RockShox Select vs Select+ vs Ultimate: What Each Trim Actually Gets You

The name on a RockShox fork does two jobs at once. The family (Pike or Revelation, Lyrik or Yari, ZEB or Domain) sets the chassis and the kind of damper inside it. The trim (Base, Select, Select+, Ultimate) sets how much of that damper you get to adjust.

Read the family first, because a trim only ranks parts inside one of them. A Pike Select outranks a Revelation RC even though both give you one compression dial and rebound, and no amount of Ultimate on a Revelation would change that.

the lineup, and who shares a chassis

RockShox builds its trail and enduro forks in pairs. Each performance fork has a value sibling on the same stanchion size, covering nearly the same travel, for a few hundred less.

Prices are RockShox's own, September 2026, for the cheapest trim sold on its own. The Revelation and Psylo have no current US list price, so those are UK figures. Pike and Revelation pair up, Lyrik and Yari, ZEB and Domain. Three things separate each pair.

The Revelation and Yari are on the way out. RockShox's Psylo arrived in 2025 replacing the Revelation, the Yari and the 35 with one 35mm value platform, 130 to 160mm of travel on an Isolator RC damper and a DebonAir spring, and only the Gold RC is sold on its own. So if you are buying new, the value 35mm fork is a Psylo now. If you are buying used or reading the spec of a bike built in the last few years, Revelations and Yaris are everywhere, and everything below still applies to them.

• ›The damper is sealed, or it is not. Pike, Lyrik and ZEB run a Charger, which keeps air out of the oil. Revelation and Yari run Motion Control, where oil and air share one cartridge. On a long, rough descent the air works into the oil and the fork loses consistency, until it feels like it is skipping over small bumps instead of tracking them.
• ›The air spring is a generation behind. The value forks run DebonAir. The Pike runs DebonAir+, RockShox's 2023 redesign of it, and the 2027 Lyrik and ZEB run LinearXL. More on what those change below.
• ›The chassis is close, not identical. When the Revelation moved to 35mm stanchions for 2018 it took the Pike's lower leg casting, with straight-wall upper tubes where the Pike's were tapered, and came in about 100 grams heavier. The Pike has had two new chassis since. The Domain gives you ZEB-sized 38mm stanchions for ZEB money minus a third.

the dials, by their real names

Trims differ in what the damper lets you adjust. The damper is the oil circuit that controls how fast the suspension moves, separate from the air spring that holds you up. RockShox gives every adjuster a name, and those names are what the letters on the fork leg are abbreviating.

Speed, in high speed and low speed compression, means how fast the suspension is moving, not how fast you are riding. A slow, heavy compression into a berm at 30mph is low speed. A square edge at walking pace is high speed.

reading the letters

RockShox names dampers after that list of adjusters, so you can read the code left to right.

So an Ultimate shock reading RC2T gives you both compression dials and the climb lever, and the Select+ next to it reading RCT gives you one compression dial and the lever. That single 2 is the difference riders argue about.

inside the damper: what happens to the air

Every damper pushes oil through valves. The question is what happens to the air that has to move out of the way as the shaft slides in.

Keep the air away from the oil and the fork holds its feel when it is working hard and warm. That is the whole argument for a Charger over a Motion Control, and it is worth more on a 20 minute descent than on a 2 minute one.

The jump from Charger 2.1 to Charger 3 was a change of plumbing. RockShox dropped the expanding bladder for an internal floating piston with a coil spring behind it, which let them separate the high and low speed compression circuits properly. On the older damper the two adjusters talked to each other, so winding on low speed changed what high speed was doing. On Charger 3 they do not, which is why the two dials on an Ultimate are worth learning rather than guessing at. Charger 3.1 refined it again for 2025, and the 2027 Lyrik and ZEB run Charger 3.2.

air springs: DebonAir, DebonAir+, LinearXL

The damper controls speed. The spring holds you up and decides how the force builds through the travel. RockShox is on its third current air spring, and which one you get follows the family more than the trim.

