BOS Idylle - any real world reviews?
- Thread starter slowracer
- Start date
id expect more from Jonesy. basically he said how awesome the fork is, but didnt really talk about why besides no maintenance is required.
i'm testing one out tomorrow on a legend... looking forward to it...
the Idyle or Idyle RaRe?
My wife had one for a couple months, she loved it, she could quickly get it dialed for wank fontana type trails or even burlier laguna dropin type stuff, the action stayed really smooth for the entire time, leading me to believe the seals were top notch. But it had to go, was so friggin heavy. She took 2lbs off of it when she got her Marzocchi deal done. Granted, this was one of the earlier ones, so I think the fork lost weight, but shes on Marz now, so no looking back.
3260grams is on the heavier side for top of the line DH forks, but its still 200+ grams heavier than the 888 Evo Ti.
so shes back racing??
so shes back racing??
Plus the bomber looked better, exactly 2lbs I took off when putting the marz 888 evo on, and its not even ti'
its a set and forget fork. i have the n'dee, same tech then the idylle. i only slowed the rebound down a bit (3 clicks) from the stock settings and the fork does what it should. the front feels so much more connected to the ground then my 66 rc2 eta i used before. and dont have to think about maintenance is quite nice. i only clean the fork after every ride and bleed the air in the chambers every 5h of ride time and i'm done. no oil change for the whole season, fork feels still the same.
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thats not really a good review though.
That is the Idylle Pro that I think BOS has moved away from(even though it is still on their website). The RaRe model is what Nico and the Morewood teams used this past season. I have the RaRe which I will get to ride for the first time tomorrow so I can share what I think after a proper test. Mine weighed in at 7.2 before I put it on.My wife had one for a couple months, she loved it, she could quickly get it dialed for wank fontana type trails or even burlier laguna dropin type stuff, the action stayed really smooth for the entire time, leading me to believe the seals were top notch. But it had to go, was so friggin heavy. She took 2lbs off of it when she got her Marzocchi deal done. Granted, this was one of the earlier ones, so I think the fork lost weight, but shes on Marz now, so no looking back.
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Just ordered 1! Will write reviews as i can.
no im TRYING to sell a single crown bos, which how has been ridden to the deli, it rules, it totally rocked the crap outa every pine cone and crack in the pavement
Whoops my bad
Update from the weekend ride at Windrock. This was a first ride and I am not the best at the tech stuff but here is what I thought about the performance.
The parking lot test it feels like any fork that moves so no champion here in that respect. Where it comes alive is on the trail at speed. Windrock was quiet ruff this weekend(more so than the last time I saw it) and it just took everything I hit like it was no problem and was just waiting for some real action. Very stable with no surprises...if I wanted something it did it. This was my first real downhill ride in almost 2 years so my bike fitness(arm pump) was rubbish but it did an amazing job soaking up whatever I hit. As far as the weight it came in at 7.2lbs. before it went on to my bike so it gives up some to the Boxxers but not too far off of a 40 or the 888.
I got the correct spring info for my weight(thanks Nicho) and followed the basic settings that BOS provided and basicly was good to go. I played a little with the rear shock but my fork I did not touch.
Everyone makes a good fork these days. You are not going to magicly turn into a WC murderer by purchasing any product but if the maintaince works out like BOS claim and the performance continues I know what I will be riding for some time to come. One weekend is not much to go on much but there are very few of these over here in the States so I thought I would give a first impression.
On a side note the whole Morewood Makulu/BOS combo just really impressed me. I loved my Sundays but I am missing them a lot less after the weekend.
The parking lot test it feels like any fork that moves so no champion here in that respect. Where it comes alive is on the trail at speed. Windrock was quiet ruff this weekend(more so than the last time I saw it) and it just took everything I hit like it was no problem and was just waiting for some real action. Very stable with no surprises...if I wanted something it did it. This was my first real downhill ride in almost 2 years so my bike fitness(arm pump) was rubbish but it did an amazing job soaking up whatever I hit. As far as the weight it came in at 7.2lbs. before it went on to my bike so it gives up some to the Boxxers but not too far off of a 40 or the 888.
I got the correct spring info for my weight(thanks Nicho) and followed the basic settings that BOS provided and basicly was good to go. I played a little with the rear shock but my fork I did not touch.
Everyone makes a good fork these days. You are not going to magicly turn into a WC murderer by purchasing any product but if the maintaince works out like BOS claim and the performance continues I know what I will be riding for some time to come. One weekend is not much to go on much but there are very few of these over here in the States so I thought I would give a first impression.
On a side note the whole Morewood Makulu/BOS combo just really impressed me. I loved my Sundays but I am missing them a lot less after the weekend.
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just on a side note, i'm fairly confident in saying that diablo does not have a mechanic on staff trained to repair BOS stuff, things could've changed over the winter. However, Diablo signed with BOS in a "partnership" with a shop up there in NJ, and that shop sent an employee to France for the training program (I wanna say cycle works?) Again my information could be out of date by this point...George Ryan rode the fork all year and absolutely loved it from everything he said...I think he was more amazed by the performance of the Stoy then the fork
so when you need repairs and or service done, it basically goes to a LBS? so what does Diablow actually do? "distribute" them?
