Today, RockShox releases suspension offerings geared toward DH racing and riding at the highest level. New for the upcoming DH race and bike park season are a Boxxer and a Vivid Coil.
And, it looks like RockShox will not be selling these products on eBay.
A New RockShox Boxxer
RockShox’s philosophy was threefold. First, they knew that, above all else, the fork needs to be composed, recognizing the connection to overall speed. Secondly, the new Boxxer’s design focused on enabling the air spring to perform at the highest level possible.
Lastly, RockShox wanted the setup to be easy; no more counting clicks.
LinearXL Air Spring
Okay, let’s get it out of the way. You might have seen it teased on pro racers’ bikes, and you for sure saw it on the eBay post. The new Boxxer is sporting a LinearXL air chamber at the bottom of the fork lower. This is thanks to new lower legs and a completely new air spring that work together to provide ride characteristics reminiscent of a coil.
RockShox accomplishes this with the AirAnnex, which is the protuberance on the fork’s lower. And, as you have probably guessed, it increases the air volume of the lower leg. The increased air volume reduces the air spring’s progressivity and speed sensitivity, which are common in air fork lowers.
Basically, the result is a more linear fork. RockShox engineered the new Boxxer with a position-sensitive linear curve, meaning that the rate of increased force doesn’t change as the fork moves through the travel. This linear take creates a fork that is incredibly predictable. It is supple at the top of the travel, supportive in the mid-stroke, and ends with mechanical bottom-out support to protect against heavy impacts.
Apparently, the DebonAir+ air spring is also still an option, perhaps for those who don’t want such a linear fork. Looking at the spec sheet RockShox provided showing all the new Boxxer fork options, there are choices of LinearXL or DebonAir+ air springs.
Another factor keeping the Boxxer incredibly sensitive during travel is the breather holes on the stanchions. According to SRAM, “the “breather holes” equalize air pressure in the lower legs and the overall fork chassis. This helps further reduce the ramp-up effect caused by lower leg pressure at the end of fork travel.”
New Bushings and Seals
Helping to keep the Boxxer running supple and smooth is a redesign of the fork’s bushings, thanks to RockShox’s ButterWagonTech. This is a pattern of divots on the stanchions that carries Maxima oil to the bushings with every millimeter of travel.
Because lubricated bushings are happy bushings.
RockShox also worked with SKF to design wiper seals with less friction. Unlike typical wiper seals, those on the Boxxer do not deflect into the upper tube when the lower leg is pressurized. This deflection increases friction. Rather, the SKF design keeps dirt out without grabbing the stanchion, resulting in far less friction.
As with the previous Boxxer, this latest iteration also features Buttercups, reducing vibrations up to 20%.
New Charger 3.2 RC2 Damper and Easier Setup
Paired with the new LinearXL Air Spring is RockShox’s new Charger 3.2 RC2 damper. This new damper offering has increased damping (compared to Charger 3 or 3.1) to match the characteristics of the LinearXL air spring.
The new damper is silent, ensuring the only noise a rider experiences comes from the trail.
RockShox designed the new 3.2 RC2 damper with fully independent high-speed and low-speed compression and low-speed rebound. These dials now feature an incremental number range, along with dashes, for easier, quicker setup.
While not new to the platform, the new Boxxer carries over crown-height gradients to ensure everything is clamped with perfect alignment. Numbers indicating chassis torque and sequencing are also indicated.
New Boxxer Details
Two levels of the new Boxxer–Ultimate and Select–are available. Ultimate sees a completely new and simpler look, with “RockShox” on the outside of the fork lowers and “Boxxer” on the inside. There are also two color options: Electric Red or High Gloss Black.
The Boxxer Select is only offered in the High Gloss Black. It also features a slightly different damper with the Charger 3.2 RC. This damper features independent compression and rebound adjustments, but lacks the separate high- and low-speed adjustments.
RockShox also leaves the Boxxer Select “butterless” as it doesn’t utilize Buttercups or ButterWagonTech.
- Wheel size: 27.5 or 29
- Travel: 180mm, 190mm, 200mm
- Chassis: 38mm
- Offset (27.5): 44mm or 48mm
- Offset (29): 48mm or 52mm
- Price: $1,999 (Ultimate) / $1,499 (Select)
A New RockShox Vivid Coil
RockShox took the same approach as the Boxxer when designing their Vivid Coil. They sought the same three factors: composure, spring performance, and ease of setup.
And, again, they are focusing on a linear platform. For RockShox, composure is the result of a predictable ride, and predictability is linear. But, to protect against harsh bottom outs, they have paired this linear coil platform with Adjustable Bottom Out support.
Lastly, like the Boxxer, they wanted the setup to be easy. Quit counting clicks, thanks to clearly marked and incrementally numbered dials.
“But wait, the Vivid Coil isn’t new. In fact, these Vivid Coil dampers aren’t even new!” Yes, true, they’ve been around for a while. But this is RockShox’s new take on the Vivid Coil, engineering the shock to pair with the most recent Charger 3.2 damper on the new Boxxer.
So, old, but new, also.
New Damper
RockShox created the new RCT2 (and the other Vivid Coil dampers) to work lock-in-step with the new Boxxer 3.2 damper. Both are designed to be sensitive and supple off the top, matching mid-stroke support, and bottom-out resistance.
The new dampers feature a redesigned base valve that reduces internal floating piston (IFP) forces by 40%. RockShox says the result is the “most supple shock on the market–offering unbeatable traction without sacrificing support.”
RockShox offers five Vivid Coils: Vivid Coil, Coil Select, Coil Select+, Coil Ultimate DH, and the Vivid Coil Ultimate. Each has a slightly different variation of the RCT2 damper, but all have the same 40% IFP reduction and 20 clicks of rebound.
At the base level, the RockShox Vivid Coil features the R damper, indicating its rebound adjustability. While not externally adjustable, the main piston compression tunes are meant to match the Charger 3.2.
Stepping up to the Vivid Coil Select, the shock now features the RT damper. This damper offers rebound adjustment and a “threshold” (climb) lever, while compression tunes remain externally unadjustable. The Vivid Coil Select+ adds low-speed compression adjustments and RockShox’s Adjustable Bottom Out feature. Also on the Vivid Coil Select+ are the numbered adjustments on the LSC dial.
Stepping up to the Ultimate-level of the Vivid Coil means you get all the bells and whistles. Both high- and low-speed compression are externally adjustable and have numbered indicators. There is also the 20 clicks of rebound and Adjustable Bottom Out.
One distinction between the RockShox Vivid Coil Ultimate and Vivid Coil Ultimate DH is the lack of a climb switch on the latter. This is obvious, and we hope you don’t need to do any significant climbing on a DH bike.
Currently, RockShox has released only the prices for the Ultimate and Ultimate DH Vivid Coils. Both retail for $719.
See it all at sram.com.
