Fox RC2 rider and free sag recommended

[Survivor]

What is the recommended free sag and rider sag for the RC2 Fox shock?

Thanks for your help.

[ss-racing66]

Same as it would be for your bike with an Oem shock

[wwguy]

I agree that it's the same as with the stock shock, assuming both have the same range of travel (which in this case I believe they do.)  My current trail settings are rider sag at 97mm and free sag at 26mm.  My rider sag drops to around 90mm when not riding with a chainsaw on my rear fender, which is my preferred height for faster or more technical riding.

The generally accepted rule-of-thumb for dirt bike sag is rider/race sag at 1/3 of full suspension travel and free/static sag at 20-30mm or so.  Some riders have obviously developed variations of this to meet their own preferences, so I only offer this as a guideline for starting point.

The reason for 1/3 of travel for rider sag is to put the bike at the sweet spot in suspension stroke to maximize the useful range of travel while riding, and to match the rear bike height with the front.  Generally, rider sag is set before measuring free sag.

Once the rider sag is set you can check free sag to get an idea if your springs are too soft or too stiff.  Generally speaking (again) free sag of 20mm or less indicates your spring is a bit soft for your net riding weight, and free sag over 30mm indicates your spring is a bit stiff.  Of course, you can increase/decrease preload to change free sag, but that will just throw your rider sag off the sweet spot too.  That's why it's easier to set rider sag first and then check free sag as a reference.  This short article is a good reference.

 

I never bothered to measure full range of travel for my stock Xtrainer shock travel or my Fox RC2, but Beta's specs show the stock shock at 270mm full travel and the RC appears to be about the same.  The Xtrainer owner's manual indicates suggested free/static sag of 25mm (which is in line with the 20-30mm range I mentioned above) and doesn't suggest a rider sag setting.

[FORMA MOTO]

35/105  with 8mm fork gap in the clamps

If you go less than 30, your bike will suffer with traction problems when going really slow, unless you run ultra low tire pressures to compensate.

If you go as low as 20, you will probably have substantial oversteer, which is fun when you have room to use the rear wheel to turn, but not so fun if you don't..... 

[dirtbird]

14 hours ago, wwguy said:

I agree that it's the same as with the stock shock, assuming both have the same range of travel (which in this case I believe they do.)  My current trail settings are rider sag at 97mm and free sag at 26mm.  My rider sag drops to around 90mm when not riding with a chainsaw on my rear fender, which is my preferred height for faster or more technical riding.

The generally accepted rule-of-thumb for dirt bike sag is rider/race sag at 1/3 of full suspension travel and free/static sag at 20-30mm or so.  Some riders have obviously developed variations of this to meet their own preferences, so I only offer this as a guideline for starting point.

The reason for 1/3 of travel for rider sag is to put the bike at the sweet spot in suspension stroke to maximize the useful range of travel while riding, and to match the rear bike height with the front.  Generally, rider sag is set before measuring free sag.

Once the rider sag is set you can check free sag to get an idea if your springs are too soft or too stiff.  Generally speaking (again) free sag of 20mm or less indicates your spring is a bit soft for your net riding weight, and free sag over 30mm indicates your spring is a bit stiff.  Of course, you can increase/decrease preload to change free sag, but that will just throw your rider sag off the sweet spot too.  That's why it's easier to set rider sag first and then check free sag as a reference.  This short article is a good reference.

 

I never bothered to measure full range of travel for my stock Xtrainer shock travel or my Fox RC2, but Beta's specs show the stock shock at 270mm full travel and the RC appears to be about the same.  The Xtrainer owner's manual indicates suggested free/static sag of 25mm (which is in line with the 20-30mm range I mentioned above) and doesn't suggest a rider sag setting.

Just a side note. 

270mm is the suspension travel not the shock's full stroke which usually is r the 1/3 of suspension travel. 

Moreover, to measure shock stroke you have to count in the bump stop height as well. 

Edited January 13, 2019 by dirtbird