Wouldn't ride without one??
I rode a friends bike thats close to mine in set up that had one and I couldnt really tell where the advantage was. I mainly rode it under 60mph on some fire roads and on fast single track.

Where do you think the advantage is? High speed rocky stuff (like river beds)? My friend who has it says it's better everywhere.
Just courious as what you think makes it better <IMG SRC="smilies/question.gif" border="0">

well its made for when your going kinda fast and the front wheel is bouncing around. like yeah going through the riverbed at carnegie at a good rate of speed,it would help there, or going anywhere without a trail,like making your own or going up hills with big bumps and rocks. i dont have one personally and havent ridden a bike with one but i know that they dont do any good if you stick to smooth stuff.

it helps in numerous ways. when hitting rocks roots etc, it takes the hit it stops head shake to some extent it makes the bike track thru whoops better things that would get you outa shape dont anymore, things that would make you crash only get you outa shape with it and the list goes on. there are national mx riders using them even , they are hidden under cross bar pads protaper pads and every top offroad rider uses them. i firmly beleive that if i had one before i destroyed my leg it wouldnt have happened

I run a GP and it helps everywhere. When I bought another bike I picked it up near where I ride and only rode it once without the stabilizer on. Rocks and tree roots the most.

I guess if you ride Baja and smoke crack you could go without one. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">