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Sag is the first setting that makes adjustable suspension work for your weight. Here is how to measure it with a tape and a friend, what preload, compression and rebound do, and where home setup should stop.
The short answer
Electric dirt bike suspension sag is how far the bike settles under its own weight (static sag) and with you on it in full gear (rider sag). Measure the rear from the axle to a fixed point with the bike on a stand, on its wheels, and with you standing on the pegs, then subtract. Adjust spring preload, or air pressure on air suspension, until rider sag matches your maker’s figure. A common starting point is about a third of rear wheel travel. Then fine tune compression and rebound a click or two at a time.
Sag is the amount your suspension compresses before you hit anything. It sets where the suspension sits in its travel, so the wheel can drop into holes as well as rise over bumps.
Too little sag and the bike rides high and stiff: the rear skips over bumps and the steering feels nervous. Too much sag and it wallows, bottoms out on landings and steers slowly. Sag also changes the bike’s geometry, so getting it right improves cornering, not just comfort.
Electric dirt bikes often have a heavy battery low in the frame and a rider who stands a lot, so a few minutes with a tape measure can change how the bike feels more than any accessory.
Sag is usually quoted as a share of total travel, so start with your bike’s figures. The product page or manual should list them:
Shock stroke is not wheel travel. On bikes with a linkage or a long swingarm, the wheel moves much further than the shock shaft. The Sigma’s 85 mm shock moves the wheel 200 mm. Always measure sag at the axle.
You need a tape measure, a stand, a helper and your riding gear. Power the bike off before you start, and follow your maker’s manual where it differs.
Front sag works the same way, measured along the fork tube or from the front axle to the lower triple clamp. Many forks have less adjustment than shocks, so check what your manual says before you chase a number.
Your maker’s manual has the right figure for your bike, so use it if it has one. Without one, a common starting point on dirt bikes is rider sag of about a third of rear wheel travel, with static sag of roughly a tenth. On 200 mm of rear wheel travel, a third is about 66 mm. Front rider sag is often set a little lower as a share of travel.
Treat those as a place to start, not a rule. A rider who wants a planted rear on rough trails may run a little more sag; a rider on a smooth track may run a little less.
The two numbers check your spring. If you set rider sag correctly and static sag comes out far too small, the spring is too soft for you and you have wound in too much preload. If static sag comes out far too large, the spring is too stiff. Either way, the fix is a different spring rate, fitted by a qualified suspension technician. Heavier riders meet this most often; see electric dirt bikes for heavy riders.
Write down where you started and every change you make. A phone note with clicks, turns and pressures saves a lot of guessing later.
Once sag is set, damping controls how fast the suspension moves. Many adjustable forks and shocks have clickers for one or both, and the E Ride Pro bikes, for example, list adjustable sport suspension.
Find your baseline first. Turn each clicker gently clockwise until it stops, without forcing it, and count the clicks back out to the maker’s standard setting. Then change one thing at a time, by one or two clicks, and ride the same section of trail to feel the difference.
Tire pressure works with the suspension, so set it first. Our sibling guide to electric dirt bike tires covers pressure and sizes.
Sag, preload, air pressure and clickers are rider adjustments. Everything inside the fork or shock is not.
Set up suspension for the rider today, and recheck sag when your weight, your gear or the rider changes. New to dirt bikes? Start with electric dirt bikes for beginners, and browse every model in our electric dirt bike collection. Every bike there is for off-road use only.
Use the figure in your maker’s manual first. Without one, a common starting point is rear rider sag of about a third of rear wheel travel, with static sag of roughly a tenth, then adjust to the terrain and your feel.
Static sag is how far the bike settles under its own weight. Rider sag is how far it settles with you on it in full gear and in your riding position. Together they tell you whether the spring suits your weight.
No. Measure at the rear axle. On many bikes a linkage moves the wheel much further than the shock shaft, so a shock measurement understates the sag.
You cannot change it without an adjuster, but measuring it still tells you whether the spring suits your weight. If it does not, a qualified suspension technician can advise on a different spring.
When you first get the bike, whenever the rider or their gear changes, and after suspension service. Springs can settle in the first hours of riding, so recheck after the first few rides.
Tire pressure changes grip, comfort, range and flats more than any other quick adjustment. Here is how to find and set it, how to read a dirt bike tire size, and the sizes our bikes use.
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