RockShox Flight Attendant Manages the Suspension Setup for You

Sporty mountain biking is unthinkable without technical equipment. Both riding technique and suspension technology. When it comes to the latter, there are sometimes so many cogs to tweak and so many aspects to consider that we sometimes get lost in the multitude of possibilities. With its Flight Attendant, RockShox has been trying to get us back on track since 2021. The automatic suspension tuning system is now entering its second generation, version 2.0 – whatever you like. We’ll try to summarise everything you need to know about it.

1. What is Flight Attendant?
2. What advantages does the automatic adjustment of the suspension offer?
3. What technical innovations does Flight Attendant now offer?
4. Are shock and suspension fork always in the same setting?
5. How does the system adapt to my personal riding style?
6. Which shocks and forks support Flight Attendant?
7. What are the technical requirements for Flight Attendant?
8. Does Flight Attendant work on an E-MTB?
9. Does Flight Attendant require a separate app?

1. What is Flight Attendant?

You usually adjust the shock and suspension fork on your e-mountainbike yourself. It doesn’t matter whether you do this manually directly on the component or via the app. You do this before the ride, during a break or afterwards. Flight Attendant does this for you as if by magic during the ride. Depending on the current riding situation. It receives the necessary signals from and sends them to the suspension using AXS wireless technology, Sram’s own standard. Within a few milliseconds, the system analyses the terrain together with your data and then decides which suspension setting is best suited to the current situation.

The calculations are based on an algorithm that continuously collects riding data, draws conclusions from it and changes its decisions accordingly. For example, if you become fitter and more technically proficient, Flight Attendant registers this and tries to provide you with the best possible suspension. However, the system cannot do any magic. In its own riding tests, RockShox was able to prove that the average speed for identical riders and routes was 1.8 per cent higher with Flight Attendant than with a manually operated system. On the one hand, this shows that the manufacturer has developed the solution primarily for those for whom single seconds are important. On the other hand, the increases are in a range that you will have to judge for yourself whether you actually feel them.

2. What advantages does the automatic adjustment of the suspension offer?

We have already talked about the time component. Our body is simply not capable of implementing such changes within five milliseconds. The benefit for your personal best time was also mentioned. There are probably many other benefits. For some, it is probably more mental. You can focus your attention more specifically on other details when riding and don’t need to think about the setup of the shock and fork.

3. What technical innovations does Flight Attendant now offer?

The centrepiece of the update is clearly the revised compression damping called Charger Race Day 2, which RockShox has installed in both the shock and the fork. It features three positions:

• Lock = maximum efficiency, minimum ride comfort
• Pedal = compromise between reacting to bumps and moderate stiffness for powerful pedalling
• Open = maximum suspension travel to absorb heavy impacts and jumps

According to the manufacturer, Flight Attendant prioritises riding in the “Open” position as soon as it detects bumps or obstacles. As soon as you pedal noticeably, the “Pedal” position takes priority.

4. Are shock and suspension fork always in the same setting?

No, Flight Attendant can control both components independently of each other. In combination with the fast response time, this is certainly one of the system’s biggest advantages. This brings a level of flexibility to riding that is almost impossible to achieve manually.

5. How does the system adapt to my personal riding style?

There is a division of roles when it comes to customisation. RockShox calls the part that you can take over the Bias Adjust. In the Sram AXS Mobile app, you can tell the system which compression setting you prefer. Depending on which terrain dominates your home trails, you can set a preference for Open, Pedal or Lock.

Flight Attendant then independently expands this technical aspect to include your physical fitness. Or rather, the force you apply to the pedals at any given moment. The system assigns this to one of the four effort zones “Sprint”, “High”, “Medium” and “Low”. RockShox uses a basic setting as the limit values. If you have your own precise values, for example from existing training records, you can also change the limit values in the app yourself.

Flight Attendant associates each effort zone with a corresponding change to the suspension. If you pedal at full power for a sprint, for example, the suspension will tighten up to maximise the efficiency of your pedalling. If, on the other hand, you roll along in a relaxed manner and only move the pedals automatically, the suspension switches to the “Open” position because it is possible that you are approaching a descent and are preparing to overcome obstacles. This Adaptive Ride Dynamics system also collects a lot of data, which it uses to check your personal effort zones. If it registers power surges or drops, it adjusts accordingly via Adaptive Ride Dynamics.

6. Which shocks and forks support Flight Attendant?

With the update of the system, RockShox presents three new components. These include two new suspension forks for 29-inch wheels:

• SID SL Ultimate Flight Attendant: 100 millimetre or 110 millimetre travel
• SID Ultimate Flight Attendant: 120 millimetre travel

The trio is completed by the SIDLuxe Ultimate Flight Attendant air-sprung shock.

SIDLuxe Ultimate Flight Attendant

Of course, you can also use the update on components that were previously available on the market. In terms of suspension forks, these are the following three models:

• Pike Ultimate Flight Attendant
• Lyrik Ultimate Flight Attendant
• ZEB Ultimate Flight Attendant

Another option is to upgrade “conventional” forks. The 2024 models of the SID or SID SL (D1) are suitable. The new Flight Attendant Control Module and the new Flight Attendant Charger Race Day 2 can be fitted to these.

The list of compatible shocks on the market comprises exactly two models:

• SIDLuxe Ultimate Flight Attendant
• Super Deluxe Ultimate Flight Attendant

7. What are the technical requirements for Flight Attendant?

In any case, your e-mountainbike must be equipped with one of the aforementioned suspension forks and a shock. A pedalling sensor – power meter or pedalling sensor – is also one of the minimum requirements. Without the sensor, the adaptive adjustment to the effort zones, for example, would not work.

Anyone who has read this carefully will at this point realise that the system harbours at least one major limitation. No shock means no Flight Attendant! Consequently, you can only ride the system on full-suspension bikes and not on hardtails. Admittedly, Flight Attendant would only be worth half as much on a mountain bike without a shock. That’s why we suspect that the manufacturer will not release a reduced version for hardtails in the future.

But back to the requirements. An AXS rear derailleur from Sram and the AXS pods with the two buttons are useful, but not absolutely necessary. At least that’s the opinion of Sram. However, if you want to benefit fully from the system and therefore also use Adaptive Ride Dynamics, you absolutely need an AXS rear derailleur. When riding without a controller, Flight Attendant can only be used in Auto mode.

As soon as your ebike features a pedal sensor in addition to the shock and suspension fork, you can retrofit the system. To utilise the full potential of Flight Attendant, you need an AXS rear derailleur and the corresponding buttons.

8. Does Flight Attendant work on an E-MTB?

Yes and no. In general, the system can be integrated on any e-MTB. However, there is one major limitation: Due to the motor component, Adaptive Ride Dynamics is currently not transferable to an ebike. Flight Attendant can only record a single value via the sensor on the pedals and cannot distinguish between man and machine. Therefore, the issue with the effort zones and the recording of the rider’s own input would come to nothing.

9. Does Flight Attendant require a separate app?

RockShox – and therefore Sram – considers Flight Attendant to be an ordinary extension of the AXS ecosystem. Consequently, you will find it integrated as a separate menu in the Sram AXS mobile app. There you can make all the settings mentioned in the article.

With the help of the Sram AXS app, you can customise Flight Attendant to suit your fitness level and preferences.

Pictures: SRAM Deutschland GmbH