Are Steering limiters on balance bikes needed?
I have numerous parents asking for a
balance bike with a steering limiter or whether they are needed or not.
First of all, just a quick
explanation of steering limiters if you aren’t familiar. Steering limiters on
balance bikes
are generally a part of the headset that restricts a the handlebar turning
movement. Generally the limiter will restrict the turning to 20-30 degrees in
each direction. The thought here is to prevent a child from over turning the
handlebars and causing a jack knife situation. If you can visualize the child
steering to the far left and leaning to far over the handlebars may cause the
the wheel to roll backwards in the opposite direction and then the bike and
child will fall.

www.likeabike.co.uk
I understand the concern – the last
thing you want is your child to fall off the balance bike and then refuse to
use it again.
The Pros of having limiters is that
it will prevent the bike from jack knifing. The cons of having the limiters is
that it limits the amount a child can turn the handlebars on a
bike.
By limiting the amount of turning during the balance bike stage, you are not
getting them as ready as they should be for a pedal bike with full turning
capabilities. Many balance bike manufacturers that used to have limiters have
since removed them due to the fact that they feel that in the event of a fall
off a balance bike the limiter will prevent the handlebars from laying flat
against the ground and instead, one handle bar will be pointing up in the air.
Accidents do happen, but to be honest the chance of jack knifing without a
limiter and then falling with a limiter and hitting the handlebars are pretty
equal and not as common as you may think.
Most quality bikes have improved
geometry of the fork that makes them safer. This is measured in the amount of
fork rake (see image 1-1). Bikes with more rake tend to be more stable in
regards to jackknifing.

Image
1-1
Some quality bikes with limiters: Yedoo, FirstBike, Likeabike
Some quality bikes without
limiters: Ridgeback, Kinderbike, Strider
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