Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Aligning Handlebars


It can sometimes be difficult to get your handlebars aligned square with the front wheel; especially if the handlebar stem is tapered. Here is the way I always do it.

Hold the square end of a twelve-inch steel ruler against the center ferule of the handlebars, this gives you the long edge of the ruler to sight up with the edge of the front tire.


4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great tip, I can't wait to try it!
I worked at bike shops for 13 years, and always had trouble with that one.

sftriman said...

That's a great idea. I would sometimes spend 15 minutes eyeballing the stem and front wheel trying to get things perfectly aligned! By the way, if you're in need of new handlebars, check for bike parts including handlebars, stems, and grip tape at QBike.

Yokota Fritz said...

What a simple idea. Should be obvious but I never thought of it. I've always just eyeballed it, and half the time I hop on the bike and notice the handlebars aren't on straight.

Anonymous said...

I was taught to do it by line of sight, using the front edges of the fork dropouts and the front edges of the handlebar ferrule like a pair of rifle sights. You first tighten the stem just enough to provide a bit of resistance to corrections. I don't mean to give any guff to the master, but I'd worry about holding the straight edge securely against the bar ferrule with your method.