Hot on the heels of the announcement from six bike industry shock manufacturers that they had settled on new metric sizing for rear shocks, RockShox has released two brand-new metric-sized shocks: the Deluxe and the Super Deluxe.
With both of these shocks, RockShox threw existing design constraints based on standard eye-to-eye lengths and other sizing issues out the window, and focused on building the best possible shocks that they could, from the ground up. According to RockShox, “There are currently almost 90 varieties of rear shock hardware being used in the industry,” and they claim that as a result of current restrictions we are leaving a lot of performance on the table.
So in essence, RockShox is building the shock first, and then allowing the frame designers to build a bike to fit the shock, instead of building a shock in an attempt to fit all of the different bike variants on the market today.
Through the changes they’ve made, RockShox claims that these new shocks will provide these benefits:
- The least friction of any shock they’ve ever made.
- Better traction
- Responsiveness
- Increased durability
- 33% more overlap of air can bushings
- 90% more overlap of piston/sealhead bushings
- Increased seal consistency
- Increased eye-to-eye per stroke
- Less maintenance
- Increased long term durability
- Better performance in cold temperatures
- Lower initial breakaway force
- Better shock tuning at no additional weight
Super Deluxe: Changing Everything
According to RockShox:
The directive was simple. Engineer a shock that does for rear-suspension performance what Pike did for forks. Simple? Don’t bet on it. A gamble? Absolutely. It required a complete change in the way we approach shock design. It meant focusing on performance first and leaving old constraints behind. And it gave us a clear path to develop the world’s lowest-friction shock — Super Deluxe. Metric sizing gives Super Deluxe significantly increased bushing overlap, which, together with a sophisticated new bushing profile, virtually eliminates friction in the shock. A new damper holds the shock high in its stroke and offers unparalleled traction. Unshackled from the old obstacles of shock design, Super Deluxe is free to tackle new ones — on the trail. This changes everything.
Deluxe: Redefining a King
According to RockShox:
How do you improve on the success of a rear shock that has received critical acclaim for its stellar performance and supple feel? It’s Simple. You rewrite the rules, throw existing design constraints out the window and focus solely on the best possible performance solution. We took the proven damping performance of our popular Monarch series and introduced it to our new metric-sized chassis. The result is truly Deluxe. With the incredible feel of DebonAir as its standard-bearer and three new mounting options, our new Deluxe is ready to redefine your ride.
Your Turn: What do you think about new metric shock sizing and the latest improvements from RockShox?
