Product Launch and First Ride: RockShox MY27 Suspension

Today sees RockShox massively overhaul their trail and enduro suspension range with new versions of the Zeb and Lyrik forks and Super Deluxe and Vivid shocks. Between them, those cover a huge percentage of full suspension bikes so unless you are a full time XC or DH racer, these are potentially for you. There’s quite a lot to unpack between them all, but also a lot in common as the whole range has been designed around the same philosophy so let’s get into the details.

The visual change that almost everyone is going to immediately notice looking at one of the new forks or shocks is the move to what RockShox are calling their Linear XL air spring. All air sprung suspension ramps up through the travel with the air pressure increasing as it moves towards bottom out; that rise in pressure has some benefits, mainly in increased bottom out resistance but if there is too much ramp up, also some drawbacks. 

The simplest problem is that if there is too much change between the air pressure at rest and the pressure at bottom out, it can become almost impossible to use full travel (as many people riding long travel forks in recent years will have observed) but there are a couple of less obvious side effects that happen in parallel. The first is that a large change in how firm an air spring feels as it goes through the travel often creates a feeling that either the mid stroke is too soft, or the end is too firm, which in turn means that the feedback to the rider can be very different depending how deep in the travel they are when they hit an obstacle. That inconsistency isn’t something that can be tuned out with compression, as the problem isn’t the overall amount of resistance, it’s the fact it’s so different at different points in the travel.

The second less obvious issue is the effect that that ramp up has on rebound speeds. In systems with a lot of progressivity, it becomes essentially impossible for the rebound circuit to deliver a controlled return speed through the full range of motion as the forces pushing back on it are so much higher deep in the travel than they are at the start. No matter how good your damper is, if the forces on it aren't consistent, it can't deliver a consistent performance itself.

RockShox thinks they are on to a way to improve all of this, and that way revolves around their their new Linear XL air spring. Essentially by creating a much larger air chamber for the piston to move into, they’ve made a much more linear set of suspension components where the pressure will ramp up both more consistently and less overall as the fork or shock moves through its travel. With reduced changes in pressure and a flatter curve to the change, they are aiming to deliver a more consistent feel, easier use of travel and improved damper performance in both compression and rebound. To create that larger air chamber on the new forks, they’ve added a hollow chamber at the bottom of the air spring leg they are calling the Air Annex (as previously seen on the new Boxxer), while the shocks both use a larger can to achieve the same effect.

Zeb and Lyrik

Along with the new Linear XL spring, there are quite a few other changes, all aimed at improving consistency of performance and ease of tuning for the rider. Both forks also now gain an adjustable bottom out dial, which tunes the position of a sizable bottom out bumper. That bumper allows for fine control of the end of the travel, making sure that the more linear spring rates won’t result in a harsh bottom out. New breather holes in the stanchions give the air trapped in the lower leg somewhere to go as the forks move through their travel, equalising and helping to prevent any build up of pressure as a result.

The revised Charger 3.2 damper has been re-tuned around the Linear XL spring and allows for a wide tuning range, so that lighter and heavier riders should both be able to find a usable setting. Noise while riding has been almost eliminated and the numbering on the compression dials has been changed in a simple yet ingenious way. Instead of starting from full open and adjusting, the middle of the LSC and HSC ranges are now set as the 0 point, with + or - adjustments clearly labelled on each side. That should help make remembering settings much easier than trying to count clicks, then commit them to memory or a note. 

The stanchions also feature the slightly comically named ‘butterwagon’ dimples debuted on the Boxxer designed to pick up and move lubrication around internally and there are new seals and suspension oil trying to reduce friction further still. Both crowns and arches have been tweaked to be stiffer than the previous forks and new optional integrated fenders look to be of a truly usable size. Lyrik will be available in 140mm - 170mm travel and Zeb in 150mm - 180mm covering pretty much all trail, enduro and E-bikes.

