BOS IDYLLE vs MANITOU DORADO

PB Forum :: Downhill
BOS IDYLLE vs MANITOU DORADO
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flag stotty1594
Posted: Mar 28, 2017 at 16:55 Quote
I currently have a set of Bos Idylle coil forks and theyre amazing honestly the best forks I've had. Ive always been tempted by trying the Manitou Dorados, theres absolutely nothing wrong with the forks ive got I just like to try new things. Just want someone whos ridden one or both to try convince me to stick with the BOS forks or try the Dorados.
flag jmartinbiking
FL
Posted: Mar 28, 2017 at 17:25 Quote
dorados will have significantly more flex that your current forks due to the inverted design, but the dorados have far superior small bump sensitivity, i prefer the bos forks because of the adjustability and tunability
flag stotty1594
Posted: Mar 28, 2017 at 18:49 Quote
I know about the flex but I dont really see why this is seen as a negative thing? most MX bikes use inverted forks they still have flex when you twist the wheel and they dont have issues? I can see myself prefering a slightly flexier fork tbh. I actually sold my renthal fatbars because I didnt like how stiff they were I like the very slight flex of my older bars so I kept them.
flag riderseventy7
Posted: Mar 29, 2017 at 5:45 Quote
I can't believe people still have this insane belief that maximum stiffness is the be all and end all. Of course you don't want to be riding around on a wet noodle, but there is such a thing as too stiff.
Think of it this way, a little bit of flex is good because it acts as *"side to side suspension", it absorbs the deflection and then returns, helping you hold a line. A super stiff fork will just deflect, which creates a feeling that the front wheel is pinging and ponging off glanced square edges.
Also consider that a bikes suspension moves vertically. Now picture flat or off camber corner situations, when the bike corners here it is leaning over and the fork is no longer vertical, a little bit of flex is going to help it absorb any vertical movement caused by bumps and chunder, again helping the bikes ability to maintain grip and hold a line. They worked that stuff out decades ago in GP motorcycle racing. (And it was after a period where they tried stiffer and stiffer chassis, swingarms and forks, only to end up with wildly chattery and poor handling bikes.)
One final thing to consider with upside down forks and their perceived flaws with stiffness is that the stiffer you need them to be the stiffer they get. On the bigger hits the stanchions move further into the outer leg, increasing stiffness. When you are tracking a line through a rock garden or off camber corner the stanchions are more extended, giving you that little bit of flex to add stability.

*of course it's undamped and I used the word suspension loosely.

A Dorado with the IRT kit (secondary air spring) is an incredibly plush and supportive fork with a damping system that is highly regarded by just about everyone that rides one. It is super easy to service at home, aided by the fact you can remove one leg at a time. Reliability for me has been superb, in almost *3 years of ownership I've only replaced 3 seals, that's it, the fork is working as good as new (better than new as it has broken in).
I also noticed a decrease in arm pump/cramped fingers at Thredbo when I went from my last fork, a 888 RC3 evo, to the Dorado.

*Yep, 3 years. I've changed frames, shocks, wheels, brakes (until I got onto hopes), pedals, bars, everything. But the Dorado has remained through it all as the fork I want on my bike.
flag mgill
Posted: Apr 1, 2017 at 10:03 Quote
I have a dorado pro with the irt upgrade, as said by riderseventy they are super easy to maintence, you can change the seals at home with the press and a tire lever, the irt adds adjustable midstroke support and was less than 300$ with a full service. I dont find them flexy or flimsy. Ive owned 888s, boxxers (team w/motion damper, wc w/elka damper, wc w/charger), a fox40 rc2 factory and the dorado. Havent ridden the bos. Of all the forks ive owned i like the dorado the best.
flag stotty1594
Posted: Apr 1, 2017 at 11:10 Quote
mgill wrote:
I have a dorado pro with the irt upgrade, as said by riderseventy they are super easy to maintence, you can change the seals at home with the press and a tire lever, the irt adds adjustable midstroke support and was less than 300$ with a full service. I dont find them flexy or flimsy. Ive owned 888s, boxxers (team w/motion damper, wc w/elka damper, wc w/charger), a fox40 rc2 factory and the dorado. Havent ridden the bos. Of all the forks ive owned i like the dorado the best.

