Bike handles, like other components on a bike, are always measured in millimeters. Grab some calipers and open the jaws around an exposed portion of the handlebar, near the center. Close the jaws and check where the adjustable jaw crosses the ruler at the top to measure your handlebars. Get wider handlebars if you have broad shoulders or you like holding the sides while you ride. Get longer handlebars if you like to keep your hands close to the stem while you ride. The stem is the bracket in the middle of your frame that holds the handlebars in place. Changing your handlebars out is more work than adjusting the seat, but you shouldn’t mess with the saddle height if you’re serious about riding and it’s already at a comfortable height.
This process is identical on mountain and racing bikes. The only difference may be that you’ll need to remove the rubber grips on the end of mountain bikes first before doing anything else. [3] X Research source You may need to cut your grip tape and peel it off first before taking the brakes and gearshifts off if there isn’t any slack in the cables and they’re taped to the handlebars. You can just let the brakes and gearshifts hang as you complete the rest of these steps.
If you don’t count the number of rotations required to undo each bolt, you’ll need to use a torque wrench with an Allen key attachment to reinstall the bolts without breaking the stem. The tension for these bolts should be listed in the bike’s instruction manual if you have one, but it’s much easier to count the rotations and write them down as you remove the stem’s bolts.
You don’t need to lubricate your handlebars if they’re made of aluminum or some other material.
Be sure to screw each bolt in halfway. If you had to unscrew each bolt 24 times to remove them, put them back in by twisting 12 times. This will make it easy to remember how many more rotations you need once you adjust the angle of the bars.
Don’t tighten the bolts too hard. If you overtighten them, you could break your stem.
Slide or reinstall the covers on top of the brake and gearshift assembly on each side the same way you took them off.
If you purchased handlebars with rubber grips, slide them over the handles and adjust them as needed until they fit the shape of each handlebar.
When you’re on your bike and your feet are at the lowest point on the pedals, your knee should be slightly bent. This is the ideal height for your seat and changing its height will mess with the angle your feet rotate when you’re pedaling. So long as you can pedal comfortably, it’s fine to raise the seat.
By raising your butt further off of the ground, you’ll have to lean further forward to grab the handlebars. This is effectively the same thing as extending your handlebars for your back and neck, but raising your seat does change how far your legs have to extend to pedal. If your knees lock at any point when you’re pedaling, the seat is too high and you’ll have to lower it a little bit.
Upper back and neck pain are symptoms of a short reach. However, lower back and leg pain are signs that your seat is too high. If you notice your upper back pain goes away and you start getting lower back pain, you’ll need to install bigger handles or get a new bike.
If you don’t feel comfortable when you take a bike for a test drive, it’s not an ideal bike for you. When it comes to finding the right bike, the common small-medium-large sizes are too simplistic to be helpful. The popular usage of the top tube’s length can be problematic since the top tubes on most bikes sit on an angle and aren’t universal. Judging a bike by the reach solves part of this problem by using an imaginary point based on how you sit on the bike to see if it’s right for you.
For example, if the distance from the middle of the pedals to the back wall is 810 millimetres (32 in) and the distance from the handlebars to the back wall is 1,270 millimetres (50 in), the reach is 460 millimetres (18 in). Bike reach is always measured in millimeters, so you’ll need to convert the measurement if you aren’t using the metric hash marks on your measuring tape.
Height: 157–168 centimetres (62–66 in) – Ideal reach: 410–450 millimetres (16–18 in) Height: 168–178 centimetres (66–70 in) – Ideal reach: 430–470 millimetres (17–19 in) Height: 178–188 centimetres (70–74 in) – Ideal reach: 450–490 millimetres (18–19 in) Height: 188–199 centimetres (74–78 in) – Ideal reach: 470–510 millimetres (19–20 in)
