rider sag or static sag post reply today 4-27-02

[cr lover]

i have a 96 cr 250 and just put in race tech gold valves for the forks and shock. i also purchase the correct springs for my wieght.the fork springs are race tech and the shock spring is a god only knows brand. i was setting the sag and the only way i could get the correct rider sag was to eliminate static sag.my ? is would you set it up with static sag or rider sag or a happy mediem?
next time i will use race tech or eibach springs only.

post a thought or theory and win a mcgrath replica bike!
just kidding,just trying to get a response from ya

 

[MACE]

Static sag is only a rule of thumb to help tell if you have the correct spring. It has no meaning in and of itself (that phrase looks funny typed - but it speaks fine...).

Why would you care how much your bike sags when it is sitting leaned up against a wall. What matters is what it does with you on the bike.

 

[cr lover]

great point. thanx for your input mace. the mcgrath replica is on its way.

 

[Esp1]

CR Lover,
If I where you I would give it a little bit of free-sag. I’m finding that the free-sag is much more important than I ever thought! The bigger bore the bike is, the more sensitive it’s on the free-sag.
If you can’t get both measurements dialed in, go for something in the middle. As Mace says, you have to try it out on the track. You never know what you prefer until you have tried some different combinations. Try some combinations with more and less free-sag and pay attention on how the bike handles smaller bumps during deceleration and braking, and how it handles bumpy downhill’s.

Good luck! ;)

 

[UKcr125rider]

I would have thought that if you set your rear suspension so that it is topping out when there is no weight on it, it wouldnt be easy to balance on jumps! The shoch spring would be tryin to extend quickly causeing the rear to jump high. Same applies when braking, might be skipping about alot. Ive always been told you need at least 5-15mm free sag ideally and 80-110mm rider sag depending on track conditions. (less rider sag when muddy to compensate for mud weight gain during race)

 

[Esp1]

Yes, I totally agree. I would recomend at least 20mm free-sag on a 250cc. In my opinion 30mm +/- 5mm is the best setting for a 250cc.

 

[BBD]

If you have no free sag and the race sag is ok, then your spring is too soft for your size. If you have over 25mm's of free sag, then your spring could be too stiff for your size. Go to www.race-tech.com and click on spring rates. Fill out everything but the fork and shock codes, you don't need them for srping rates. This will tell you what spring rate you should have for your application.