Motool Digital Sag Tools You Set Alone

A backlit LCD carries the live reading and stays legible in a dim garage or in flat daylight. That backlight is why night-before-a-race setup works without a work lamp balanced on the front tire.

The Pro kit lists the digital tuner, the wireless remote, and a ballistic nylon case together as what ships in the box. Other kits list the wireless remote as an option alongside the free Slacker Virtual Remote app, which puts the same live figure on your phone. Check the contents on the listing for the kit you are considering before assuming the remote is in there.

11.5 ounces for the MTB starter unit, and 1.06 pounds for the base digital tuner. The Pro kit reaches 2.27 pounds packed, because that figure includes the carry case and the remote.

The base tuner is listed at 6.5 x 3.5 x 7.5 inches. The Pro kit ships in a larger box, 8.78 x 8.5 x 8.35 inches, since the case and the remote travel with it.

Zeroing happens on the bike: mount the unit, let the suspension settle at full extension, and set the zero point there before anyone sits down. Bounce the suspension through full travel a few times first, because stiction in a cold fork holds it high and skews that first reading. Every figure after that is measured against the same fixed axle reference.

A specific resolution figure is not published in the listing specs, so treating one as an exact bench number would be a guess. What is documented is the method: a digital reading referenced to the axle instead of a hand-held tape, which is where repeatability between measurements comes from.

Battery type and expected runtime are not listed in the published specs for these kits. Check the manual in the box, or the manufacturer's support page, before a long trip where a dead unit would cost you. Buyer reviews do not raise battery life as a recurring complaint.

A patented measurement system is described on the Ultimate Kit listing. In practice that covers the axle-referenced method itself, the part that makes two readings taken hours apart line up.

The digital tuner at the centre stays the same; the hardware around it changes. The Pro kit adds the wireless handlebar remote and a ballistic nylon case. The MTB starter kit is built around mountain bike rear shock measurement and weighs 11.5 ounces. The Starter and Ultimate kits sit between those, with the wireless remote listed as an option alongside the free app. Compare the contents side by side before picking one.

Front and rear use the same static and rider sag method, with different reference points and different target ranges. The rear measures at the axle against a fixed point above it; the front measures fork travel. Set the rear first, since rear ride height changes what the front is doing, then check the front against your target.

A failure inside the warranty term goes back to the manufacturer for repair or replacement rather than turning into a second purchase. Keep the receipt and the model information from the box. Mount and display are the two parts riders ask about most, and both sit inside the 1-year term.

Each kit sells through the retail listing linked from every product card on this page. Shipping speed is not stated in the product data, so check the listing for a current delivery estimate to your address. Check today's price while you are there.

Replacement part availability is not published in the listing data, so ask the manufacturer directly before assuming a part can be bought on its own. Inside the first year, a failed mount or display is a warranty question rather than a parts question.

Riders report multi-season use in reviews, and the housing is a plastic body meant to live in a gear bag rather than rattle loose in a toolbox drawer. Rinse mud off the base and the clip after wet rides, then store it dry. The 1-year warranty covers early failures; care covers the years after.

The method arrived after two years of development with suspension shops that revalve forks for competitive teams, and it now sits behind a patented measurement system. That carries more weight than a marketing line, because those shops had to sign off on a figure they would use themselves.

No water or dust resistance rating is published for these kits, so treat it as a field tool rather than a submersible one. Riders use it trailside and at wet tracks without raising water ingress in reviews. Wipe the base and clip down after a muddy ride, and keep it in the case or a gear bag between uses.

Loading forty pounds of luggage and water onto a bike pushes static sag past its window and drops ride height before you leave the driveway. Re-measure loaded, add preload until rider sag lands back in range, and note the setting so the empty-bag ride home takes one minute to reset.

Two saved profiles cover it. Pull up the track setting on Friday night, run the softer street figure home on Sunday, and skip counting preload turns from memory. Same tool, same reference point, two numbers you can reproduce.

