Throughout 2023, RockShox has been cranking out the updates, most recently with its SID cross-country fork and now, its gravity-going Vivid shock. It's been a little while since the last Vivid update and the brand hasn't held back. The new shock gets an all-new damper, air spring and other features that bring it right in line with its current shock offering. Here's everything you need to know.

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The Vivid is RockShox's rear shock that's all about downhill performance and is crafted to suit downhill bikes, right through to e-MTB and enduro rigs, claiming to be more versatile than before.

2023 rockshox vivid ultimate studio.jpg, by Liam Mercer

RockShox has also introduced the TouchDown damping system that is position-sensitive. It's been developed to be forgiving at the start of its travel while offering support through the middle and end stroke.  

RockShox says that TouchDown bypasses the compression damping that's created by the shock's main piston in the first 10% of travel with the aim of taming trail chatter. Going into the next 70% of travel, the Vivid is supposed to bring controlled and stable damping. As brought in with the updates of the Super Deluxe Coil, this shock benefits from a hydraulic bottom-out that allows the rider to tailor the final 20% of travel to their taste.

2023 rockshox vivid TF.jpg, by Liam Mercer

Like the SID fork, the Vivid brings a higher air volume in a bid to offer a more linear but consistent feel while improving small bump sensitivity. RockShox also says that the new DebonAir spring makes it easier to initiate travel while adding support towards the midstroke. Of course, it's then capable of accommodating Bottomless Tokens.

Along with all of that, the Vivid has had its service intervals extended up to 100 hours, rather than the original 50. There's also a wide 20 clicks of rebound and, handily, the rebound knob can be pulled out to reveal a 3mm Allen key that'll adjust both the hydraulic bottom out and high speed compression.

2023 rockshox vivid hydraulic bottom out.jpg, by Liam Mercer

The new RockShox Vivid will come in five models, with two of them available aftermarket: the Ultimate and DH Ultimate. The difference between the two is that the former uses the TouchDown RC2T damper and the latter uses the RC2 model.

Prices start at £750 and go up to £780.

• www.sram.com

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