The Updated 2023 RockShox Lineup

RockShox just announced a massively revised lineup for their 2023 offerings. As far as forks are concerned the Pike and Lyrik see complete chassis and internal updates while the Zeb sees a slight chassis tweak and internal revisions as well. Additionally, after many years on the same rear shock architecture, we finally see an all new Super Deluxe in both Coil and Air as well as a new Deluxe. For the most part, the new forks and shocks are available in RockShox’ standard breakdowns of Ultimate, Select+, Select and Standard. After touching on new technologies, you can find pricing and product breakdowns below. Read on for the full story…

New Technology and Updates

Charger 3

While there are a host of updates with the all new fork cartridge, the big story here is that the Charger 3 damper uses an internal floating piston, rather than a bladder in the case of the Charger and Charger 2. The piston is backed by a coil spring, which is said to improve responsiveness. This is likely because it should make the breakaway force on the piston’s seal less noticeable. Additionally, the high and low speed compression circuits are truly independent, which should make for easier tuning and optimized ride quality.

Debonair + / Buttercups

The all new Debonair + air spring sees subtle tweaks to the dimple and spring volumes and top out bumpers but the real story is Buttercups. These are borrowed from other industries and work sort of like a motor mount in a car. Small rubber pucks are located on the ends of the damper and air spring shafts to help reducer chatter. Nifty.

Updated Bushings

RockShox has tweaked their bushing approach with a better spread between the upper and lower bushings as well as lower bushings that are 53% longer. This should help combat friction under flex and improve the fork’s suppleness throughout its travel.

Pressure Relief Valves

Much like Fox’s 2021 roll out, the Pike, Lyrik and Zeb all feature pressure relief valves to bleed trapped air out of the lower legs. This helps optimize performance at varying altitudes.

Dual Air Can Design

Both Deluxe and Super Deluxe rear shocks are now available with two different air cans. The progressive can is suited toward bikes with more linear rear suspension and the linear can is better suited to bikes with more progressive rear suspension kinematics.

Negative Tokens

In addition to the standard 0-4 stackable positive air volume reducers, RockShox now offers a negative air spring token. This would be used if you wanted to make your rear suspension a bit more linear and firmer off the top.

Hydraulic Bottom Out / Adjustable HBO

Air sprung Super Deluxe rear shocks now feature a hydraulic bottom out in the form of a needle that starts to work against harsh bottoms in the last 1/5th of the travel. On coil sprung Super Deluxe models the Hydraulic Bottom out feature is adjustable with an external knob operated by allen key.