First Ride: RockShox Flight Attendants Trail Suspension System

mODELS

If it’s a RockShox product that says Ultimate after the name, you’ll know for sure that it’s now part of the updated Flight Attendant family. The range now includes everything from XC to Enduro, leaving only DH bike products aside, although a lot of World Cup coverage seems to indicate that they are working on something in that space.

Ultimate Pike is the 35mm chassis fork, offered in 120mm to 140mm travel. Geared towards lighter, sportier bikes, the Pike will fit in with bikes like the Santa Cruz Tallboy or the Specialized Epic EVO.
1960g, $1,499

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

Lyric Ultimate it also uses 35mm chainstays, but aims to encapsulate the all-mountain bike realm. With 140mm to 160mm of travel, it will pair nicely with things like the Trek Fuel EX or Yeti SB140.
1624g, $1,449

Vivid Ultimate is the most gravity-oriented air shock, with adjustable hydraulic bottom, massive air volume and the new Touchdown shock that bypasses compression damping in the first 10% of stroke.
780g, Not available in the market.

Zeb Ultimate is the stout 38mm chassis fork, handling bikes in the 160-190mm range of front travel. Intended for bikes like Specialized Enduro or YT Capra.
2450g, $1599

Vivid Coil Ultimate it’s built around the all-new Vivid Coil chassis, using the same damping technologies found in the Vivid, but with a coil spring instead of air. All the typical coil benefits apply, and the compromises can simply be reduced with the help of the suspension robot. Read on to get some thoughts on this.
1130g, Not available in the market.

Updates

There are a number of software updates that have gone into repairing the Flight Attendant (FA) and just like using the system itself, you don’t really have to think about them. The FA algorithm takes into account more data points, has a longer memory and uses all of this to change its performance to better match your rider profile. The name given to this latest system is Adaptive Ride Dynamics, and it is mainly the brains behind the system. You choose your bias adjustment – basically how hard/soft you want the system to tilt – and it collects data points that affect its performance, giving better fidelity to the changes it makes.

Key to this data collection is the pairing of a power meter to the system, which differs from the first version of the FA that only implemented a pedal cadence sensor. The power data collected by the meter gives the algorithm a better understanding of where your given thresholds are, so it can differentiate between low, medium, high and Sprint scores. You can also set those thresholds yourself in the app, but I chose to let the bot think for me.
That’s the final key detail here: beyond pairing the system, you don’t actually need to do anything else. You can tweak the mod settings and fine-tune the effort thresholds, or you can just ride and let the system do its thing. I’ve barely opened the app since I put the fork and shock on the bike, and the settings have changed noticeably over time.

A note to people who already have the first generation Flight Attendant on their bikes: updating your firmware will make your system more compatible with the more modern version, but not completely. To increase the fidelity of data collection and get the best algorithmic learning from the system, you’ll want to have as many of the components connected as possible. Namely, the power meter and transmission shift will help a lot.

Some FAQs

SRAM put together a very comprehensive FAQ package for the Flight Attendant update, and I figured some of them were worth linking directly here, as I’m sure questions will come up.

Comparing the same bike with or without handlebars, how much weight does the system add?
Including the fork, rear shock, pedal sensor/power meters, both SRAM AXS batteries and the weight difference between a 1- and 2-button left-hand controller, the system adds about 220g for the XC components and 308g for the Trail/All Mtn/Enduro components.

How do Flight Attendant Bias and Adaptive Cruise Dynamics work together?
Think of the bias as the first step to customization: you can set the bias to lean toward Open, Block, or a balance of the two positions. From there, Adaptive Ride Dynamics collects rider effort data and uses it to meet the rider where they are on that ride. For example, if you are riding in the Low Effort Zone, you are probably pedaling slowly and the system will lean towards the open position. If you are putting in more effort and are in the High Effort or Sprint Zones, you will likely prefer it to be stronger and lean more towards the Lock position. All of this is based on the initial Bias setting, which will determine whether the system will be biased one way or the other.

Ride Impressions

With racing in mind, I was not at all impressed with the XC Flight Attendant (FA) system I’ve been using on my Epic for the past few months. I still have some skepticism as to whether your average runner will benefit from the system enough to warrant the cost, but ultimately that’s a decision for the consumer.

Maybe a noncommittal answer, but when it comes to the flight attendant footprint mask, my feelings are even more clouded. The Zeb / Vivid Coil combo I have in my Frameworks feels like a lot of extra complication, cost and weight for minimal gains at best. The bike already climbs well, especially from a geometry retention perspective, so dynamic stability isn’t punching a hole in the original design. This is a bike I never shut off – partly because the switch is inconvenient to reach – but I was happy to feel the solid rear end on constant fire road climbs and paved rides to the top of the the path.

Technical climbs are where things start to seem a bit counter-intuitive, as those situations tend to be made easier by the bike’s ability to maintain traction, adapt to bumpy terrain and insulate the rider from any erratic movement. That said, the FA prefers to stiffen in those circumstances, as you’re lowering the power and it reads as an effort where efficiency would be beneficial. There were a few moments when I wanted the suspension to just fully open, but it settled into pedal mode or a split state. The shock still has some wobble in the pedal position, but the pull just doesn’t compare to the open.

My feelings are higher about the system when applied to bikes with a more 50/50 split between uphill and downhill. Especially the Pike and Lyrik bikes, as they can really reap the efficiency gains while continuing to descend. If you’re someone who likes to turn inside out on climbs, live in a place where these climbs reward efficiency over compliance, and still want the best possible downhill performance, the FA Trail could be the ticket.

All these thoughts aside, at the end of the day the system still relies on the very capable Charger 3.1 damper, so at least you can be sure that things are running very well when the system is open. Mechatronics aside, I’m just happy with how well the Zeb and Vivid coilovers work on my bike, and I’ve felt good pushing it on dim trails.

Speculative ideals

Part of me still thinks that the potential of a system like Flight Attendant can’t be fully realized with bikes as good as they currently are. The benefits of an active system that leans towards pedaling efficiency can really be reaped on a bike with compromised efficiency in search of better descent. I wonder what can be achieved when playing with FA and a bike with very low anti-squat, for example. This kind of concept is best tested in the real world, so if any company wants to play with the idea, hit me up.

In a more tangible sense, I think the Flight Attendant could be a great pairing with bikes like the Specialized Enduro, which still holds its own despite being a bit long in the tooth. Much of that bike is completely current, but the slacker seat tube angle and very active suspension may be a little short of current climbing expectations. An active lockout can easily alleviate this and keep the bike lifted on climbs without getting in the way on descents.