Scott-VeloSolutions rider Brendan Fairclough not only had one of the coolest graphic schemes, he also had some interesting new suspension from BOS on his bike. And the bike itself is all new, taking cues from Scott’s Genius trail bike line, but obviously pulling the travel figures from their more complex Gambler. The last significant update to the Gambler was in 2015, so we wouldn’t be surprised if this was its replacement.
The frame is far closer to the current Scott Genius, but with a few key differences, First, the main pivot sits much higher, and has a massive hollow axle.
It also puts the BB height adjustment at the bottom of the shock, rather than the top. Fairclough’s running it in Low, and the rear axle chip is in the Long setting. Cranks are by DMR with an e*Thirteen LG1 chain guide. Note the Velcro bit stuck to the tip of the crankarm, and all along the chainstays and up the first section of seat stay.
A zip-tie through the rear pivot keeps the shift cable held tightly to the frame…nothing to snag rocks, branches or heels.
Head to BOS’ website and you’ll see a blank spot earmarked for this new Obsys downhill mountain bike fork…but no info yet. The inverted design has its rebound setting on the lower right leg, but everything else appears to be controlled from the top, including the negative spring.
Preload is usually another word for “Negative”, and both seem to be set from the top. Our guess is one feeds through a piston to fill a lower chamber, but which one isn’t clear. There could also be a coil negative spring inside with the Preload offering fine tuning.
Compression damping sits on the right leg with what we’re guessing is a bleed port off center from the tooled adjustment. Note the adjustable headset set to Steep – he’s got this bike set as long, low and slack as possible.
It’s not just the fork that’s new. The BOS Syors rear shock doesn’t appear on their website and has a different adjustment layout than their Stoy coil shock.
Other bits on Brendan’s bike include Deity bar and stem, Syncros seatpost and 27.5″ wheels, Schwalbe tires, and the TRP G-Spec brakes, which (along with the stem) seem to be using titanium bolts to hold everything in place.
