the low side to aid small bump sensitivity, but it isn’t nearly as pronounced as a 2013 Fox 34 CTD in D mode (i haven’t used all the travel yet) so my next step is to fit a couple of volume reducers to try and introduce some end stroke progression.
If anyone is interested there’s a long running Pike thread on MTBR. Type in ‘2014 Pike’.
rickonFree MemberI was facing the same choice and went for the Devilles. The 15mm bolt through on the pike massively put me off
All the reviews of the Pike I’ve read have called this out to not be an issue at all.
I’ve just fitted my new Pikes, not ridden them, but they feel far more linear than my Revs out of the box, and I can feel a lot more mid stroke support – just in a car park test. Definitely can see me tweaking them a bit to get the best out of them.
gravity-slaveFree MemberIt’s maybe not a big issue in stiffness but certainly is for me in terms of compatibility. I have 5 20mm front wheels, 3 of which can’t be readily converted into 15mm and 2 other bikes on 20mm. Having 20mm in all my bikes gives great versatility for swapping parts.
Hob-NobFree Member20mm is another dead standard walking unfortunately.
When we start to see the next round of DH forks coming with 15mm, it will really put the cat among the pigeons 🙂
thegnarlycenturionFree MemberPahaha, i hope not! Dh and DJ will lead the revolution!
I’m curious Hob Nob – what makes the differentiation between the pike and deville for you then?
R.e. the hub, fair point 😀 i’m building up my bike here so have the choice thankfully (plus i only have one bike that i’m selling, so cross compatibility isnt an issue).
Reading elsewhere – the bos seems to win quality/compression wise. Fixing can be done via bodges, but if anything goes majorly wrong there may be issues..
Pike – better back up, can get travel adjust (dunno if this will be important for me, but keeps my options open). can get new for second hand price of Devilles.duirFree MemberI have the Pike 160mm solo air’s and they are brilliant.
Dead easy to setup, very reliable and feel fantastic (ie small bump sensitivity, plenty of mid stroke support, stiff, plush and feel almost the same weight as my revelations did).I really think Rock shox nailed it with this one.
Have tried Deville’s and they felt fantastic but heard of several people having reliability issues.
rickonFree Memberplenty of mid stroke support
Lots of people will say this, and you’ll think its marketing nonsense, but its actually true. My first ride on the Pikes and that sentence popped into my head, it feels like you’re using all the travel, but you’re only halfway through, and holding.
ChainlineFree MemberI’ve had both and much prefer Deville damping. They also went 2 years with no servicing and no problems! Variability is clearly there. I was worried about support mainly with my Vip’r rear rather than the fork.
I have the problem with my pikes described. I can make them smooth and compliant with no tokens but they blow through on big hits, although sit fairly high, unless I add more pressure, then they get harsh.
If aI add tokens they just feel harsh but work fine, seem sensitive, sit high, pressure is ok, but they just ‘feel’ harsh and a bit spiky. I’ve also had inconsistent damping over successive runs at places like Antur Stiniog where I’ve had to adjust them over the day… I got a long and technical explanation from Craig at Avalanche as to why this happens..
I was kinda waiting for the new 36 to see if it meets the 2012 36 vintage damping year, although I’d like to see some ride reports. Failing that my plan was a Pike again and add an avalanche damper, which does add weight so the 100g saving over the Fox would make it a better option. pikes plenty stiff enough for me.
My Devilles just had a ‘quality’ to the feel when riding in tough conditions that my a pikes don’t, but I don’t think the actual performance is much different.
Would I buy BOS again now Jungle have taken over, probably not, until Mr Bossard sticks to engineering and hands over customer service and business to someone who knows what the market wants in terms of spares and support!
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