Humans love convenience. Whether it's escalators, robot vacuum cleaners or automatic boot lids, people have been using electricity to make their lives easier since the beginning of electrification in 1880.
The wave of electric innovation is now also spilling over into the MTB industry. E-mountain bikes are eliminating sweaty uphills, wireless gears ensure wireless gear changes and smart suspension systems are replacing the lockout lever.
Electronic suspension elements from Fox and Rockshox in comparison
The electronic suspension elements in particular have recently attracted the attention of the entire MTB industry. Until now, the smart Fox Live Valve suspension the leader in this category.
Since 2018, the system has replaced the mechanical lockout by automatically opening and closing the platform on the suspension fork and shock. The effect: the bike reacts sensitively to bumps, which maximises safety and comfort. At the same time, pedalling becomes more efficient as the suspension hardens when cranking.
Live Valve has always impressed us in practice. But its leading position is shaky. Because Rockshox is launching an attack on Fox's supremacy - with its own Flight Attendant electric landing gearwhich is now also known as Upgrade kit for retrofitting is available. The perfect occasion for us to ask the two opponents to a duel.
Fox Live Valve MTB suspension
The latest Fox Live Valve Update 1.5 is currently only available on Giant bikes. The Trance Advanced Pro 1 in this duel has 126 mm front and 127 mm rear suspension travel, a Shimano XT drivetrain, lightweight carbon wheels and weighs 13.53 kilos (without pedals). The price: 6499 euros.
Rockshox Flight Attendant MTB suspension
The Rockshox Flight Attendant is available ex works from Trek, Specialised, YT and Canyon. In our duel, the Canyon Neuron competes for the Rockshox corner. The bike with 141 mm travel at the front and 137 mm at the rear weighs 13.3 kilos (without pedals) with Sram X0 equipment and carbon wheels from DT Swiss and costs € 7999.
You can download the complete comparison test of the two electronic MTB suspensions from Fox and Rockshox from BIKE 2/2022 as a PDF below the article. The test report costs 2.99 euros.
Why not free of charge? Because quality journalism has a price. In return, we guarantee independence and objectivity. This applies in particular to the tests in BIKE. We don't pay for them, but the opposite is the case: we charge for them, namely tens of thousands of euros every year.
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Max Fuchs
Editor
