2023 saw Nino Schurter’s XC weapon of choice – the Scott Spark – run some unique upgrades, in the form of a then prototype RockShox SIDLuxe Flight Attendant.
The Swiss XC legend made headlines when he rode his Flight Attendant-equipped Spark RC at the Lenzerheide World Cup 2023, breaking the record for all-time World Cup wins with his 34th victory.
1,325 suspension changes
RockShox points out that the Flight Attendant automatic electronic suspension system controlling Schuter’s suspension made 1,325 suspension changes in just under 90 minutes of World Cup winning racing.
Whilst the effort, technique, and passion of cross-country racing is the same as it was when Schuter won his first World Cup, the tech has taken more than one giant leap.
For RockShox, this is better described as a moonshot. The latest Flight Attendant technology now empowers riders to push further, ride faster, and, if you have the legs and lungs to go with the GOAT level bike handling skills, win more races.
Smart suspension for the masses (almost)
Scott has announced that the MY25 edition will come equipped with RockShox SIDLuxe Flight Attendant.
Why the 18 + month wait?
The World Cup winning design of the Spark RC required some modifications to the shock. The result of this work sees the brand today making this modified shock available to the public.
The obvious question: Will this make me a technical singletrack legend? Not exactly. Will it take me further than traditional, passive, suspension? Probably.
A moonshot made ridable
As Rockshox states: “Remove suspension complexity to elevate your ride experience.” Sounds so simple. Ask anyone involved in the development work, capturing data, turning this into usable insights, then ridable outputs, and they’ll tell you otherwise.
For easy comparison, many performance-focused road cars today use a magride or active damper like solution (not the same thing, but with similar end goals) to deliver on-the-fly adjustable suspension. The automotive industry advantage: 200 or (substantially) more BHP to power a vehicle weighting more than 1000 Kg forward.
On an XC bike, every gram is a disadvantage.
On any bike, rider position is infinitely more tuneable, whilst also making up substantially more of the combined weight (car + driver Vs bike + rider), making weight transfer a major factor in calculating suspension response.
All this before you even think about shredding a trail. Tailwhips for fun. That’s a calculation. Pedal bob under full wattage bazooka style race lead taking attack. That’s a calculation. How many lines of code we will probably never know.
As a more direct comparison, this kind of tech is still in its infancy in the world of motorcycles.
SIDLuxe Flight Attendant Scott Spark
Hidden inside the Scott Spark’s race-winning design, the SIDLuxe Ultimate Flight Attendant custom design features an easy way to access the AXS battery along with a repositioned air valve and Rebound adjustment for ease of tuning.
Efficiency is key for XC racing. With this in mind, the latest Flight Attendant automatic damper features three Compression positions: Open, Pedal, and Lock positions.
Flight Attendant’s fine-tuned algorithm intuitively understands everything on course. Focused on maximizing efficiency and maintaining speed, the new SIDLuxe Ultimate Flight Attendant is a shock built to dominate the track.
Flight Attendant key features:
- Flight Attendant has an all-new algorithm that uses a suite of sensors to read rider and terrain inputs to anticipate the perfect suspension position. No other suspension system has this level of personalization to match your riding preferences, your terrain, your style, and your physical capabilities. Elevate your ride.
- New Adaptive Ride Dynamics enables the Flight Attendant system to learn from the rider to make smarter, more personalized decisions for greater efficiency and even more speed.
- AXS-enabled and cable-free, Flight Attendant is an integrated part of the SRAM AXS ecosystem, meticulously crafted to disappear.
- Three-position damping system: Open, Pedal, and Lock positions. High-speed compression damping blow-off for Open and Pedal positions.
- Ultimate graphics package includes the decal option in our new signature Blue Crush Flight Attendant colourway.
- Shared battery with all SRAM AXS-enabled components.
- Flight Attendant System is waterproof to IPX7 rating.
Interestingly, RockShox points out that the “Flight Attendant system only gets better with the more AXS components you pair into the system”. An ecosystem of components sounds more tech industry than bike industry? Like the innovation or not, it’s a direction of future travel (pun fully intended): Connectivity for performance (fun and fast) gain.
Damper: RL3 Flight Attendant / Air Spring: SoloAir or DebonAir / Weight: 371g / Not available for aftermarket
