http://www.crosstrainingenduro.com http://tractionerag.com Steering stabilisers. Also called steering dampers! Are these a good idea for your dirt bike? First, what is it? A steering stabilizer is just a hydraulic damper that is meant to slow down the steering when needed. Into enduro riding? See all our dirt bike videos for dirt riding tips. Our channel now had hundreds of dirt bike videos covering reviews, and dirt riding techniques. Search our channel for dirt riding gear too. Our dirt riding tips also include wider topics such as the best dirt riding boots. A typical example is the twitchy steering of two strokes at higher speeds, or the ridiculously fast speeds on any motorbike used in desert racing. Finally, work on your riding skills. See our training vids about riding in rocky terrain. While a steering damper isn't heavy, it is adding the weight at a high point of the bike. This may be a concern if you really want to keep your bike as light as possible. If you are desert racing, or simply tapped out in top gear a lot, it's probably a great idea. If you are an older rider, or have upper body problems, then perhaps a steering stabiliser could reduce fatigue or pain in rough terrain. Also, if you are not especially aiming to develop your riding skills that far, a steering damper may add that degree of security for you. Do you have a steering damper? This only means you have become so used to your setup that you can't tolerate any difference. The same argument can be used to support Rekluse auto clutches, Steg Pegz, Pivot Pegz, or a lefthand rear brake. I suspect there is a reason you never see pro level enduro riders using steering dampers. Also, most dirt riders go through a phase where they think bling, tyre choice, or suspension setup are critical to riding better. Also they do wear out and need maintenance, so check on the price of servicing and spare parts. The big question is whether you need one. I rode a Beta Xtrainer for an entire day with a steering stabiliser. It was in a lot of rocky terrain at low and high speed. This was perfect for testing the benefits, because the Beta Xtrainer is a very light bike designed for slower riding. The bike starts to feel twitchy once you are in third gear and it just gets worse the faster you go, especially in rocky terrain. So did the steering damper make a difference? A little bit. The steering was a bit less twitchy at speed over rocks, but I don't think it made much difference. I can see why it might be comforting for less experienced riders, as the handlebars do move around less. But once you learn to let the bike do its own thing in rough terrain you learn to not grip the handlebars too tightly and go with the flow. Once I was out of the rocks, I didn't like the steering stabilizer at all and kept turning it off. Manufacturers usually also claim it prevents 'deflection' when riding in rocky terrain. There are various types, and some dampers are even electronic. But this is the most common one seen on dirt bikes. What are the potential drawbacks of steering stabilizers? Steering stabilisers are not cheap. They can take a fair while to fit. In some cases you will be dismantling the front end of your bike. Some fit under the bars, some fit over the bars. Manufacturers like Fastway offer both, and also twopiece versions which apparently makes installation quick and easy. When fitted under the handlebars it does raise the height of the bars which some riders won't like. See our dirt bike setup video. If your bike is twitchy at speed, a very cheap solution can be a 90/100 high profile front tyre like the Goldentyre 'fatty'. Given enough experience, we finally realise our riding ability is the main thing, and all the factors only make small improvements, if at all. f you are thinking about a steering damper, try getting your bike setup correctly first. You might have an unstable front end due to your handlebar positioning, where your forks are set in the triple clamps, or a worn front tyre. A wider front tyre naturally slows down your steering, as well as providing more traction. In a training session with Chris Birch, he recommended tightening our head stem bearings just enough to stop the front wheel from flopping to the left or right when on a bike stand. He calls this the poor man's stabiliser and it's well worth trying. This is only my personal opinion, but I think the benefits of a steering damper for most dirt riders are completely overrated. I have heard riders say they must be fantastic because they find it so hard to ride a bike without a steering stabiliser. One claimed benefit of steering dampers is they reduce fatigue, but learning to ride better will often achieve the same result. So should you get a steering stabiliser?

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