RockShox’s Super Deluxe rear shock has looked pretty much the same since its current form launched in 2023. It’s black, it has a piggyback reservoir, and because it comes as standard on many bikes, it’s easy to take for granted.

That’s a shame, because not only does RockShox claim it’s the most advanced shock it’s ever made, my experience backs that up too. It is night-and-day better than the shock I replaced to test it, and well on its way to being the best mountain bike rear shock I’ve ever ridden.

RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate need to know

• New version gets lighter compression damping as standard, thanks to faster oil flow
• Wider tuning band for high speed and low speed compression, rebound and threshold
• DebonAir+ air spring with larger air volume to mimic the linear feel of coil shocks
• Hydraulic bottom out on some Super Deluxe forks helps negate harsh landings
• Increased bushing overlap for increased stiffness and reduced friction

What’s new for MY25?

Based in Colorado, RockShox’s suspension engineers are constantly testing, refining, and tweaking. So while the latest MY25 version might look familiar, plenty has changed internally. The major update reduces compression damping for better traction and expands the range of external adjusters to offer a wider tuning band for different riders and bikes.

Most of the sensitivity improvements are hidden, but RockShox has also updated the air cans to alter the spring curve of the air chamber. This includes a Linear XL version that mimics a coil shock with its larger positive air volume.

All Super Deluxe improvements are standard on this top-tier Ultimate model and can also be retrofitted to previous model years. If I want the latest tech, the RC2T Ultimate reservoir upgrade costs £220, while the high-flow piston upgrade is just £39. However, I’ll need to take my shock to a specialist suspension service center for installation, as these upgrades aren’t exactly DIY-friendly.

Adjustability and features

RC2T describes all the external Super Deluxe adjustments: R for rebound, C2 for the two types of compression damping (low-speed and high-speed), and T for threshold (the lockout lever platform).

Inside, the damper design moves oil back and forth across an internal floating piston rather than circulating it in a loop like some twin-tube piggyback shocks from Cane Creek, Fox, and Öhlins.

RockShox uses its DebonAir+ air spring, which has a larger volume for a more linear feel. Like most air shocks, I can fine-tune that volume with bottomless tokens to adjust the ramp-up and stroke resistance to match my bike or preferred ride feel.

Some Super Deluxe models also include hydraulic bottom out (HBO), which restricts oil flow in the last 20% of travel. This feature, marked by triangulated lines on the shock shaft, provides a soft hydraulic cushion to reduce harsh bottom-outs. Super Deluxe coil and Vivid shocks offer five clicks of adjustable HBO via a purple dial, whereas it’s fixed on air shocks like this one.

HBO lets me run fewer tokens in the air spring while still controlling end-stroke harshness. It also helps eliminate the bouncy rebound feel that occurs when spring energy is suddenly released. Instead, the energy is absorbed through the damping circuit and converted into heat.

There are 15 clicks of rebound adjustment, five clicks of high-speed compression via an Allen key, and five low-speed compression positions adjusted by hand.

Understanding compression damping

Some riders find RockShox’s mid-position-based compression damping adjusters confusing, as the idea is I can add or remove damping from a central setting rather than from fully open. However, the logic is simple. The middle position is the default, letting me fine tune damping up or down from there. Unlike some rival products, there’s no need to run the shock fully open.

Twiddling the dials adjusts how oil flows through the shock’s shim stacks and orifices inside the damper. A lighter shim stack and larger orifice allows oil to pass easily, making the shock more active, while a heavier shim stack and smaller orifice restricts flow, requiring more force to compress the shock.

RockShox explains this using compression tunes like L, M, H, etc. If my bike has a medium factory tune but needs more support, closing the HSC and LSC dials mimics a heavier, high tune. Likewise, opening both effectively softens the damping to feel like a low tune.

The biggest changes

The biggest changes in the latest Super Deluxe are a redesigned reservoir and a new high-flow main piston that reduces overall high-speed compression damping.

The goal is to improve sensitivity, eliminate hang-ups on square-edge impacts, and allow the wheel to move more freely. Another major focus is reducing cross-talk, the way high- and low-speed compression damping interact. By isolating these two adjustments, I can fine-tune each independently.

