Rockshox Flight Attendant Trail 2025: New trail suspension with automatic control
Jan Timmermann
· 20.06.2024
Trail, all-mountain and enduro bikes were the first area of application for the Rockshox Flight Attendant System. Since the beginning the suspension brand of component giant Sram has strongly advanced the development of radio-controlled suspension and has become a pioneer in electronic suspension components. After Rockshox presented the latest generation of Flight Attendant forks and dampers for cross-country bikes back in March, now, three months later, the company is also returning to the trail sector. From now on, the suspension elements of the Pike, Lyrik, ZEB, Vivid and Vivid Coil series will also benefit from the smart control system. Here are all the details about the new Rockshox Flight Attendant Trail system.
What can the new generation Rockshox Flight Attendant Trail do?
The basic principle of the Flight Attendant Trail System is no different from the concept already presented for XC bikes. Embedded in the Sram AXS ecosystem, a smart algorithm processes the information from the rear derailleur and pedalling sensor. Based on this data and its own acceleration sensors, the Flight Attendant System makes adjustments to the suspension settings within fractions of a second. Based on a wireless communication protocol, the system recognises, for example, how much energy is flowing into the pedalling movement, whether the rider is rolling along comfortably or sprinting. Depending on the riding situation, the fork and damper can then decide independently how efficient or comfortable the suspension settings should be.
The Flight Attendant System decides between three different damping modes completely automatically. The lock position locks the suspension elements and ensures maximum efficiency. In the pedal position, the main focus is on optimising traction. In the Open position, the Smart suspension opens up to absorb rough impacts. The transitions between the modes are designed to be particularly smooth, yet the electronics react much faster than a human ever could. The fact that the pilot no longer has to concentrate on whether they have selected the correct suspension setting means that Flight Attendant should lead to less distraction and more speed.
The trail suspension that learns with you
The new Rockshox Flight Attendant suspension elements for trail, all-mountain and enduro riding can of course also be customised. Using the bias adjust function, riders can influence in five steps how often the system switches to the corresponding modes or whether an efficient or a comfortable setup should be favoured. The rider can intervene at any time via a connected AXS pod, which can be used to switch modes manually.
Using the Adaptive Ride Dynamics function, Rockshox Flight Attendant Trail adapts its adjustment behaviour to the individual rider over time. An intelligent algorithm recognises the rider's current performance level and groups them into four zones from Low to Medium, High and Sprint. The higher the performance level, the more likely an efficient suspension setting is favoured. The lower the level, the more likely a comfortable setting is favoured. All threshold values can be customised in the Sram AXS app. Among other things, button assignments can also be customised and the battery charge status can be checked.
Rockshox Flight Attendant Trail on Charger 3.1 base
The new Rockshox forks in the Flight Attendant Trail series are based on the 2025 models from the Pike, Lyrik and ZEB series that were presented last week. These feature a revised damping cartridge called Charger 3.1, which, in conjunction with the Flight Attendant system, is designed to be particularly powerful to take on demanding trails at full speed. The Flight Attendant versions of the Rockshox SuperDeluxe and Vivid Coil shocks are also based on the innovations of the 2025 products. The electronic system has also found its way into the Vivid series with air spring, which was already presented earlier. However, both the air and steel spring versions of the Rockshox Vivid Ultimate Flight Attendant are not available for retail sale, but are reserved for bike manufacturers.
Rockshox Flight Attendant Trail 2025: models and prices
The forks and dampers of the Flight Attendant series are always based on the respective top models of the suspension elements with the Ultimate labelling. The electronic components are now available for retrofitting, but the choice of suspension travel for the suspension forks is limited to one stroke per series. The Rockshox Flight Attendant Trail forks will only be available for 29-inch front wheels. On its website, Rockshox provides recommendations on the compatibility of certain bike models with the new wireless forks and shocks. The pioneers are the bikes from Specialized, Santa Cruz, Trek and Yeti. In the case of E-MTBs, compatibility may even depend on the frame size. As you would expect, the prices for the latest electric technology from Rockshox are pretty steep. Fork-specific control modules and a new Flight Attendant-specific Charger 3.1 damper are available separately to upgrade existing models.
Rockshox Pike Ultimate Flight Attendant
- Suspension travel: 140 mm
- Weight: 1960 g
- Price: 1699 Euro
Rockshox Lyrik Ultimate Flight Attendant
- Suspension travel: 160 mm
- Weight: 2100 g
- Price: 1749 Euro
Rockshox ZEB Ultimate Flight Attendant
- Suspension travel: 170 mm
- Weight: 2450 g
- Price: 1799 Euro
Rockshox SuperDeluxe Ultimate Flight Attendant
- Weight: 560 g
- Price: 1049 Euro
Rockshox Vivid Ultimate Flight Attendant
- Weight: 780 g
- Price: Not available in retail stores
Rockshox Vivid Coil Ultimate Flight Attendant
- Weight: 960 g
- Price: Not available in retail stores
Jan Timmermann
Editor
