First Ride: RockShox Flight Attendant Trail Suspension System

Models

If it’s a RockShox product that says Ultimate after its name, you can bet it’s now part of the updated Flight Attendant family. The range now includes everything from XC to Enduro, just omitting DH bike products, although plenty of World Cup coverage seems to suggest they’re working on something in that space.

Pike Ultimate is a 35mm suspension fork offered with 120mm to 140mm of travel. Aimed at lighter, sportier trail bikes, the Pike will fit well with bikes like the Santa Cruz Tallboy or Specialized Epic EVO.
1960g, $1499

Super Deluxe Ultimate it’s the smaller volume and lighter of the two air shocks available, but don’t let it fool you into thinking it’s reserved for short-travel bikes. Before the Vivid came along, the Super Deluxe was spec’d for anything from trail bikes to DH race bikes, and with the new air tank options, that range is still just as wide.
560g, $949

Lyric Ultimate it also uses 35mm spokes, but is intended to encapsulate the all-mountain realm of wheels. With 140mm to 160mm of travel, it’s a great match for things like the Trek Fuel EX or Yeti SB140.
1624g, $1449

Vivid Ultimate is a more gravity-oriented air shock, with an adjustable hydraulic bottom, massive air volume and a new Touchdown shock that bypasses compression damping in the first 10% of travel.
780g, not available aftermarket.

Zeb Ultimate is a robust 38mm suspension fork that handles bikes in the range of 160-190mm of front travel. Designed for bikes like Specialized Enduro or YT Capra.
2450g, $1599

Vivid Coil Ultimate it’s built on the all-new Vivid Coil chassis and uses the same damping technology as the Vivid, but instead of an air spring. All the typical advantages of a reel are applied and the compromises can only be reduced with a hanging robot. Read on to get some thoughts on that front.
1130 g, Not available on the aftermarket.

Update

There are plenty of software updates that have gone through the Flight Attendant (FA) overhaul, and just like when using the system itself, you don’t have to think about them. The FA algorithm takes into account more data points, has a longer memory and uses it all to change the performance to better match your rider profile. This second system is called Adaptive Ride Dynamics and is basically the mind behind the system. You choose a bias adjustment – basically how firm/soft you want the system to adjust – and it collects data points that affect its performance, providing better fidelity to the changes it makes.

The key to this data aggregation is having a power meter paired with the system, which is different from the first FA version that only implemented a pedal cadence sensor. The performance data collected by the meter gives the algorithm a better idea of ​​where your given thresholds are, so it can distinguish between Low, Medium, High and Sprint outputs. You can also set these thresholds yourself in the app, but I chose to let the bot do the thinking for me.
That’s the last key detail: apart from pairing the system, you don’t really need to do anything else. You can adjust the mode settings and fine-tune the effort thresholds, or you can just ride and let the system do its thing. Since putting the fork and shock on the bike, I’ve barely opened the app and the settings have changed noticeably over time.

Note for people who already have the first generation Flight Attendant on their bikes: Updating the firmware will bring your system more in line with the latest version, but not completely. To increase the accuracy of your data collection and get the best algorithmic learning out of your system, you’ll want to have as many components connected as possible. A power meter and gearbox will help a lot.

Some frequently asked questions

SRAM has put together a very thorough FAQ package for the Flight Attendant update and I figured some of them were worth plugging right in here as I’m sure questions will come.

How much weight does the system add when comparing the same bike with or without flight attendants?
Including the fork, rear shock, pedal sensor/power meter, both SRAM AXS batteries and the weight difference between the 1- and 2-button left handlebar, the system adds around 220g for the XC components and 308g for the Trail/All Mtn/Enduro. components.

How do flight attendant bias settings and adaptive driving dynamics work together?
Think of bias as the first step to personalization: you can set bias to open, lock, or balance both positions. From there, Adaptive Ride Dynamics collects data about the rider’s effort and uses it to meet the rider where they are. For example, if you’re riding in the low-effort zone, you’re probably pedaling softly and the system will steer toward an open position. If you are exerting more effort and are in either the high effort or sprint zones, you will probably prefer it to be firmer and more towards the Lock position. Everything is based on the initial Bias setting, which will determine whether the system will trend in one direction or the other.

Driving impressions

Racing-wise, I’ve been impressed with the XC Flight Attendant (FA) system I’ve been running on my Epic for the past few months. I still have some skepticism as to whether your average non-racer will get enough use out of the system to warrant the cost, but that’s ultimately a consumer decision.

Maybe a loose answer, but my feelings are still clouded when it comes to the flight attendant mask. The Zeb / Vivid Coil combo I have on my frameworks feels like a lot of extra complication, cost and weight with minimal gains. The bike already rides well, especially in terms of maintaining the geometry, so the dynamic strength doesn’t plug a hole in the original design. This is a bike I never lock up—partly because the switch is hard to reach—but I was happy to feel the rear end firm up on consistent fire road climbs and paved trailhead commutes.

Technical climbs are where things start to feel a bit counter-intuitive, as these situations tend to be easier due to the bike’s ability to maintain traction, adapt to bumpy terrain and insulate the rider from any erratic movements. This means that the FA prefers to tighten up under these circumstances because you are reducing power and that reads as an effort where efficiency would be beneficial. There were a few moments where I wished the suspension would open up all the way, but that was fixed in pedal mode or Split mode. The shock still has some compliance in the pedal position, but the traction simply doesn’t match the Open.

My feelings are rosier about the system when I apply it to bikes with more of a 50/50 split between climbing and descending. Especially the Pike and Lyrik bikes as they can really reap the efficiency benefits while still pushing downhill. If you’re someone who likes to turn inside out on climbs, live in a place where those climbs reward efficiency over compliance, and still want the best possible descent performance on the descents, the FA Trail could be the ticket.

All those thoughts aside, at the end of the day the system still rests on a very capable Charger 3.1 muffler, so at least you can be sure that things run very well when the system is open. Mechatronics aside, I’m happy with how well the Zeb and Vivid Coil work on my bike and felt great pushing them on rough trails.

Speculative ideals

Part of me still thinks that the potential of a system like Flight Attendant can’t be fully realized with the wheels as well rounded as they currently are. The benefits of an active system that focuses on pedaling efficiency can really be used on a bike with limited efficiency in the pursuit of better descent. I wonder what could be achieved for example playing with FA and on a bike with very low anti-squat. This kind of concept is best tested in the real world, so if any company wants to play with this idea, let me know.

In a more tangible sense, I think the Flight Attendant can be a great pair with bikes like the Specialized Enduro, which still holds its own despite being a bit long. Most of the bike is perfectly up-to-date, but the slack seat tube angle and very active suspension may fall a bit short of current climbing expectations. An active lockout could easily alleviate this and keep the bike climbing without interfering with descents.