Is a hardtail easier to set up than a full-suspension bike?

Yes: one fork instead of a fork, a rear shock and the balance between them. The fork itself is set up the same way on both.

What sag should a hardtail fork run?

The same range as any fork: 15–30% of travel, depending on the discipline. Measure it in the position you ride in most, seated or standing, and use that position every time.

Can data acquisition be used on a hardtail?

Yes. A hardtail runs the fork sensor alone; on cross-country bikes BYB recommends a 150 mm front sensor.

Hardtail vs full suspension: setup differences

A hardtail has one suspension unit to set up, the fork; a full-suspension bike adds a rear shock whose movement reaches the wheel through the frame's leverage ratio, so the two ends must also be balanced. Sag sits between 15% and 30% at each end, depending on the discipline; a hardtail sets it at the fork only.

Published 2026-11-11

Close-up of a white cross-country full-suspension frame against a red wall, the rear shock mounted between the top tube and the seat stays — A rear shock is a second setup job: its sag, 15–30% of stroke depending on the discipline, comes on top of the fork's, and then the two ends have to agree.

What changes between a hardtail and a full-suspension bike

One setup job against three: the fork, the rear shock and the balance between them.
Compared on	Hardtail	Full suspension
Suspension to set up	Fork	Fork and rear shock
Sag to set, by discipline	Fork, 15–30%	Fork and shock, 15–30% each
Rear wheel movement	None from suspension	Shock stroke multiplied by the leverage ratio
Balance to check	None	Front against rear
Sensors to record it	1, on the fork	2, on the fork and the shock

Setting up a hardtail fork

A hardtail fork is set up exactly like any other: sag first, then rebound, then compression, one change at a time. How to set up mountain bike suspension covers the order and the step sizes.

Recording a hardtail needs the fork sensor alone. For cross-country, where forks run 100–120 mm of travel, BYB recommends a 150 mm front sensor.

What the leverage ratio does on a full-suspension bike

Leverage ratio: Rear wheel travel divided by shock stroke at a given point in the travel. On most frames it changes through the travel, so the same shock behaves differently in different bikes.

A linear position sensor fitted beside the red coil shock of a silver downhill bike — The sensor reads the shock's own stroke, 500 times a second on Telemetry V3 and 1000 on Telemetry V3 Pro; the software turns it into wheel travel through that frame's leverage curve.

BYB Telemetry stores each bike's leverage curve in the Garage with its measurements, and converts shock movement into wheel travel with it. That is why a recorded histogram reads in wheel travel, and why rear sag is measured against shock stroke rather than wheel travel.

Balancing front and rear on a full-suspension bike

With two ends, each can be right on its own and the bike still be wrong. Overlaying the front and rear travel distributions shows it: in the balanced run shown in the histogram guide, the rear peaks at 25% and the front at 27% of wheel travel.

A hardtail skips this step. Its rear is the tyre and the rider's legs, so only the fork's distribution is read.

How much travel each mountain bike discipline uses

Typical travel by discipline, as BYB lists it for fitting its sensors.
Discipline	Travel
Cross-country	100–120 mm
E-MTB	140–170 mm
Enduro	150–170 mm
Downhill	180–200 mm

More travel means more stroke to set up and more room for the two ends to drift apart. Measuring sag is the first check on either kind of bike, as how to measure sag on a mountain bike explains.

Common questions

Is a hardtail easier to set up than a full-suspension bike?: Yes: one fork instead of a fork, a rear shock and the balance between them. The fork itself is set up the same way on both.
What sag should a hardtail fork run?: The same range as any fork: 15–30% of travel, depending on the discipline. Measure it in the position you ride in most, seated or standing, and use that position every time.
Can data acquisition be used on a hardtail?: Yes. A hardtail runs the fork sensor alone; on cross-country bikes BYB recommends a 150 mm front sensor.