I think I might give them a go though Im not a huge fan of air forks... I much prefer coil especially for DH so im not sure
flag mgill
Posted: Apr 1, 2017 at 15:44 Quote
stotty1594 wrote:
mgill wrote:
I have a dorado pro with the irt upgrade, as said by riderseventy they are super easy to maintence, you can change the seals at home with the press and a tire lever, the irt adds adjustable midstroke support and was less than 300$ with a full service. I dont find them flexy or flimsy. Ive owned 888s, boxxers (team w/motion damper, wc w/elka damper, wc w/charger), a fox40 rc2 factory and the dorado. Havent ridden the bos. Of all the forks ive owned i like the dorado thbest.

I think I might give them a go though Im not a huge fan of air forks... I much prefer coil especially for DH so im not sure

The irt upgrade makes it extremely tunable, it feels more like a coil than an air fork. When i got it i asked for more travel (i only ever seemed to get 6 or 7" even on big hits) without affecting sag, firmer mid stroke and softer end stroke. Ipossible for an air fork, i thought, but its pretty close. Plus it has a button that lets out any built up air in the chassis so less oil seeps out the seals. If your buying new you can order it with it already installed.
flag stotty1594
Posted: Apr 1, 2017 at 15:53 Quote
mgill wrote:
stotty1594 wrote:
mgill wrote:
I have a dorado pro with the irt upgrade, as said by riderseventy they are super easy to maintence, you can change the seals at home with the press and a tire lever, the irt adds adjustable midstroke support and was less than 300$ with a full service. I dont find them flexy or flimsy. Ive owned 888s, boxxers (team w/motion damper, wc w/elka damper, wc w/charger), a fox40 rc2 factory and the dorado. Havent ridden the bos. Of all the forks ive owned i like the dorado thbest.

I think I might give them a go though Im not a huge fan of air forks... I much prefer coil especially for DH so im not sure

The irt upgrade makes it extremely tunable, it feels more like a coil than an air fork. When i got it i asked for more travel (i only ever seemed to get 6 or 7" even on big hits) without affecting sag, firmer mid stroke and softer end stroke. Ipossible for an air fork, i thought, but its pretty close. Plus it has a button that lets out any built up air in the chassis so less oil seeps out the seals. If your buying new you can order it with it already installed.

I dont have the money to buy new but buying and installing an IRT upgrade wont be an issue, I dont mind air forks as such its more air shocks tbh. but if theyre extremely tunable then I should be able to adjust it to something a lot closer to what I comfortable with. im just struggling to find any Dorados in the UK and looking for a swap aswell makes it even harder
flag Blablablup123
Posted: Apr 1, 2017 at 16:06 Quote
The BOS website has been down for at least a month, if not two. Now this obviously doesnt mean they are bancrupt, but it sure as hell is no good sign.
flag stotty1594
Posted: Apr 1, 2017 at 17:24 Quote
Blablablup123 wrote:
The BOS website has been down for at least a month, if not two. Now this obviously doesnt mean they are bancrupt, but it sure as hell is no good sign.

Yeah I have noticed that, also heard that BOS customer service is/was shit... Apparently thats a french thing? I dont see me ever needing to contact them but its nice to know a company is willing to try its best to help you, and Ive not heard anything like that about BOS, though ignoring all that these forks are amazingly good when it comes to performance!
flag Blablablup123
Posted: Apr 2, 2017 at 4:47 Quote
stotty1594 wrote:
Blablablup123 wrote:
The BOS website has been down for at least a month, if not two. Now this obviously doesnt mean they are bancrupt, but it sure as hell is no good sign.

Yeah I have noticed that, also heard that BOS customer service is/was shit... Apparently thats a french thing? I dont see me ever needing to contact them but its nice to know a company is willing to try its best to help you, and Ive not heard anything like that about BOS, though ignoring all that these forks are amazingly good when it comes to performance!

