Long recognized as one of the premiere suspension manufacturers in Europe, it is only recently that BOS suspension has turned their attention to the US Market. Over their history, they’ve largely focused on the downhill and Enduro market, but with the recent introduction of their first 29er XC fork, the Dizzy, they finally started to give the spandex market some well deserved love.
Their prototype XC shock project began around a year ago, because BOS wanted to create a lightweight solution that would be capable of matching the performance of their Dizzy XC Fork. They wanted to build something small, easy to tune, and quickly adjustable. With this radically shaped 186g shock they feel they have finally achieved those goals.
Learn more after the break…
According to company founder Olivier Bossard, one of the biggest challenges in designing an XC shock was packing the level of performance they demand into such a small platform. So instead of trying to make everything work inside the size constraints required by an inline design, BOS developed an external oil reservoir with a nitrogen charged oil piston. This allowed them to expand the oil volume in the shock for better and more consistent performance.
Tuning is relatively simple, with adjustments restricted to rebound and compression. Much like a motorcycle fork, a single adjustment (in this case a three position lever) allows the rider to adjust both the high and low speed compression. This is the first time in BOS history that the company has used this dual tuning method, but after working with XC athletes, Olivier felt that this platform was the easiest and fastest way for them to tune their shocks on the fly while racing.
While the shock looks like it is very close to production, we are told they are still several weeks away from finishing testing, and they are still in the process of developing a remote lockout lever.
While XC riders wait for the new shock to become available, they can salivate over the long rumored Dizzy 29er fork. Now available in both 100 and 120mm travel sizes, it weighs 1580g and has 32mm stanchions, and a three step low speed compression adjustment system.
One unique thing about the BOS system is its infinite adjustment between each of the three specific detents. You can place the lever anywhere between the three prescribed positions for more or less compression damping.
Not necessarily new, but the Deville series of forks now has the ability to swap between 15/20mm axles. For the past 8 months the forks have been shipping with your preferred axle configuration, with an aftermarket conversion kit available for those who wish to swap between wheelset configurations.
