Today, RockShox is launching a whole bouquet of new suspension options. And, while the new Zeb and Lyrik will (deservedly) get a lot of the fanfare, the new Super Deluxe and Vivid Air shocks deserve some love as well. I’ve spent the last few weeks riding the new Super Deluxe on the back of my Trek Fuel MX, along with the new Lyrik up front. That Lyrik is a really excellent fork, and the Super Deluxe has been a great compliment to it. So what’s new with the Super Deluxe, and how does it ride?

RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate Overview

• Damper: RC2 with optional Adjustable Bottom Out
• Weight (205x60 mm, no hardware) : 569 g 
• MSRP: $699

The New RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate

Just like RockShox’s new forks, the big story here is LinearXL. RockShox made a DebonAir LinearXL air can kit for the previous generation Super Deluxe, and, anecdotally, over the past couple of years, I’ve seen it on a lot of RockShox employee’s bikes, as well as other in-the-know industry folks. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it’s now the norm on the new version.

Just like on the forks, it’s meant to provide a more linear, tuneable air spring experience. And now it’s adjusted with a volume band system, instead of traditional spacers. That new air spring also gets a higher max pressure (400 PSI) as well as longer service intervals (100 instead of 50 hours).

The Super Deluxe’s RC2 damper sees even more updates. Earlier this spring, the Vivid Coil debuted a new base valve design that RockShox says drops IFP (Internal Floating Piston) forces by 40 percent. That should make it easier for the shock to break into its travel and reduce friction. There’s also a selection of new main piston tunes that RockShox says are designed to match the mid stroke support of the new Lyrik. Unsurprisingly, the compression knobs now have numbers in addition to the tick marks to make deciphering your setup easier.

Finally, in the last 20 percent of the stroke, there’s RockShox’s familiar hydraulic bottom out, now renamed to Adjustable Bottom Out to match the naming convention on the forks. This allows you to externally adjust oil flow at the end of the stroke to prevent harsh bottom outs. There’s also a new jounce bumper to further cushion the blow. It features the same removable 3-millimeter Allen rebound knob that can also be used to adjust the bottom out and high speed compression.

And, yeah, the Super Deluxe also has a tweaked visual language. It’s more angular, with sharper edges and more industrial looking dials. It also gets the same “baked on” graphics as the new forks.

You can get the new Super Deluxe in the same range of damper tunes as the previous version to match your frame, but the lockout tune is not changeable aftermarket. Additionally, you can get it with or without the Adjustable Bottom Out control.

RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate Setup

I’ve been running a previous generation RockShox Vivid on the Trek Fuel MX, set in the more progressive leverage position. I’ve found that the Fuel has a really different rear suspension feel between the MX and LX variants. The LX feels much more supple and traction heavy, while the MX has a lot more platform and pop. I initially ran the MX with the smaller volume Fox Float X and then swapped to the Vivid in an attempt to get a more supple, traction-forward feel. Even with that change, I still felt like the bike was a little more harsh and supportive than I wanted for an all-round trail bike. It was perfect for jumps and flow trails, but felt like more of a handful on fast, chunky descents.

I was content, but not stoked on the Fuel’s rear shock performance before I swapped the Super Deluxe Ultimate on. I honestly wasn’t expecting much. Replacing a 130-gram-heavier, gravity-focused shock with a lighter, more trail-focused shock with the exact same tune doesn’t typically do great things for its descending performance. But I pumped it up to 223 PSI to get 30 percent sag, and turned the rebound down to two clicks from closed to match my typical preferences, and started riding.

Riding the New RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate

My Vivid is fairly fresh, and definitely doesn’t need a service but, from the first hundred yards of descent, the new Super Deluxe was notably suppler and smoother. My feelings about this shock, on this bike, are a little hyperbolic. The rear suspension is much more active off the top and quiets down the trail significantly better while still providing excellent support to pump and jump off of.

Previously, the Fuel MX generated a lot of little feedback through my feet and ankles. Nothing big and bad, and I’ve ridden plenty of good bikes that felt similar (the Reeb Steezl comes to mind, as well as the Specialized Stumpjumper without Genie), but I was very aware of every rock, root, and braking bump under my feet. And with the Super Deluxe I am much less aware of those impacts. Not necessarily in the “dull the trail” way that squishy longer travel bikes have, but more in a “take the edge off” manner. I think a lot of that is coming in the first 30 or so percent of the stroke. This shock moves very easily in that zone, and it feels like it’s rounding off the square edges of everything, which, in turn, is translated to less chain slap, more traction, and better foot security on the pedals.

Just like the Lyrik, I worried that sensation would translate to a wallowy or unsupported feel on jumps and, just like the Lyrik, those fears were unfounded. The Fuel MX still has that easy-to-access platform to jump off of that made me fall in love with it to begin with, it’s just that all the impact and feedback lower than that threshold feel less imminent and problematic. It lets me push the Fuel deeper into that mini-enduro-bike territory, without dulling its playful nature.

Anyhow, that’s a lot of words to say that, so far, this is an excellent trail bike shock and I’m a big fan. All of that comes with the caveat that most of my testing time has been spent on fairly soft and wet trails with good support, and nowhere near the carnage of chunder and braking bumps that will come mid-summer. So I’m excited to ride this shock in a wider range of conditions and check back.

My Super Deluxe didn’t come with Adjustable Bottom Out, and I didn’t find myself missing it. The Fuel MX has a nice smooth ramp through the end of the travel, and I haven’t found a harsh bottom out situation yet.

For Now

RockShox has done an impressive job with this suspension lineup overhaul. The new Super Deluxe Ultimate is quite smooth and supple through chunder and smaller impacts, while still delivering solid mid-stroke support. I think it will be a great match for most modern trail bikes, and I’m excited to see it start to be specced on complete builds.

Learn more: RockShox