Super Deluxe and Vivid

As with the forks both shocks see a move to Linear XL air springs. The Super Deluxe is very obviously visually changed, with a much larger main air can, while the Vivid which already had a large and linear air can has also had the oil flows to its reservoir further opened up to create more consistency. Both shocks feature a user adjustable Hydraulic Bottom Out to tune the last 20% of the travel and a large Jounce (bottom out) bumper in case you do take an extra heavy hit. 

Both allow their internal air volume to be adjusted by Bottomless tokens; in the case of the new Super Deluxe, a new design means that tuning is now done simply by moving an O-Ring inside the air can, no more adding and removing bands. There are High and Low Speed Compression adjusters available on both shocks featuring the new dial system for easy tuning and as with the forks, both again aim to have a wide enough range of rebound adjustment to cover the majority of riders and bikes within the stock tune.

Finally, both shocks have had the base valve of their IFP redesigned so that it now sits at a 40% lower pressure; that should reduce the threshold needed to get the shock moving and make for an even smoother ride. You’ll be able to get a Super Deluxe in a size to fit just about any bike, with it available all the way from a dinky 165mm x 45mm to 230mm x 65mm, while the Vivid covers from 210mm x 55mm all the way up to 250mm x 75mm. 

First Rides

We’re still in the early stages of riding on the new suspension but both Neil and Mark have already started to log time with it. Mark is just one day into riding a Lyrik and Super Deluxe on his Hightower, while Neil has had a Zeb and Vivid combo installed on a Santa Cruz Bullit for a couple of weeks now. 

Neil’s take: The obvious question we're going to be asked is does the new Linear XL air spring actually feel any different or better on trail and I think my answer is that yes, it does. I’m only about 100km into the new setup, so it’s still too early to give a definitive opinion but so far so good.

On most previous longer travel forks I’ve ridden over the last few years I would struggle to get near full travel with them without the first half of the travel having to be set up too soft. That usually meant I’d compromise and get the ride the way I liked it, but accept that the last 20mm essentially didn’t exist. On this new Zeb by contrast, I’ve immediately had access to the full stroke without having to adjust my setup. It’s a very composed fork to ride, impressively smooth through chatter and there’s very little noticeable ramp up in the stroke, yet I’m also having no issues with bottom out. It’s actually hard to tell how much travel you are using or have used (in a good way) as there are no sudden changes in feedback as you get deeper into the travel, just a gradual build.

As far as the damper goes, as a relatively lighter (72kg) and very much non-pro rider, on previous suspension from both of the bigger brands I’ve also often found things overdamped, sometimes ending up at full rebound speed and zero compression but on this Zeb I’m not at the limit of any of the adjusters which is a refreshing change. I’m currently set at slightly below the recommended air pressure for my weight at 115psi, with HSC at-1, LSC at 0,14 clicks of rebound and 3 of ABO. 

Mark floating into the woods on Big Baw

Neil: The Vivid is also working very well. It replaced a smaller volume air shock, and on the Bullit felt like it suited the bike better from the very first ride. Traction immediately improved, as did small bump performance and yet it’s as easy to pump and unweight the bike as it was on the previous shock. It’s super active to small inputs yet feels supportive when descending (it initiates so easily that the bike actually settles very slightly into the travel under its own weight); I’m currently at 215psi, which gives around 30% sag and like the Zeb that lets me use essentially all the travel with no bottom out issues. Also as with the Zeb, there’s no dramatic ramp up in the shock so everything feels very consistent throughout the travel; they seem like a good match for each other in ride feel. I do want to experiment with more pressure and less sag to see if I can use the incredible small bump response to let me have more support with minimal drawback, but that’s for the weeks ahead. 

Overall, it’s an impressive start from both units. The Bullit already had the best suspension performance of just about any bike I’d ridden in recent years but these feel like an upgrade at both ends.

UK Pricing 

Zeb Ultimate (available with Red or Black lowers): £1265.00

Lyrik Ultimate (available with Red or Black lowers): £1225.00

Vivid Air Ultimate: £780.00

Super Deluxe Ultimate: £680.00