I have not spoken with Diablo in some time but unless things have changed there is no one to do service on site. You would really need to call them up to see what is going on currently. As far as what BOS says in the owners manual is once a year service on the shock(by a BOS trained tech) and on the fork once a year oil change(manual shows you how to do that) and seals every 2 years(done by BOS trained tech). I hope by the time the fork service comes around things are sorted over here but if not I have a plan B.
If I'm correct, which I could easily not be, then yes all Diablo does is distribute and the shop they're partnered with in theory is supposed to be able to service them...like I said i'm not 100% on this...however, apparently all the BOS internals are anodized and in theory this is supposed to help aid the longevity of their product etc.
My fork came from one of the Diablo employee's and he never mention anything about a shop with a BOS trained tech. That would be great if it was and if you can confirm this please PM me the shop name. When I needed a heavier spring for my shock they could not get me one,lucky for me MR. Nixon(sicklines.com) had one laying around and hooked me up.
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I am almost tempted to ship my fork/shock to TFTuned in UK for service, if it came to that. I really wish BOS gets its act together for USA/Canada.
TF are no longer the UK service centre for BOS forks.
Its now all managed by R53 Engineering and a gentlemen by the name of Roger Estrada. He is a legend. You rally buffs may recognise the name. He used to work on the Mitsi WRC team and is a long term BOS employee.
He has been at a fair few of our national rounds setting up suspension and helping out.
I could not recomend his service enough.
The Idylle's are amazing. I have a set on the front of my M6!
Its now all managed by R53 Engineering and a gentlemen by the name of Roger Estrada. He is a legend. You rally buffs may recognise the name. He used to work on the Mitsi WRC team and is a long term BOS employee.
He has been at a fair few of our national rounds setting up suspension and helping out.
I could not recomend his service enough.
The Idylle's are amazing. I have a set on the front of my M6!
how does the compression damper work? there is no high or low speed comp on the idylle...
having said that, loved how mine worked over the weekend. still need sometime on it but with 1 ride, its by far the best Sh1t i have used... hands down. my 09 40s dont come near!
having said that, loved how mine worked over the weekend. still need sometime on it but with 1 ride, its by far the best Sh1t i have used... hands down. my 09 40s dont come near!
No chance I'm taking my Idylles apart for you mate
Don't take them apart for me, take them apart for you! I've heard that the BOS damping cable needs re-tensioning after about a week of hucking so think of that as the reason you need to open it up.No chance I'm taking my Idylles apart for you mate
AMAZING...EVERYONE BUY IT
I bought mine in March 2009, in this time i have only had to service the forks 3 times and replaced the lowers once due to crash damage. This includes about 9 months in Whistler in the last 3 years and easily over 1000 runs on them! Just serviced them for the 4th time this evening and wow do they feel amazing just like new! PLEASE buy them you will not regret it. And the shocks are even more amazing. A friend Dyno'd BOS vs RC4 vs CCDB and Vivid and said the BOS was wayyy ahead of all the compeition in performance. These guys know whgat they are doing on another level!
Oh yeah I have Idylle Rare 2009 model and have had numerous bikes running Stoy since.
I bought mine in March 2009, in this time i have only had to service the forks 3 times and replaced the lowers once due to crash damage. This includes about 9 months in Whistler in the last 3 years and easily over 1000 runs on them! Just serviced them for the 4th time this evening and wow do they feel amazing just like new! PLEASE buy them you will not regret it. And the shocks are even more amazing. A friend Dyno'd BOS vs RC4 vs CCDB and Vivid and said the BOS was wayyy ahead of all the compeition in performance. These guys know whgat they are doing on another level!
Oh yeah I have Idylle Rare 2009 model and have had numerous bikes running Stoy since.
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I'm going on my 3rd year with mine and it's still great. With 6-10 DH runs every weekend during the season and only simple maintenance it feels like the day I got it.
Would love to see the Dyno results.
Ive got RC4, CCDB and Stoy here for my '12 SX Trail which I'll be testing against each other early next year.
I agree with the comments on the Bos stuff generally, I have a Idylle SC which provides awesome damping.
Ive got RC4, CCDB and Stoy here for my '12 SX Trail which I'll be testing against each other early next year.
I agree with the comments on the Bos stuff generally, I have a Idylle SC which provides awesome damping.
i have been riding my idylle the first season now, and i am genuinely impressed.
the fork works excellent and maintenance is close to non-existent! coming from a 2011 boxxer WC (and having owned a a pre-FIT cartridge Fox 40) this fork just leaves you in awe, as how beautiful it can be to have a fork, that simply works, always. deeply recommended! really.
the fork works excellent and maintenance is close to non-existent! coming from a 2011 boxxer WC (and having owned a a pre-FIT cartridge Fox 40) this fork just leaves you in awe, as how beautiful it can be to have a fork, that simply works, always. deeply recommended! really.
love my bos shock and forks. While they are crazy money they are definitely worth it. The way I think about them is that the performance to cost ratio difference between say a fox40 over a boxxer R2C2 is probably not really worth the extra cost. Many people will have no problem buying a 40. The boss is not that much dearer and has far longer service intervals. So without even taking into account the huge increase in performance of the Bos over a 40, for me the Bos is a much better buy as I like to spend time riding my bike rather than servicing it. The performance is quite simply unreal I find I can hold lines that weren't possible for me with my boxxer team and rc4 setup. With the full bos setup the bike is much more composed. It has much better pop when i want it. It just feels better in everyway.
