Unanswered Both ends, same sag?

[steve_sordy]

I was looking at the recommended start positions for the suspension on what will be my next bike. Fox 38 fork (160mm travel) and a DPX2 shock (205x65mm).

The Fox recommended sag% for a plush ride is 20% for the fork and 30% for the shock. I will start with those, seeing as they are recommended and proceed from there. Is it unusual for fork and shock to be so far apart on %sag?

I normally start with %sag the same at each end and usually finish with identical %sag, but not the same as the starting point.

 

[B1rdie]

I use to set the sag of the fork bigger than the shock.
30% at the fork and 20-25 to the shock for XC

35 and 30 for plush trail riding.

 

[Gary]

It's personal preference Steve. And don't forget the fork/bike/frame/shock/spring curves also make a big difference so asking strangers on the Internet is once again rather pointless.
Eg.
Ive run 18% front and 40% rear on DH bikes. I wouldnt recommend that for you.

More sag on the front would be absolutely awful for aggressive riding though.

 

[Pigin]

For what it’s worth @steve_sordy I went plush and plush front and rear as per factory recommendation %.

I have taken three of the four volume spacers out of the front but kept the sag at the recommended %.

The ride is really plush up front and given that I am not doing massive drops it’s fine. Brilliant even. For anything on the big side I just add compression on the move and do the same if I want to get the power down on the road and some climbs.

 

[steve_sordy]

Of course the key point ignored in this thread is where the rider weight is when setting the sag. Fox was silent on this topic when I first read their advice, but I have since discovered that they want the rider's weight to be "central" for the setting of both ends.

I sit on the saddle to set the shock and stand in the attack position to set the fork. So that will be why I found the 20% recco unsatisfactory. For me, it was unbalancing the bike. Thanks to all who responded.

 

[Gary]

I don't think it was ignored.
Not all riders are going to have the same weight and weight bias while riding or measuring sag so sharing actual percentages with randoms online is rather futile.
Obviously whichever body position you do choose to use needs to remain the same each time you do measure for consistency.
I "assumed" most folk wouldn't be measuring fork sag while in a completely different position to when measuring shock sag. . As it makes sharing data even more irrelevant.
But.. Whatever works for you.

 

[Zimmerframe]

I "assumed" most folk wouldn't be measuring fork sag while in a completely different position to when measuring shock sag

I think I do this It's a bit dumb isn't it !! I shall rectify.

 

[steve_sordy]

I don't think it was ignored.
Not all riders are going to have the same weight and weight bias while riding or measuring sag so sharing actual percentages with randoms online is rather futile.
Obviously whichever body position you do choose to use needs to remain the same each time you do measure for consistency.
I "assumed" most folk wouldn't be measuring fork sag while in a completely different position to when measuring shock sag. . As it makes sharing data even more irrelevant.
But.. Whatever works for you.

We have had a discussion about position for setting sag quite a while ago now and there are several schools of thought. I haven't revisited to check, but I remember that we reached agreement in the end (or was it that we just grew bored?)

 

[Gary]

Like I said Steve. Whatever works for you.

My preferred suspension settings would be extremely unlikely be to your taste even if we weighed the same and rode the exact same places on the exact same bike. And vice versa

 

[steve_sordy]

@Gary Believe it or not, I do believe that we are completely different people!

 

[Mikerb]

At the risk of re-opening the debate I think there are 2 things to get right in terms of position on the bike when you set both fork and shock SAG. The first is to use a position that you can replicate accurately.The second is to use a position that is the most likely to be the starting point for the stroke from SAG through the rest of the travel of the fork and shock. So given that for any terrain that is going to work the suspension you need to be stood on the pedals in the ready position, that is the position you should use to set SAG for both shock and fork.
I usually set the fork for c 25% SAG and the shock for 30% SAG.