Suspension school · Brand-Specific Technology

Electronic Suspension in Plain Words

What Fox Live Valve Neo and RockShox Flight Attendant actually do

Both current electronic systems do one job: they firm up and open the compression damping automatically so you never touch a climb switch. Neither sets your spring for you. Sag, air pressure and rebound remain yours to get right, and everything else in this section still applies.

Fox Live Valve Neo (2024 Onwards)

Live Valve Neo is Fox's wireless system, launched in late 2024. It is shock-only: Float X Neo and the DHX Neo coil at launch, with a Float X2 Neo added later for gravity use. As of mid-2026 there is no Live Valve Neo fork.

• Sensors bolt to the brake calliper mounts and run on coin cells for around a year
• The system reads the terrain hundreds of times per second and the shock switches state in around 14 milliseconds after a hit
• A latching solenoid only draws power when switching, which is how the rechargeable shock battery lasts around 15 to 20 hours of riding
• Tuning happens in the Fox Bike app, but a button on the shock works without a phone

The original 2018 Live Valve was wired, needed frame-specific integration and controlled fork and shock together. Neo's advantage is that it fits any frame that takes the shock, which also makes it a practical retrofit on eMTBs.

RockShox Flight Attendant (2021 Onwards)

Flight Attendant launched in October 2021 on Pike, Lyrik and Zeb Ultimate forks paired with a Super Deluxe shock. Accelerometers in the fork and shock modules plus a pedalling sensor sample terrain and rider input every 5 milliseconds, and the system switches both units between Open, Pedal and Lock positions automatically.

• A cross-country version arrived in 2024 on SID, SID SL and SIDLuxe
• Adaptive Ride Dynamics, also from 2024, can use a Quarq power meter instead of the pedal sensor, sorting your output into effort zones and learning from your recent rides
• Modules use standard rechargeable SRAM AXS batteries with roughly 20 to 30 hours of ride time
• You can bias the system to spend more or less time in firm settings through the AXS app

On an eMTB

Electronic damping earns its keep on eMTBs mainly on the climbs, where the constant switching happens far more often than a rider would flick a lever, and the small weight penalty of motors and batteries matters little on an already heavy bike. The cost is more batteries to keep charged and one more system to maintain.

Do You Need It?

Descending performance is decided by spring rate, damping tune and setup quality, and a well-set manual damper descends just as well. What the electronics buy you is efficiency and attention: the bike is always in the right mode without you thinking about it. If you never touch your climb switch and wish you did, it is genuinely useful. If you already flick it habitually, the gain is smaller than the price suggests.