Know Your Steering Dampers

Steering dampers can often go unseen, but their presence is much harder to go unnoticed. We caught up with suspension guru Michael Hancock from K-Tech to find out a little more about them

- Carl 'Pretty Boy' Stevens

FB: What is the role of a steering damper?

MH: A steering damper is there to assist the rider and give them more control over the handlebars; so for example if you hit a bump or get any sideways kicks to the bike (like hitting a curb on track, or a cat’s eye on the road), it will literally dampen the force and ease the pressure on your arms by absorbing the kinetic force travelling through the chassis.

FB: How does it work?

MH: Steering damper are quite a simple idea really! Essentially they are a made up of a tube, which is the body, which houses a solid piston. The piston works by pushing oil straight through a bleed as you turn the bars from side to side, with the difficulty/resistance being controlled by your adjustment needle and oil viscosity.

FB: Do they make a notable difference?