A newer spring is not the reason to buy a fork, and it is the reason two forks with the same damper can feel different. It also travels: the air spring is the easiest part of a RockShox fork to change, so a shaft and a can upgrade is a real option on an older Pike or Lyrik.

what Ultimate adds past the damper

Above Select+, RockShox stops adding adjusters and starts adding parts. Here is the whole list, and what each one is doing.

None of that changes what you can tune. It changes friction and buzz, which is the part of suspension feel riders describe as smooth without being able to point at a dial. Worth paying for when the gap is small. Not worth paying for instead of a service.

pike, lyrik and zeb, trim by trim

Forks split in a different place from shocks. The big jump is Select to Select+, where an RC2 damper arrives, and Ultimate then adds parts rather than adjusters.

pike

Watch the year on a Select+. The 2023 Pike Select+ shipped with a Charger 3 RC2, the same damper as that year's Ultimate. On the current range it runs a Charger RC, so a Select+ badge on a used fork is worth less than it was and you want the model year before you pay for it. The Pike Select lists at $869 and the Ultimate at $1,149.

lyrik and zeb, 2027 range

From 2023 to 2026 the Lyrik and ZEB Select ran a Charger RC, and Select+ and Ultimate ran Charger 3 and then 3.1 RC2. The 2027 Lyrik lists at $929 for Select and $1,259 for Ultimate, the ZEB at $989 and $1,299. Add Flight Attendant, the electronic version that opens and firms the fork for you, and the price roughly doubles.

super deluxe shocks, trim by trim

On the rear shock each trim adds one adjuster. RockShox also moved every trim up a letter for 2025, so two shocks wearing the same Select+ badge can give you different dials. Check the year before you compare.

The 2025 Select+ is the interesting one. Its RCT damper got a low speed compression dial and a main piston tune RockShox describes as matching the Charger 3.2 for mid-stroke support, which is most of what the Ultimate was giving you, minus the second circuit. The Ultimate runs 14 to 15 clicks of rebound and lists at $659 to $689, and Hydraulic Bottom Out is an option on it: oil flow restricted through the last 20% of the stroke so big landings finish on a cushion.

The coil versions follow the same ladder, Select as R, Select+ as RT and Ultimate as RC2T with the five-setting adjustable bottom out. So a coil Ultimate parked next to an air Select+ is two changes stacked at once: the damper, and the spring, which is its own decision covered in our coil vs air guide. For 2025 the Super Deluxe Coil gave way to the Vivid Coil, and the bigger Vivid shocks use the same letters. For 2027 every Super Deluxe moved to the LinearXL air spring, doubled the air can service interval to 100 hours, and renumbered the compression dials to start at zero.

when stepping up is worth it

Service and setup come before any of this. RockShox's maximum intervals are 50 hours for a fork lower leg service and 200 hours for fork dampers and Super Deluxe dampers, and an overdue Ultimate can ride worse than a freshly serviced Select. Get your sag and rebound right too, and log what you run in the Garage so a new damper has a baseline to beat.

• ›Pike, Lyrik or ZEB Select: worth it. Going to an RC2 damper adds separate high-speed control, the dial you want when the trail gets fast and rough. You do not need a new fork. The Charger 3.1 RC2 upgrade kit lists at $395 with ButterCups included and fits Pike and Lyrik forks from 2023 and ZEB from 2021. On a 2027 Lyrik or ZEB, check your model on TrailHead first.
• ›Revelation or Yari: worth it if you like the chassis. A Charger 2.1 damper replaces the Motion Control cartridge with a sealed one. For a 35mm Revelation from 2018 on, Jenson stocks the Charger 2.1 RCT3 kit (a three-position compression lever plus a low-speed dial). The RC2 version for the Revelation is still sold, just not by a retailer we link to. For a Yari from 2016 on, there is the Charger 2.1 RC2 kit. Price it against a new Pike or Lyrik Select before you order.
• ›Super Deluxe Select+ to Ultimate: rarely urgent. The single compression dial already covers what most riders change. The Ultimate earns its keep if you ride fast, rough terrain or race and will spend time on setup. Without that time it rides no better than a well set up Select+, and a custom tune from a suspension shop often changes more than an extra dial. If you want the dials anyway, RockShox sells an RC2T Ultimate reservoir upgrade for Super Deluxe shocks from 2023, listed at $255 (check your model on TrailHead). Fitting it means a full teardown and bleed, so it is a shop job for most riders.

