A slew of unreleased RockShox BlackBox Enduro Flight Attendant enduro suspension parts popped up over the weekend, kitting out Zeb forks, Tremendous Deluxe Coil shocks, and now an all-new Vivid Coil & Vivid Air shocks with automated damping controls.
It actually appears like Flight Attendant goes full velocity forward & full-enduro for gravity racing with dozens of riders on a number of totally different manufacturers of bikes sporting the brand new automated management system over the weekend on the all-new Polish World Cup spherical of the UCI MTB gravity World Collection in Bielsko-Biała…
RockShox prototype auto Flight Attendant enduro suspension
RockShox’s automated wi-fi digital compression damping controls first debuted on mid-travel path to all-mountain bikes two and a half years in the past. Bringing with it the promise of suspension that was at all times fully-open for the descents, delivered a steady platform if you had been pedaling, and locked out robotically for the steep climbs. To anybody who has embraced the trendy 3-position distant lockout for its capability to setup your bike tremendous plush with out shedding pedaling effectivity, Flight Attendant guarantees to ship all of the efficiency, with none want to consider it. And no extra forgetting to unlock your suspension on the descents.
However on the time it was restricted to bikes principally within the 125-150mm of rear wheel journey. That was as a result of the one suitable rear shock out there was the Tremendous Deluxe Final Flight Attendant air shock. Despite the fact that you would formally pair it with a Lyrik, Pike, or Zeb fork, which covers a reasonably broad 120-190mm journey vary. RockShox defined on the time that the algorithms and software program on the coronary heart of Flight Attendant had been restricted to a center of the path sort of using.
Now, just some weeks in the past Flight Attendant acquired an XC replace with lighter, shorter journey SID forks & shocks. And with it, particular new algorithms optimized for cross-country racing. Plus, new connectivity with the most recent AXS T-type derailleurs, Reverb AXS dropper posts, and energy meters for smarter automated suspension management.
And now it appears like a gravity racer tune is fairly near prepared, as properly…
RockShox Vivid Air Final Flight Attendant
This latest of latest right here, is the RockShox Vivid Final Flight Attendant air shock we noticed on a number of bikes.
Designed for gravity racing – Enduro, to Downhill & eMTB – RockShox launched the giant quantity air shock final summer season. Whereas it simply appears like an enormous air can, RockShox developed the Vivid for extra coil-like linear DebonAir efficiency, at a lighter weight.
Final yr, RockShox was coy about whether or not the large air shock would get automated management. However now identical to the Tremendous Deluxe household, RockShox is giving the Vivid’s piggyback reservoir a Flight Attendant improve.
RockShox Tremendous Deluxe Coil or All-new Vivid Coil with Flight Attendant?
We really already noticed a BlackBox Tremendous Deluxe Coil Final Flight Attendant prototype on the Tweed Valley EWS two summers in the past on Charles Murray’s S-Works Enduro race bike. However this YT Capra of Kasper Woolley has what regarded like the identical coil shock at first, however… it’s really labeled as a Vivid Coil. Is there among the similar position-sensitive TouchDown damper tech inside just like the Vivid Air?
Apparently, Murray gained this weekend’s Bielsko-Biała race. However he raced on the shorter journey S-Works Stumpjumper EVO fitted with a Lyrik fork and Tremendous Deluxe air shock, each with handbook lockouts.
At the least one member of his Specialised Manufacturing facility crew although, was racing the identical Stumpjumper EVO with this new Tremendous Deluxe or is it Vivid Coil (?) Flight Attendant shock matched to a Lyrik Final Flight Attendant fork.
The Flight Attendant management module appears prefer it could possibly be precisely the identical because the one on the Tremendous Deluxe Final air shock. Even right down to the silver adapter that hangs it off of the piggyback reservoir. And we count on the identical operate, simply in all probability tuned for greater journey and a extra linear really feel.
However that Vivid Final label appears an excessive amount of like a manufacturing merchandise to be a mistake. Proper?
RockShox Zeb Final Flight Attendant
OK technically, the Zeb Final Flight Attendant fork was out there from Day 1 of Flight Attendant’s lifetime. So this isn’t completely new. However we actually didn’t see that many bikes benefiting from this 38mm stanchioned fork’s 150-190mm journey vary.
That’s as a result of most full enduro bikes need a greater air quantity than the Tremendous Deluxe Air shock for giant journey. However not everybody wanted extra. YT provides the Capra in an Uncaged 12 Flight Attendant construct with a 170mm Zeb matched to 165mm of rear journey on this setup.
And that’s precisely what among the YT Mob crew riders are nonetheless racing.
However among the mobsters are on the Flight Attendant coil now, as properly.
Now that Tremendous Deluxe Coil & Vivid Air are about to get Flight Attendant, we count on to see extra of the even longer journey Zeb’s getting automated management.
Which bikes will provide it?
We’ve got no official phrase from SRAM/RockShox about when these two new Flight Attendant-equipped enduro shocks will hit the market. However identical to when earlier MTB disciplines acquired Flight Attendant, that is one thing you’ll see as OEM-only at first. Bear in mind, it’s extra than simply swapping in a management module on the tip of your fork and shock.
The Flight Attendant system wants at the very least a fork, shock & crank sensor. And the most recent model syncs with AXS derailleur, dropper seatpost & energy meter cranksets now for even smoother operation.
To this point, we’ve noticed enduro bikes from Forbidden, Specialised, Trek, and YT with the brand new Flight Attendant gravity enduro setup. So it’s secure to say at the very least these three will provide Flight Attendant-enabled enduro bikes when RockShox formally rolls out the choice on their Tremendous Deluxe Coil & RockShox Vivid Air shocks.
There’s not but an official timeline from SRAM. However I might count on to listen to a few midsummer launch round Eurobike. With the Flight Attendant enduro setup out there on MY25 bikes that could possibly be first out there late this yr.
It’s definitely all around the racing scene now. And not being hidden underneath the quilt of BlackBox stickers.
