RockShox Flight Attendant Review: Long-Term Test of Game-Changing XC Suspension

Electronically controlled suspension has always been a controversial topic, but RockShox is on a mission to lessen the controversy and heighten our faith in the system. RockShox first introduced Flight Attendant as a trail focused system followed by cross country and enduro focused version. RockShox  cross-country-focused Flight Attendant-equipped suspension introduced new features claiming to have made it more effective at reading, anticipating and actively adapting to your riding style with each ride.

WHAT ARE THE UPDATES?
The primary update that RockShox has made is called Adaptive Ride Dynamics. They describe this as a tool that enables the algorithm to learn how its user rides to continuously personalize the suspension as it’s being used. This data tells the Flight Attendant system what mode to be in based on your pedaling output. Suspension modes are matched to what RockShox calls “effort zones.”

These zones are based on wattage output measured by the power meter, as well as data received from other AXS-based components, such as Transmission drivetrains and Reverb dropper posts. RockShox is tight-lipped about exactly what data is received from the AXS components and how it is used, but one could speculate that the Flight Attendant could stiffen when in lower gears and soften when in higher ones, or perhaps stiffen when the dropper is up and soften when it is down. The possibilities are numerous, but it’s not exactly clear what is going on other than power data received from the power meter; the rest is vague.

According to RockShox, the Flight Attendant compiles data from previous rides to precisely personalize effort zones where it then changes the compression settings to maximize said efforts. In other words, it creates your FTP (functional threshold power) based on averages and brackets the zones around it.
The effort zones look like this:

Sprint zone: As you might imagine, this zone is activated when the rider sprints for any reason, be it when going all out at the finish line or when trying to grab that KOM at the top of a climb. This zone prioritizes maximum efficiency, which basically means it locks out the suspension so there is no loss of power going through the fork or shock.
High-effort zone: Much like the sprint zone, this zone is activated when it senses the rider is pushing particularly hard but isn’t quite reaching that out-of-the-saddle effort. At this point, the suspension is put into a state that emphasizes efficiency without fully locking out the suspension, which means the rider isn’t losing power through the suspension but is still comfortable over small bumps.
Medium-effort zone: This zone activates when it senses that the rider isn’t pushing as hard and has maybe settled into a rhythm where they still might need that efficiency, but comfort may be of more importance.
Low-effort zone: This is the zone that the suspension will most likely be in when the rider reaches a downhill section where the suspension needs to be more open and comfort reigns over pedal efficiency.

HOW ADJUSTABLE IS IT?
The system is adjustable via the buttons on top of the right fork leg, but even more options are available in the app, which is well thought out and easy to navigate. It allows you to tune the system however you see fit and monitor battery levels. We tinkered with Adaptive Ride Dynamics effort zones by manually adjusting the power levels for each, but found that the auto-detect mode worked quite well. RockShox says that most of its athletes use the auto-detect mode as well.

Some riders thought they could feel the system adapt to their power output in the auto mode, while others didn’t feel a significant difference. It’s subtle and takes seven rides for it to adapt. And, it needs to go to sleep to save that data. Since it takes an average of seven rides, doing a few easy recovery rides will not mess up the algorithm.

We played with the bias adjustment a lot, and on a bike like the Specialized Epic, we preferred the +2 bias to maximize pedaling efforts. More trail-focused riders or bikes would probably benefit from the lower settings.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO RUN THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT?
The minimum requirement for the Flight Attendant functionality is the fork, shock and pedaling SRAM-branded sensor (power meter or pedal sensor); other power meters are not compatible. Including a two-button AXS controller will enable you to override the automatic mode and put it into any one of the three modes: Open, Pedal or Lock. These default override modes can be chosen in the app. You can’t scroll through the modes, though; only one can be chosen to become active when the button is pressed.

CAN YOU PUT IT ON ANY BIKE?
No. The new Flight Attendant is available and approved by RockShox for Canyon’s Lux Trail and Lux World Cup, Mondraker’s F-Podium, Orbea’s Oiz and Oiz TR, Pivot’s Mach 4 SL V3, Santa Cruz’s Blur and Blur TR, and Specialized’s Epic 8 EVO. There are bikes missing from this list, like the Yeti ASR, because it is not compatible with every size, and the list is growing every day.

HOW MUCH DOES IT WEIGH?
RockShox claims that the Flight Attendant system weighs 220 grams more than the equivalent manually locked-out suspension system, but it’s likely less than that if you consider the fact that most elite-level racers already race with a power meter, and the wireless Flight Attendant system does away with cables.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
Flight Attendant costs about $1900 more on most complete bike builds than the manual lockout equivalent. If you wanted to upgrade a bike, you’d be looking at $1,449 for a SID fork, $849 for the SIDlux shock, and $1129 for an XX1 Eagle power-meter crank.

HOW MUCH FASTER IS IT?
RockShox says that the Flight Attendant is 1.8 percent faster than a manually activated suspension system. This equals a 96-second advantage over a 90-minute XC race. That doesn’t sound like a lot until you think about the wins and podiums you missed by mere seconds.

WHAT ARE THE DRAWBACKS?
It’s still a slow and loud system. You can hear the fork and shock going through the different modes with a buzzing sound. You get used to it, but it’s a little bit annoying. The system is a little bit slow, too. You can hear and see the mode choices on the fork, and it takes a few seconds sometimes for it to respond. We chose Lockout as our override mode, because there were times it wouldn’t lock out fast enough if we suddenly jumped out of the saddle and sprinted.

With three more batteries added to a bike, it’s just one more thing to think about. RockShox says you can get about 25 hours of ride time from the suspension batteries, and that seemed about right; although, the fork battery seemed to be a bit short of that typically, and that makes sense since that’s where the system’s “brain” is.

HOW DOES IT COMPARE TO THE PREVIOUS VERSION?
We have spent a lot of time on the old and new Flight Attendant systems, and the way they behave on the trail is in some ways different and in some ways the same. The biggest difference is that the old system only knew when you were pedaling, not how hard. So, it would stiffen when you pedal and open when you hit a bump.

RockShox’s latest iteration senses how hard you are pedaling and scrolls automatically through the three modes to match those efforts. It seems somewhat simple, but it’s incredibly effective. The harder you pedal, the stiffer the suspension gets, which in a cross-country race scenario is exactly what you need. And, in those times you are pedaling softer or coasting, it opens up and becomes plush right on cue. What happens when you hit a bump while pedaling hard in locked mode? You feel the initial impact to some degree, but it automatically opens and becomes plush by the time the bump reaches the rear tire.

WHAT DO WE REALLY THINK?
After testing the Flight Attendant on the Specialized Epic 8, it’s clear why they ditched the Brain suspension system in favor of electronics; it’s a far smarter, faster and more effective system. You get to turn your brain off and just pedal—exactly what you need, particularly late in a race and pushing hard. After spending a lot of time with the latest Flight Attendant, we tend to believe RockShox’s claims of being 1.8 percent faster. Is it worth the extra weight and cost for the time saved? For the serious racer, we think it’s absolutely worth it.