Highlights:
- New lowers & stanchions
- New LinearXL air spring
- Updated Charger 3.2 damper
Travel Options: 180, 190, & 200 mm
Wheel Size: 27.5’’ & 29’’
Available Offsets:
- 27.5’’: 44 & 48 mm
- 29’’: 48 & 52 mm
Stanchion Diameter: 38 mm
MSRP:
- Boxxer Select: $1,499 / €1,635 / £1,460
- Boxxer Ultimate: $1,099 / €2,180 / £1,945
Highlights:
- New RC2T damper
Versions Offered:
- Metric:
- 210 x 50 / 52.5 / 55 mm
- 230 x 57.5 / 60 / 62.5 / 65 mm
- 250 x 70 / 72.5 / 75 mm
- Metric Trunnion:
- 185 x 50 / 52.5 / 55 mm
- 205 x 57.5 / 60 / 62.5 / 65 mm
- 225 x 67.5 / 70 / 72.5 / 75 mm
MSRP:
- Vivid Coil Ultimate: $719 / €785 / £700
Intro
SRAM’s new DH brakes and groupset have new RockShox suspension to go with them. Here’s what they’ve cooked up.
Boxxer
The Boxxer has gotten a major overhaul, but interestingly, SRAM is calling it an update to the existing 38mm-stanchioned version (D1 generation) rather than an entirely new fork. The crowns are the only major part to carry over unchanged, but the new spring, damper, lowers, and stanchions all can be retrofitted to the prior-generation version.
The most visually obvious update is the new bump / bolt-on cover on the spring side of the lowers. There’s been much speculation about what could be going on in there, since RockShox’s athletes have been spotted on the new fork for a while now, and it turns out that the most straightforward, obvious answer is the right one.
The LinearXL Air Annex, as RockShox calls it, is there to add volume to the spring side portion of the lowers, so that there’s less of a ramp-up effect due to the air trapped in there as the fork compresses. RockShox’s take (which makes sense) is that there’s no need for a second one on the damper side, since the damper doesn’t seal against the bottom of the stanchion as the spring assembly does, so there’s far more volume over there to begin with.
As with the prior-generation Boxxer, there are also breather holes in the stanchions to help air migrate past the lower bushing and mitigate the resulting pressure buildup. What’s new, though, is that the Boxxer Ultimate also features a series of dimples on the lower part of the stanchions to trap oil and carry it up toward the bushings and seals where it’s needed. Those dimples (RockShox calls them “Butter Wagons”) are only inside the lowers, so there’s no risk of them allowing dirt and other gunk to bypass the seals.
Speaking of the seals, RockShox has also introduced new custom SKF seals, which they say reduce friction compared to their prior design, especially when the lower leg is pressurized, which tends to squeeze the seal against the stanchion.
The new lowers are also compatible with the same bolt-on fender used on the prior-gen Boxxer.
LinearXL Air Spring
RockShox’s big goal with the new Boxxer was to make the spring curve more linear for better midstroke support and composure. The Air Annex in the lowers helps there, but they’ve also tweaked the air spring to help, too.
The overall layout and design are very similar to the DebonAir+ spring used in the prior-gen Boxxer, but the chamber volumes and other details have been massaged to alter the spring curve and provide more support. The LinearXL spring still uses a conventional self-equalizing negative chamber with volume spacers in the positive chamber to adjust progression. It also uses a tube inside the stanchion to reduce the piston diameter and make the spring less progressive overall — the same concept used in the prior-gen Boxxer and in the Fox 38.
Charger 3.2 Damper
RockShox has also introduced an updated Charger 3.2 damper in the new Boxxer. It’s not a fundamentally different design from the Charger 3.1, as the incremental revision naming would suggest, but RockShox has given it a new, firmer compression tune to pair with the updated air spring. It’s possible to install the Charger 3.2 damper in the prior-gen Boxxer, but RockShox recommends pairing it with the updated Linear XL spring as well.
The top-tier Charger 3.2 RC2 damper featured in the Boxxer Ultimate features adjustable high- and low-speed compression and adjustable rebound; the Boxxer Select gets a pared-down Charger 3.2 RC damper with a single compression adjustment.
Vivid Coil
The Vivid Coil shock has also gotten an overhaul. Its features and adjustments mirror the prior-generation version, but RockShox has overhauled the damper to improve its sensitivity and offer new damping tunes to better match the added support of the Charger 3.2 damper in the Boxxer.
RockShox says that a new base valve design has allowed them to reduce IFP forces by 40% for smoother breakaway, and that the main piston compression tunes are meant to match the support of the Charger 3.2 damper (though, of course, how that manifests at the rear wheel depends heavily on the bike in question as well).
Vivid Coil Ultimate
- MSRP: $719 / €785 / £700
- Damper: RC2T
- Adjustments: Rebound, high-speed compression, low-speed compression, threshold (climb switch), hydraulic bottom-out
Vivid Coil Ultimate DH
- MSRP: $719 / €785 / £700
- Damper: RC2
- Adjustments: Rebound, high-speed compression, low-speed compression, hydraulic bottom-out
Vivid Coil Select+
- MSRP: OE Only
- Damper: RT
- Adjustments: Rebound, threshold (climb switch)
Vivid Coil Select
- MSRP: OE Only
- Damper: RT
- Adjustments: Rebound, threshold (climb switch)
Vivid Coil
- MSRP: OE Only
- Damper: R
- Adjustments: Rebound
Bottom Line (For Now)
The changes to the new Boxxer and Vivid Coil don’t necessarily sound massive on paper, but a few small changes can add up to a very big difference in suspension performance. We’ll be getting on the new suspension soon to find out, so stay tuned for more.