I own a Bos Idylle FCV and had to send it in for warranty. It has now been at Bos headquarters for approximately two weeks and I have no clue how much longer I will have to wait; up to four weeks are acceptable in my opinion.

The worst thing about it is the uncertainty: I am getting flashbacks from all the horrifying stories about the customer service I have read and the state of their website really doesnt fill me with confidence.

I do not want to comment on the performance of my fork, as I 1: can only compare it to an old Boxxer and 2: had a broken one from the get go.

The BOS might be a slightly better fork, but is that really worth all of the risks?
flag stotty1594
Posted: Apr 2, 2017 at 5:08 Quote
Blablablup123 wrote:
stotty1594 wrote:
Blablablup123 wrote:
The BOS website has been down for at least a month, if not two. Now this obviously doesnt mean they are bancrupt, but it sure as hell is no good sign.

Yeah I have noticed that, also heard that BOS customer service is/was shit... Apparently thats a french thing? I dont see me ever needing to contact them but its nice to know a company is willing to try its best to help you, and Ive not heard anything like that about BOS, though ignoring all that these forks are amazingly good when it comes to performance!

I own a Bos Idylle FCV and had to send it in for warranty. It has now been at Bos headquarters for approximately two weeks and I have no clue how much longer I will have to wait; up to four weeks are acceptable in my opinion.

The worst thing about it is the uncertainty: I am getting flashbacks from all the horrifying stories about the customer service I have read and the state of their website really doesnt fill me with confidence.

I do not want to comment on the performance of my fork, as I 1: can only compare it to an old Boxxer and 2: had a broken one from the get go.

The BOS might be a slightly better fork, but is that really worth all of the risks?

Oh shit... yeah id be pretty worried about that. I hope you get them back soon bud.

My Idylle is much better than all of the Boxxer forks ive owned (from RC to WC) in my experience, what was wrong with your fork exactly?
flag Blablablup123
Posted: Apr 2, 2017 at 5:20 Quote
stotty1594 wrote:
Blablablup123 wrote:
stotty1594 wrote:


Yeah I have noticed that, also heard that BOS customer service is/was shit... Apparently thats a french thing? I dont see me ever needing to contact them but its nice to know a company is willing to try its best to help you, and Ive not heard anything like that about BOS, though ignoring all that these forks are amazingly good when it comes to performance!

I own a Bos Idylle FCV and had to send it in for warranty. It has now been at Bos headquarters for approximately two weeks and I have no clue how much longer I will have to wait; up to four weeks are acceptable in my opinion.

The worst thing about it is the uncertainty: I am getting flashbacks from all the horrifying stories about the customer service I have read and the state of their website really doesnt fill me with confidence.

I do not want to comment on the performance of my fork, as I 1: can only compare it to an old Boxxer and 2: had a broken one from the get go.

The BOS might be a slightly better fork, but is that really worth all of the risks?

Oh shit... yeah id be pretty worried about that. I hope you get them back soon bud.

My Idylle is much better than all of the Boxxer forks ive owned (from RC to WC) in my experience, what was wrong with your fork exactly?

Just to make it clear: I havent made a bad experience YET with BOS. Sometimes parts are faulty, that can happen to any manufacturer. And if the repairs don`t take much longer I am also satisfied with their customer service. THe problem is just the uncertainty.

The fork felt sticky in the parking lot but fine on track. Gave it to my local shop and they found the issue: there is a drilling in the air chamber for pressure equalization between the positive and negative chamber with some sharp edges. Every time the piston went over this hole, the seal got damaged.
flag stotty1594
Posted: Apr 2, 2017 at 6:46 Quote
Ah right it sounds like you might have just got a bad egg. I havent had a bad experience either so I cant say I have
flag Blablablup123
Posted: Apr 2, 2017 at 12:08 Quote
stotty1594 wrote:
Ah right it sounds like you might have just got a bad egg. I havent had a bad experience either so I cant say I have

Oops, just realized you didnt want to buy a BOS, just keep your old one. Guess half of what I said is irrelevant to you. My bad
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