LuckySailor

I have a touring bike with bar end shifters. When the bike is parked and up on the kickstand, since the front tire is off the ground, the wheel usually always flops to the left. Problem is the bar end shifter bangs into the frame. One of these times it'll probably break the shifter, and it will dent the frame, chip the paint. So I found this thing called a steering damper which connects to the bottom of the down tube towards the top and at the back of the fork at the top where the bolt goes thru and attaches the brake and fender. Supposingly this helps. Any input?

J.C. Koto

I'd just use a length of velcro one-wrap to secure the wheel to the frame since this kind of wheel flop is only an issue when parked. Plus, the velcro is useful for other things when not employed for this purpose.

MassiveD

Wow, solve one problem, create another. I don't use kickstands, though i have had bikes where they were so equipped, and used them. I figure the stuff I lean bike against is pretty much earthquake proof anyway. I would use the velcro type solution, though something a little more fiddly like a soft shackle would stop people riding off on your bike, if they got past the lock.

indyfabz

Come on. Unless your frame is made out of paper it's not going to suffer a dent that way. And the left shifter is friction, so it will likely simply move rather than get damaged.

andrewclaus

How much weight will you have on front? The damper may not be rated for a touring load, and may break or stretch. It looks like a good idea and might be a brainless way to solve a problem, vs having to remember a velcro strap. I use a strap infrequently, only when I can't lean against something solid or would like a little extra security, and sometimes I forget about it. The strap gives the advantage of a stable front wheel, but that's not a concern with your kickstand.

Tourist in MSN

A piece of pipe insulation about 4 to 6 inches long over the top tube held on with velcro will protect the frame just fine. Even though I have a kickstand, sometimes I lean the bike against a sign post to lock it up, the pipe insulation helps protect the bike when leaning it against something too.

I do not have a photo of it leaning against a post, but in this photo you can clearly see the pipe insulation and velcro strap.

Tandem Tom

We are currently on tour across the US. What my wife made was some extra nylon webbing and a parachute buckle. It goes through the wheel and around the downtube. It just hangs on the handlebar until needed. Works great!

Medic Zero

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I use one. The one Velo Orange sells*. I find it helps more around town when I've got a light load than when I'm touring, as when I've got a full load of cycle camping gear on the bike, the front end has enough weight on it to overcome the spring and the wheel will still flop over once the weight is put on it. Still, it makes it easier to get the first pannier on, particularly since I use a center kickstand that puts my front wheel up in the air.

I like it and find it to be a useful thing.

I think calling it a steering dampener is a bit of a misnomer, I don't think it affects my steering any. I've seen them called "defloppinators" and wheel stabilizers.

* VO Wheel Stabilizer

fietsbob

When I built up my One Off Touring frame , in the builders shop, I got a close out .. Odyssey made Hydraulic steering damper for MTB's
a miniaturized MX Motorcycle one . its pistons have a rate adjustment knob on the end of the shaft
turning it increased the resistance to wheel shimmy so I cranked it up at the summit of climbs before coasting down the other side .
backed it off on the flatlands ..

but this is a parking wheel block issue .. re centering the front wheel the weak spring should do that fine..