I think the telltale sign of placebo at work is anyone that claims "huge increases" in anything these days.
The fact is, in this day and age, most MTB suspension is pretty damn good. I think BOS have done some great things, and I've owned some of their products myself - but to think that they provide a huge increase in performance would be unrealistic. I think any small gains are in the details, like dual-stage shim stacks, low friction bushings, needle bearing eyelets etc.
That was a few years ago now, and other manufacturers have caught up. The 2012 40 (which I'm guessing you haven't owned) in my experience matches or beats the new-gen Idylle Rare in terms of stiction, and comes with a capable and reliable damper. New seals = longer seal life and less oil contamination.
The Stoy still tops the charts for stiction reduction in rear shocks, but unfortunately I cooked those needle bearings in a few days of riding in the alps.
The claims about the dyno testing earlier on are a bit of a laugh too. In my opinion the Stoy's high-speed valving is less than stellar, and I can think of a couple of big names in the suspension world who would agree with me. I much preferred the high-speed bump performance on the new RC4 and CCDB. For the record, I've seen the results of my personal Stoy (the second I've owned actually) on a dyno and the results seem to agree with my experience.
Not trying to piss on anyone's parade, I think BOS do some great things, but it'd be short sighted to think they are the be-all and end-all.
All the big players are doing some excellent work these days, and ultimately this competition means better products for us. The fun part (for those that aren't sponsored) is that if you can keep an open mind, you can jump between brands as they one-up each other.
I would agree with Udi, but what makes the BOS stuff a bit better for normalt folks, and helps with the riding, is that it comes preset to what suits 90% of all riders best.
i never felt happy with anything else out of the box like it did the BOS stuff.
with that all said and done, im on a CCDB in the near future, and a dorado up front- both seem to suit my riding style
but hell, if i could afford a full BOS of the RaRe front/rear, i would be on that no hesitation.
i never felt happy with anything else out of the box like it did the BOS stuff.
with that all said and done, im on a CCDB in the near future, and a dorado up front- both seem to suit my riding style
but hell, if i could afford a full BOS of the RaRe front/rear, i would be on that no hesitation.
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thats all the convincing i need
All you're doing is repeating someone else's words. Without actual charts or specific reasoning, what you claim could mean anything at all.
Did you even read my post? I too have seen the BOS Stoy on the dyno (my personal shock), and while I'm told it ran very consistently (which is great), it has multiple issues with the valving in my opinion. These problems were all verified on the dyno chart.
1. The high-speed compression valving is too firm. This is a rookie mistake IMO.
2. The rebound damping at high levels affects (increases) compression damping, which wouldn't be a big issue if it wasn't for the next point.
3. The stock adjustment range is minimal compared to other brands, which is great for fine tuning, but very difficult to work with if the factory valving isn't absolutely spot on. Which it isn't.
As I said previously, the shock appears to run very consistently, and has class-leading stiction reduction - but I definitely wouldn't call it perfect, nor head and shoulders above the competition. Some of the problems I describe can be fixed by revalving, but for a high-end product this is less than stellar.
But people do.
Hey Udi, thanks for your follow-up post clarifying your concerns. From my personal perspective of riding Bos suspension recently I found the compression to be absolutely spot-on but this does depend on working with Bos to get the right settings for your frame and rider weight. Yes, if the basic shim settings are off you will not be able to compensate via comp & rebound settings as they do offer a narrower range than say a Fox shock. This is intentional I believe as the shim/spring should put it in the right ball park. Although this means the shock is less versatile than say a CCDB its not a big deal to have it re-shimmed if needed.
From your three points it sounds like your shock was wrong for your weight, you tried to compensate by maxing shock C&R settings and were frustrated it didnt have the range to compensate fully for the base setting being out of whack for your bike & weight. I'd encourage you if you have it still to return it to Bos to be tuned correctly before you make your final judgement.
For me the quality of Bos damping is a easily noticeable step above above both Fox & Rockshox offerings offering better control, traction and using its travel more efficiently.
From your three points it sounds like your shock was wrong for your weight, you tried to compensate by maxing shock C&R settings and were frustrated it didnt have the range to compensate fully for the base setting being out of whack for your bike & weight. I'd encourage you if you have it still to return it to Bos to be tuned correctly before you make your final judgement.
For me the quality of Bos damping is a easily noticeable step above above both Fox & Rockshox offerings offering better control, traction and using its travel more efficiently.