poor mans steering damper. advice?

jimmyhackers

jimmyhackers

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is there such a thing?

im toying with the idea of a steering damper on my e-bike but would like to test said theory before investing money.

you guys got any cheapey homebrew methods i can initially try out?

TIA
jim
 
jimmyhackers said:
is there such a thing?

im toying with the idea of a steering damper on my e-bike but would like to test said theory before investing money.

you guys got any cheapey homebrew methods i can initially try out?

TIA
jim
Click to expand...

Just a ebay/amazon one for 25$.
Worst thing you'll have to replace seals with something less leaky (plenty of vids).
 
jimmyhackers said:
is there such a thing? im toying with the idea of a steering damper on my e-bike but would like to test said theory before investing money. you guys got any cheapey homebrew methods i can initially try out? TIA
jim
Click to expand...
Jim,

Sorry, no. I have had a few light motorcycles with steering dampers, and I never saw any benefit for that option.
Some motorcycles were unsafe with them. At best, they might be a band-aid fix for some problem,
but the real cure was to find and fix the problem. Wheel-balancing and maybe a good tire usually did the trick.
I am curious about why you would consider using a steering damper. What do you have there?
 
here's my mad max creation.20221031_112929[1].jpg
wheels are true and balanced.

i recently found out my top bearing in the steerer tube was...."wrong" and ive fixed it.

so ive gone from about 0.5mm of play in the top and a somewhat stiff steering setup (id been over tightening it to compensate)
to it now functioning correctly with no play and having zero resistance to my turning force.

thing feels way better now, but when im doing 40-50mph the lightness of the steering feels....not great.
its almost like the bumps in the road (sometimes the wind too) have an easier time pushing/steering my wheel.

https://motocrossactionmag.com/ask-the-mxperts-what-is-a-poor-mans-steering-damper/ only thing i found was this article....says overtighten your headstock :lol:
it does talk of moving fork tubes down....but im already maxed out on mine.

maybe i just need to get used to its new feeling.
 
The relevant bit of the article your linked is "However, you might also want to try sliding your fork tubes down in the triple clamps a couple millimeters. This will slacken the head angle and make the bike more stable in a straight line and less likely to headshake."

While the author may have known what he meant to say, the way he has written it is confusing. You want to increase the rake angle of the front forks to increase straight line stability (think a 1960's 'chopper' style motorcycle). You can achieve that on a motorcycle by spring preload adjustment, both front and back suspensions. You want to raise the front of the bike (increase spring preload), and drop the rear (decrease spring preload). Doing so increases the wheelbase length and front forks rake angle, both factors in improving straight line stability.

P.S. sports type motorcycles use steering dampers because they are designed with short wheel bases and small fork rake angles so they can turn quickly. However, this compromises straight line stability, hence why steering dampers at fitted.
 
i cant raise my front forks anymore or lower my rear... :(

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124412206695?var=0&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338268676&toolid=10044&_trkparms=ispr=1&amdata=enc:1CNHQ3LhsRYmpbFHL6Lbb0Q93&customid=CjwKCAjwh4ObBhAzEiwAHzZYU7RRQo2yLobkfnEmHtxRU100VRFNPEpyb1ikLWCFrI7tHho7WMCMfhoCscgQAvD_BwE

ive found something on ebay, close to what i could make up from my piles of junk.

turns out i wanted a steering stabilizer not a damper...although a stablizer does somewhat dampen.

two clamps and a spring and i should be good..
 
Uber lime bikes have this on them:
 

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That's a Deflopilator. To keep the front wheel from flopping around while parked on kickstand. Not effective as a steering stabilizer or damper at speed.

https://yubabikes.com/cargobikestore/deflopilator/
 
99t4 said:
That's a Deflopilator. To keep the front wheel from flopping around while parked on kickstand. Not effective as a steering stabilizer or damper at speed.

https://yubabikes.com/cargobikestore/deflopilator/
Click to expand...

:shock: never knew such a thing existed and that I tried saying, deflopilator 3x fast... :mrgreen:
 
red said:
I have had a few light motorcycles with steering dampers, and I never saw any benefit for that option.
Some motorcycles were unsafe with them. At best, they might be a band-aid fix for some problem,
but the real cure was to find and fix the problem.
Click to expand...

This. Get your steering house in order and you won't need or want a damper.

The most prevalent problem with steering setup on modern bikes is too much trail/too little fork offset. Frame and fork misalignment are also common.

Centering springs for steering are not dampers at all (and also not helpful) but are at least less likely to cause serious handling problems.

Flop is also curable by using enough fork offset, which people seem to be allergic to lately. Problem is that bikes have head angles from the high 70s down to the low 60s (or even lower for some choppered-out old white dude bikes), but mostly get fitted with the same fork offset regardless of head angle. That doesn't work from a steering standpoint; it's only a cost reducing measure.
 
I'd say resisting an initial wheel bump from a rock is a form of damping?
The initial testers all seemed to like the feel of knowing the wheel was actually back on center after a hit too.
Anyway, I guess part of their thing is there's a cam ring on the steer tube, so the centering force changes across the handlebar sweep, and easy adjust centering preload.
It might not be for everybody, but some are bound to like it too.
Seemed like it might be relatively easy to make a knock off version to try, if that's what the OP is into.
 
Voltron said:
I'd say resisting an initial wheel bump from a rock is a form of damping?
Click to expand...

No, it's not. Loading a spring without dissipating the energy stored in it just signs you up for weird delayed steering inputs.

If the centering spring resists steering movement in the small angular range to either side of center, then it will resist the bike's tendency to self-correct and stay underneath you. For an up to date "progressive" MTB, the steering is messed up enough that it might not have a normal self-correcting tendency at bicycle speeds anyway, so a centering spring might not hurt anything.
 
Jimmy hackers when you're going 60 mph on the street where do you put your feet ? Are they on the bottom bracket ? ? If so how long are your legs ?
Chalo can you tell me or show a diagram of which way you're showing your offse.
Or head angle ?
Maybe you can use two Uber lime springs if not proprietary and then lawsuits. Patent infringements. Looks like trouble.
 
999zip999 said:
Jimmy hackers when you're going 60 mph on the street where do you put your feet ? Are they on the bottom bracket ? ? If so how long are your legs ?
Click to expand...

if you look closely, there are steel bmx stunt pegs on the rear arm pivot point. im 6ft so my legs do end up rather bent.

after a bit more riding ive figured what i want is that "wheel bump" resistance back in the steering.

im waiting on a new head tube as my current one was too short. after it arrives i can implement the above cheapy spring method.

the ebay ones go for as cheap as 6 quid....all of which seem to have a spring thats covered in a rubber sock/net. id imagine aswell as protecting the spring it would add some fictional dampening to its function.

ive seen more expensive options available like the hopey steering damper. so it does appear to be a thing....wether my cheap method cures the problem or creates another....i guess ill find out.
 
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