RockShox Charger 3 vs Charger 3.1 | Is the Latest the Greatest?

RockShox is constantly iterating their suspension products, and it feels like they’re already announcing new products before the dust has settled from the previous product launch. For 2023, they completely overhauled their forks, rolling out redesigned chassis, air shafts, and dampers, making for entirely new products. Each of these new forks were well received by riders of all levels and disciplines, and there weren’t any widespread complaints. Featured in each of these forks was the Charger 3 damper, with 2 way compression adjustment and a single rebound knob. It was RockShox’s most advanced damper to date, but they didn’t waste any time with releasing the Charger 3.1 damper just two years later.

RockShox’s 2025 forks are 99% the same besides this updated damper, and this has left many riders wondering if upgrading to the latest and greatest from RockShox is worth it, or if their relatively new forks are similar enough to save their pennies.

RockShox sells a Charger 3.1 upgrade kit, that can be installed in any Charger 3 equipped fork to affordably upgrade it to the latest and greatest at a fraction of the price of an entire fork. Installation is not easy, and requires a full damper rebuild by a trained suspension tech with some specialty tools at their disposal. The damper upgrade kit is $75 and the full fork rebuild is around $200, it’s definitely not a free upgrade, but like I said, it’s certainly more affordable than the full fork for $1159. But the question we’re asking today is should you spend the extra $75 the next time you’re getting a $200 fork service?

Let’s break down the differences between the Charger 3 and Charger 3.1 dampers. The kit includes all of the parts necessary to upgrade your damper, including the new piston assembly, IFP spring, tuning shims,and Charger 3.1 High Flow Piston Tool. Both dampers have the same external adjustments, high and low speed compression, and a single rebound knob. All of those adjusters have the same number of clicks, and all the changes are inside of the damper. The orifices inside the Charger 3.1 damper are larger than those found in the Charger 3, meaning that you’ll have less compression damping when your compression knobs are fully open. On the flip side, when you close your compression circuits, those orifices are more closed off in the Charger 3.1, giving you more damping than closing off the Charger 3.

Beyond the range of compression damping, there isn’t a huge difference between the two dampers. As a 175lb rider who runs the Charger 3 damper just a couple clicks from the center, I’m not necessarily the target audience for the Charger 3.1 damper. If you’re using the Charger 3 damper and find yourself pretty central in the compression adjustments, there isn’t a real need to upgrade to the Charger 3.1. But if you’ve done your suspension bracketing and found that you’re looking for either more or less compression, then the Charger 3.1 damper is going to be a huge upgrade. With each click of compression making a larger difference on trail, the 3.1 damper will give you the range you’re looking for, and make for easier setup during tuning.

Mike gives both dampers a thumbs up

In my experience, I ran my compression settings a couple clicks below the middle on the Charger 3 damper, and now I run both a couple clicks above the middle on the Charger 3.1 damper at the same air pressure and rebound. At these settings, there isn’t much of a difference between the two dampers, and I think if you’re a rider who's happy with your experience on the Charger 3 damper, save your $75 during your next fork service. But if the current compression settings just aren’t cutting it, then the Charger 3.1 is going to be exactly what you’re looking for, especially if you find the Charger 3 has too much damping when wide open.

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