That is the design case. Clip the base to the axle, sit on the bike in full gear, and read the backlit display at 11 p.m. with nobody else in the garage. Nothing in the measurement asks for a second person to hold the bike upright or call a number across the floor.

Bluetooth LE is a direct link between phone and unit, so a metal shed with no bars does not stop the pairing. If the phone is dead altogether, the backlit LCD on the tuner still shows the same live reading.

Rider weight is exactly what rider sag measures, so a lighter partner on the same machine needs their own figure and usually less preload. When preload alone cannot bring rider sag into range while static sag is already correct, the spring rate is wrong for that rider rather than the setting.

Boots, armour, a helmet, and a loaded hydration pack add real weight to the bike, and that weight belongs in the measurement. Sit the way you ride, feet on the pegs, weight centred, and take the reading there. A figure measured in jeans will not match how the bike behaves on the trail.

One unit covers both. The universal clip and magnetic base mount at the rear axle on either machine, and the reading method does not change between them. That is why riders with a 450 in the garage and a trail bike on the rack buy one gauge instead of two.

An O-ring records how much travel you used, which is not the same question as where the bike sits under you. A tape measure answers that question but shifts with the reading angle and wants a helper. The digital reading gives one figure, referenced to the axle, taken while you sit in gear. The gap between methods shows up on the fourth measurement of a season, not the first.

A helper works fine when a helper exists. The problem is scheduling: sag checks happen at odd hours, before trips, and after a spring change, and a second person is rarely standing by at 11 p.m. Cutting that dependency is what solo sag setup actually means, and it is most of what riders describe buying this for.

Both read from the same digital tuner. The Pro kit adds the wireless handlebar remote and a ballistic nylon case, which matters if you measure at a track with gloves on and want the figure on the bars. The Starter kit leaves the readout to the display and the free app. Start with the simpler kit unless the handlebar readout is the specific thing you are after.

Motion Pro, Tusk, and ASV Inventions build sliding manual scales that cost less and need no batteries. What they do not do is show a live figure while you sit, save a profile, or reference every reading to the same fixed point. Those are the trade-offs, and they deserve an honest weighing before you spend more.

The base tuner plus the free app covers most riders, because a phone in your pocket does what the remote does. The remote earns its place at a track or trailhead where a phone is awkward, gloved hands are slow, and you want the figure sitting on the bars.

A shop sets sag properly once. The tool sets it again every time your load, your gear, or your rider changes, without another appointment and another drive across town. Riders who race or travel loaded measure often enough that the two are not really substitutes.

The Pro kit ships with the digital tuner, the wireless handlebar remote, and a ballistic nylon case. Other kits list the tuner and mounting hardware, with the remote as an option and the Slacker Virtual Remote app free to download. Read the contents list on the specific kit before ordering.

Mounting is the fast part, since the magnetic base and clip go on by hand. Pairing the app and zeroing on a settled suspension is where a first session takes a few extra minutes. By the second bike, the whole routine collapses into one sit-down.

Wipe the base and the clip down before mud dries on them, because grit on the magnet face is what stops the mount sitting flat. A damp cloth does it; skip the pressure washer. Store it dry in the case or a gear bag.

Start by reading the display on the unit itself, which works with Bluetooth switched off. Then close the app fully, cycle Bluetooth on the phone, and re-pair with the tuner powered and within a few feet. If the connection still fails inside the warranty term, contact the manufacturer rather than working around it.

Older reviews reference an earlier generation of the tuner, and the listing data does not make clear which revision is authoritative right now. The measurement method is unchanged: axle reference, live reading, app connection. Check the listing for current model information before ordering if that detail matters to you.

One unit covers a garage. Mount it at the rear axle of whichever machine you are working on, zero it, and take the reading. Keep a saved profile per bike in the app, so last season's figures are still there when you come back to them.