It’s one of the surprises of the Sea Otter show in Girona: BOS, the French suspension specialist, is making a comeback with a new range of shock absorbers and forks. And surprise when passing under the stand, other projects are in the pipeline:
Based in Toulouse, the BOS company specializes in the design of high-end suspensions. Historically present in motor sports, the brand has a rich history in mountain biking and gravity disciplines.
Idylle, Kirk, Deville, these names will bring back memories to the older ones and they are back, well accompanied, for an after-market range.
The life of a company is made up of ups and downs and the decision to stop the VTT range was made to allow us to concentrate on other activities after experiencing difficulties.
For its return, BOS is getting a makeover, with a new visual identity, still high-end ambitions, and a structure that will ensure after-sales service that will also have to be high-end. This was one of the black spots of BOS’s first life in mountain biking.
If Olivier Bossard and his son are behind the brand and the design of this range, it is Bertrand Castel, former suspension specialist at Probikeshop, who welcomes us and presents the new products.
There was a scent of unfinished business, and BOS is taking some elements from its latest ranges, but bringing some nice improvements. In this new offer, the products will not be broken down into range levels, everything is done to provide maximum performance.
The disciplines targeted are downhill, enduro and all-mountain, as well as equivalent VTTAE practices. The suspensions and cartridges are assembled in the brand’s Toulouse factory. The castings and springs come from Asia.
BOS forks
BOS Idylle: The 39 mm downhill fork returns with a new closed hydraulic cartridge and a reworked pneumatic cartridge. The hydraulic stop is reworked and there are degassing valves again. The brand’s own FCV (Frequency Control Valve) is updated. There is a low speed compression adjustment of 25 clicks, high speeds of 27 clicks and rebound of 30 clicks. It will be offered at €2,190.
BOS Kyll: Formerly Idylle SC, the new Kyll will be available with 170 to 190 mm of travel with 39 mm stanchions. It uses the closed hydraulic cartridge of the downhill fork, but not the hydraulic stop. It is intended for big enduro and freeride. It will be marketed in 29 inches and in two offsets at a price of €1,790.
BOS Deville: positioned on “all-mountain” practices between 150 to 170 mm of travel, it is equipped with 35 mm stanchions. We find the closed hydraulic cartridge and the new version of the FCV valve (Frequency Control Valve), the high and low speed compression settings as well as rebound. On the spring side, the pneumatic cartridge announces a work of the piston to eliminate interference during operation. On the scale, it is announced at 1910 g in 27.5″ and 2020 g in 29″. It will be sold for €1,590.
BOS Toxik: For 26-inch dirt bikes, BOS presents a dedicated fork, the Toxik, with an open hydraulic cartridge. It will be marketed at €999.
On all forks it will now be possible to use spacers/tokens. Common to all forks, we find a beautiful design of the tee/steerer with two diameters to optimize rigidity and avoid cracking phenomena. Generally the pieces are very nice.
We discover the internal parts of the forks, including the famous FCV valve, a passive system which detects shocks coming from the ground and adjusts the response of the fork to optimize the travel without diving unnecessarily and thus maintain the bike’s attitude.
But what else?
The forks will be accompanied by the associated range of shock absorbers: the Void 4, the Stoy 4 and the Syors 2.
The flagship of the range, the BOS Void 4 takes its old hydraulic block but integrates a hydraulic stop adjustable on 11 clicks. A lot of work has been done on the guides and the resistance of the rods to best face the constraints of the yokes on the new kinematics.
We’re also told that the Obsys, the iconic inverted downhill fork, is set to make a comeback.
And even more surprising, we discover in a box some brake prototypes that the brand is still working on: 2 or 4 pistons. Coming from re-machined forged blocks, these prototypes have optimized hose connectors to facilitate connections.
BOS has also designed a disc, but will use existing Shimano pads.
That’s a very quick overview. No doubt we’ll be able to go into more detail when the range is officially launched on November 11.
The brand website: https://www.bos-suspension.com/
