RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate Coil [Rider Review]

Our "Rider Review" article series features the honest reviews from verified purchasers of Worldwide Cyclery. They contain the photos, thoughts, feedback & overall review you are looking for.

Air or Coil. An ongoing debate in the mountain bike world. There's many benefits of both for different styles of riding. It also can depend on the type of bike. Our friend, Matthew, has been running a coil shock from RockShox on his Ibis. See what they think! 

Overview

After mulling over the upgrade to coil for what felt like years on my Ripmo, my stock DVO Topaz blew up at a bike park like a sign from above that it was time to give it a try. I made sure it was Ripmo compatible as Fox and others are not clevis compatible and landed on the Rock Shox Super Deluxe Ultimate Coil RCT. Sourcing the properly sized coil was a bit of a supply chain-related issue but after a couple of weeks of searching found one that was close enough, 450 lbs for my 185 lb. self. It may be a bit soft but I’ll have to live with that for now. The shock includes the proper mounting hardware which is fantastic since that can be a nightmare in its own right. Installation is simple with the proper tools and something most home mechanics can handle. After installation, my Ripmo came to a burly 33 lbs with DH casing tires and a Fox 36 upfront.

Once the bushings are in, set the SAG with the preload collar, make your rebound adjustment and you’re off. It’s about as no fuss as mountain bike suspension gets in terms of setup. The coil feels excellent right away. The first place you’ll notice the shock is on the climb up, not necessarily in a positive light. It’s absolutely heavier than your air shock…but that will feel like a minor fleeting complaint soon. It’s definitely less “poppy” than air shocks and climbing definitely sits a bit lower in the travel which is something to get used to.

Getting to the top is where the purchase pays off. It absolutely glues your rear wheel to the trail. Chunky tech throwing your saddle at your backside is eliminated. I’m not exaggerating when I say it completely changes the way you ride. Line choices are much less important and dropping off anything seems like a good idea. Take it off your local drop-to flat and ride away without worry. Lines that seemed sketchy in the past are possible and safer believe it or not. Now is it a more damp feeling on the lips? Absolutely. But this only plays on jumps with very tight transitions where your pop is where you source most of the air. On bike park jumps I never felt like the rear end was an issue. And when I cased a jump, the rear end wasn’t squirrely whatsoever.

Final Thoughts

I’ll be honest, the coil may be here to stay. It’s been 3 weeks since the DVO topaz arrived back from DVO and I still haven’t mounted it back on my bike. The minor complaints I have with the coil absolutely overshadow my compliments and it suits the Ripmo super well. It definitely turns the Ripmo more into an Enduro-style bike than a trail but that’s exactly what I wanted from my bike when I made this purchase. If this was my go-to trail bike I may go with something more progressive.