A Toulousain Mountain Biker Memory Test
If I were Manitou, DVO, CaneCreek, Formula, MRP, Öhlins, or any other top-end alternative mountain bike suspension brand, I would have met news of the pending re-re-return of BOS with a long sigh, a skyward glance, and a tall glass of tequila straight from the freezer. I mean, what else can you do, really? When the universe gives you a bitter pill, swallow it with something that will rinse out the taste.
It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in the game, how great your reputation for after-sale service and small parts support is, or how fantastic your product is in terms of performance or value. Heck, it doesn’t even matter how big your parent company is, sales demand is sales demand. One motivated pack of charlatans can f*ck it up for everyone who isn’t too big to fail. And, in this industry, in these days, the only premium brands with guaranteed original equipment (OE) and aftermarket sales are Foxzocchi and RockShox.
I had a front seat for BOS’ last adventure in mountain bike suspension. Activating the excellent reputations of a network of independent service centers, the presence of numerous active apologists (“Yes, service and support sucked in the past, but the suspension is so good!“), and the budgets of deal-hungry product managers keen for Factory-level flash on a Performance-level price structure.
After the fork bushing slop became too rattly to ride and the availability of rear shock service parts dried up (a week after BOS pulled out of the market) what do you think those bummed-out and third-degree-botched bicycle riders bought for replacements? In every event that I remember it was a Fox or a RockShox product.
But more than individual purchasing decisions is the way in which word of those choices spreads like wildfire. When an individual known to their ride group for spending their disposable monies trying all the interesting ‘other’ products is buying, even the most premium, mainstream products it is notable. Once bitten, Fox and RockShox were (are?) the obvious choices for the newly twice-shy.
Just to be absolutely certain you won’t have a straightforward time limping along your super-premium fork purchase when they vanish from the market again, BOS is using 39mm stanchions on the big mountain bicycle and eeb forks and 42mm stanchions on their Sur-Ron suspender. This round even the TWW (things with wheels) folks can have a taste of trying to source some motorcycle seals that might be the right size.
Anyway, we’re problem solvers here at MEATengines so here’s some thought-food for any of the brands listed in the opening line (and any OE-interested premium suspension brands that I forgot, sorry). Assuming some percentage of riders either weren’t around, weren’t tuned in, or were and now fail this mountain-biker memory test. When BOS shits the bed, again, and folks are left holding leaky paperweights and rattly high-end towel racks, why not roll them into your generous crash replacement policies? Do us all a favour by scraping some exorbitant slag so it’s not on the used market burning unfamiliar riders for another decade and, at the same time, provisioning riders willing to step out on the big two brands with a taste of an alternative suspension experience with great service and support.
For more shade, and BOS product photos if you really want to see some, check the BOS release & the comments on Pinkbike.
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