Collection: Suspension Measuring & SAG Tools

Suspension Measuring & SAG Tools

Dialing in sag is one of the most important steps in mountain bike suspension setup. These tools are designed to help you measure and tune your fork and shock sag accurately without scratching expensive coatings or relying on guesswork. Whether you’re running air or coil, front or rear, these tools are made for field use and are made to be as cheap as possible while being effective.

Tools for Every Suspension Type

  • MTB Fork SAG Tool: Easy four-sided stick for measuring front fork sag by travel range.
  • Rear Shock SAG Tool: For air shocks that don’t have factory sag gradients (Fox, Cane Creek, Öhlins, etc).
  • Finger Caliper: Slim, finger-mounted caliper designed to measure shaft movement on coil shocks between the spring coils.
  • Tunnel Finger Caliper: A narrow stick tool for frames where the shock is recessed into the frame tunnel.
  • Coil Shaft Sag Clips: Small plastic clips that temporarily attach to the shaft between coils for visual sag measurement.

Getting Sag Right Is Only the Start

Sag settings give you a solid starting point, but how your bike feels on the trail depends heavily on body position, dynamic sag, and damping.

If your fork feels harsh or stiff on rough terrain, don’t automatically blame the setup. A common issue is not putting enough weight on the front wheel. If you ride too far back, the fork stays high in its travel and doesn’t have enough sag to fill the holes and track the ground. That creates harsh feedback, poor traction, and arm pump.

The solution can be counterintuitive: more front-end pressure and more compression damping often smooths things out. Proper riding posture with a strong attack position makes a huge difference.

I made this mistake myself. I kept softening the fork thinking it was too harsh, but I was bottoming out constantly and still getting even more beat up in rock gardens because the fork would stay way too low in it’s travel. Eventually a more experienced rider pointed out my poor riding position. Once I learned to hinge and add pressure on the bars, I increased air pressure and damping and the fork started working like it should. Better traction, less harshness, and no more arm pump.

If your fork feels harsh, it might not be the fork, it might be your technique. Don't just adjust pressure without checking your body position first.

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Helpful Tools & Calculators

These tools help you go deeper with your setup, but don’t overthink it, good setup is part numbers, part feel, and part riding style.

Note: RockShox forks and shocks already have sag gradients on the stanchion or shaft. These tools are mostly for Fox, Cane Creek, Öhlins, Push, and other brands that don’t include them.