This means I can separately control forces loading the suspension from above, like rider weight shifts, braking, and compressions; and forces coming from below, like sharp, high-velocity hits from bumps and obstacles.

To improve usability, RockShox also reduced the number of adjustment clicks to create more meaningful jumps between settings.

How does it work? (Warming, it gets pretty geeky here!)

As the damper compresses, oil flows through its valves into the reservoir. The flow sequence is first through the HSC valve, then through the LSC valve. When both are open, oil flows freely, creating minimal damping. When HSC is closed, oil is restricted before reaching LSC, but LSC remains unaffected since it requires less flow.

The HSC circuit uses an adjustable orifice to control flow directly, while the LSC circuit forces oil through either an easy path with low resistance or a restricted path with higher damping. Closing the LSC dial blocks the easy path, forcing oil through a shim stack that adds damping at low speeds but blows open during high-speed events.

A lighter rebound check plate smooths transitions between damping circuits, helping the shock react faster and track more precisely. From my experience, this claim holds true on the trail.

Another notable update is increased bushing overlap, which stiffens the shock body and reduces friction, improving smoothness and durability. Combined with special seals and lubricants, these refinements reduce friction for extra grip and traction.

Performance

I mounted the Super Deluxe to a Santa Cruz Tallboy 5, a bike I ride all the time. For those not familiar with it, it’s a short travel 120mm trail bike, but with angles and attitude that allow it to be ridden very fast downhill and in places where I might usually ride an enduro bike.

The shock I tested came to me directly from RockShox with the stock Santa Cruz factory tune and volume spacers already installed, meaning I didn’t have to change anything on the air spring. I ran the HSC bang in the middle of its range, and the LSC one click towards more open, which seemed about right for my 83kg weight.

The rebound stayyed somewhere in the middle, which all tells me that – at least with this brand and bike – the tune is well sorted.

Switching to the Super Deluxe from a stock Fox Float wasn’t exactly a subtle change. It’s no exaggeration to say it transforms the Tallboy’s ride quality and injects even more downhill capability. It makes the bike feel like the back end has noticeably more travel and I can ride harder and faster and still stay in control, which is a pretty huge improvement from just switching out one part.

Suspension feel with the Super Deluxe is immediately suppler, smoother and offers more precise repeated bump tracking. There’s a stark difference in how much better the rear tyre tracks the ground and traces back and forth over every little ripple, root and bump. There’s much more grip when I’m cornering and relying on the tyre edges too.

The Super Deluxe is so much better, in fact, it makes me realise that the Float was basically skim reading and tracing a rough outline of what was going on under the wheel. Whereas RockShox’s latest model is studying every single punctuation point in the terrain.

Admittedly, it’s not a totally fair comparison to pitch the reservoir-touting, bigger oil volume, Super Deluxe against a significantly lighter Float shock that’s more trail than enduro-optimised. But riding them back-to-back, I can’t say I give much of a hoot about 140g more weight when it adds this much extra capability and control.

This isn’t like bunging on a coil shock though, the Super Deluxe is still light enough to make for a brilliant upgrade to a short travel bike like the Tallboy. The Super Deluxe’s more usual domain is on enduro bikes though, where it would make even less of a weight impact.

The Super Deluxe’s best trick is to calm everything down over repeated irregular hits, offering more stability and grip. Even though it’s super-active, the fast back-and-forth action and the extra detail morse-coded up from the trails is fed back to my feet and hands in a way that never feels too hectic.

There’s a smooth and rounded action and it’s more like it moves really fast in a silky and fluid way, rather than a jagged motion like some shocks that have minimal damping. On top of that, there’s also loads of support to punch and pop off the ground using my feet, something that builds gradually after that very sensitive first touch and builds around the sag point.

The only slight negative is there’s definitely more movement off-the-top of the stroke compared to Fox’s Float when pedalling. I found myself locking out the Super Deluxe Threshold platform to tighten the bike more often. This is a minor compromise, but it also equates to superior climbing traction and is well worth it for how much harder I can charge downhill.

Overall, I’ve got nothing but good things to say about the latest Super Deluxe. Sensitivity and tracking are next level good, there’s plenty of support and the shock design is proven rock solid. It keeps on working great, even if you’re the kind of rider that can’t be bothered to even clean your bike, never mind send a shock off for servicing.