After reading the Race Tech Motorcycle Suspension Bible I decided to try the following method of setting sag on my Santa Cruz Nomad

http://www.triumphnet.com/st/acc/racetech/setup.htm

I got quite a large variation with 36% sag on one measurement and 20% on the other.

I have just changed all the bearings and installed a new shock (Rock Shox Vivid coil) so I’m wondering if I should just ride it for a while to let everything bed in or start stripping it down to see if I can find anything wrong.

Or are these normal numbers for a mountain bike?

Those numbers seem a bit high, unless your riding a 10 inch DH bike.

Anything else Id go for between 15-20%. Get a mate to measure it while your sat in a normal riding position. Measure it a few times.

I’m aiming for around 30%. What I’m asking is how much stiction is normal for a full suspension frame.

is 35% L2 & 20% L3?

Then yes you have lots and lots of friction/stiction in the system.

Do as you sugest and run it a bit, or just pop the shock out and check the linkages are free.

Almost none in the frame links, a bit on the shock.

I find the massive difference you have at odds, its just one relatively small shock with lots of leverage and a bloke sat on it, for an MTB I would expect L2 & L3 to be the same every time.

Yeah, it’s new bushings on the shock but I’ve got a feeling that it’s the linkages that are the problem. There shouldn’t be any bed in time for new bearings I would have thought?