Buying a whole fork or shock instead? Start with what fits. The Upgrade Finder takes your bike and shows only the forks and shocks that fit the frame. Fox splits its range differently, and our Fox trims guide lines the two brands up.

common rockshox questions

What is the difference between RockShox Select, Select+ and Ultimate?

They are trim levels inside a RockShox family, ranked Base, Select, Select+, Ultimate. Select gives you one compression dial and rebound. Select+ adds separate high- and low-speed compression on the 2027 Lyrik and ZEB, though not on the current Pike, where that arrives with Ultimate. Ultimate adds ButterCups and other friction-cutting parts rather than more dials. On Super Deluxe rear shocks from 2025 on, each trim adds a control: Base adjusts rebound, Select adds a Threshold climb lever, Select+ adds one compression dial and Ultimate splits compression into separate high- and low-speed dials. On 2023 and 2024 Super Deluxe shocks, Select was rebound only and Select+ was rebound plus the lever.

Is a RockShox Pike better than a Revelation?

The Pike sits above the Revelation in the RockShox range even when both carry RC dampers. The Pike uses a sealed Charger damper that keeps its oil apart from air, while the Revelation uses Motion Control, an emulsion damper where oil and air mix, which loses consistency on long rough descents. The 2018 Revelation shared the Pike lower leg casting and DebonAir spring, with straight-wall upper tubes and about 100 grams more weight. It suits riders who want a stiff 35mm fork for less money, and a 35mm Revelation from 2018 on can take a Charger 2.1 damper upgrade.

What does RC2T mean on a RockShox shock?

It lists the adjustments. R is rebound, C is compression, 2 means two separate compression circuits (high speed and low speed) and T is the Threshold lever that firms the shock for climbing. RCT has one compression dial instead of two, RT has rebound and the lever, and R is rebound only. RC2 without the T is the downhill version, with no lever.

Does a RockShox Select+ fork have the same damper as the Ultimate?

It depends on the fork and the year. On the 2027 Lyrik and ZEB, Select+ and Ultimate share the Charger 3.2 RC2 damper with separate high- and low-speed compression, and the Ultimate adds ButterCups, ButterWagon bushing lubrication and an external bottom-out dial. The 2023 Pike, Lyrik and ZEB Select+ also shared the Ultimate damper, a Charger 3 RC2. The current Pike does not: its Select+ runs a Charger RC with one compression dial, where the Pike Ultimate runs a Charger 3.1 RC2. Select+ mostly comes on complete bikes rather than being sold on its own.

Can I upgrade my RockShox Select fork or shock to Ultimate?

Usually. The Charger 3.1 RC2 damper upgrade kit lists at $395, includes ButterCups, and fits Pike and Lyrik forks from 2023 on and ZEB from 2021 on. For Super Deluxe shocks from 2023 on, RockShox sells an RC2T Ultimate reservoir upgrade listed at $255, which needs a full teardown and bleed, so it is a shop job for most riders. Enter your serial number on RockShox TrailHead to confirm your model code before ordering either one.

What is the difference between high-speed and low-speed compression?

Both control how hard the suspension resists compressing, at different speeds of suspension movement. Low-speed compression handles slow inputs like weight shifts, pumping, braking and cornering, and adding it stops the bike diving and wallowing. High-speed compression handles fast, sharp hits like roots, rocks, square edges and landings, and adding it resists harsh bottom-outs but makes rough ground feel firmer. The speed is how fast the fork or shock moves, not how fast you are riding.