Bar-end installation problem

In article
<[email hidden]>,

JBAFromNY said:

I just bought some Shimano bar-end shifters from Harris and am having
trouble inserting them into the ends of my handlebars. The bar in
question is an SR Sakae Custom Anatomic. The shifters are ultegra
8-speed. I can squeeze the shifter in a but, but don't seem to be able
to get them in more than about 1/3 of the way. Is there a trick? Do I
need to ream or file something? Should I just smack it with a mallet?

Yes, but don't force it. Get a bigger mallet.

--
Michael Press

JBAFromNY said:

I just bought some Shimano bar-end shifters from Harris and am
having trouble inserting them into the ends of my handlebars. The
bar in question is an SR Sakae Custom Anatomic. The shifters are
ultegra 8-speed. I can squeeze the shifter in a but, but don't
seem to be able to get them in more than about 1/3 of the way.

The screw is turned counterclockwise to expand, I assume you already
minimized the outer diameter of the expander before inserting?

Quoted message said:

Do I need to ream or file something?

Shouldn't be needed. If anything else fails take material from the
expander, not from the bar.

Quoted message said:

Should I just smack it with a mallet?

No.

--
MfG/Best regards
helmut springer

If that is Harris, as in Harris Cyclery, they should have more than
enough experience to be able to advise you on this.

In my experience they are GOOD people.

Lewis.

*****

JBAFromNY said:

I just bought some Shimano bar-end shifters from Harris and am having
trouble inserting them into the ends of my handlebars. The bar in
question is an SR Sakae Custom Anatomic. The shifters are ultegra
8-speed. I can squeeze the shifter in a but, but don't seem to be able
to get them in more than about 1/3 of the way. Is there a trick? Do I
need to ream or file something? Should I just smack it with a mallet?

TIA,
John

I had a different problem with mine and sent e-mail to Sheldon Brown.
He walked me through the whole process.

Quoted message said:

If that is Harris, as in Harris Cyclery, they should have more than
enough experience to be able to advise you on this.

In my experience they are GOOD people.

Lewis.

*****

JBAFromNY said:

I just bought some Shimano bar-end shifters from Harris and am having
trouble inserting them into the ends of my handlebars. The bar in
question is an SR Sakae Custom Anatomic. The shifters are ultegra
8-speed. I can squeeze the shifter in a but, but don't seem to be able
to get them in more than about 1/3 of the way. Is there a trick? Do I
need to ream or file something? Should I just smack it with a mallet?

TIA,
John

Helmut Springer said:

JBAFromNY said:

I just bought some Shimano bar-end shifters from Harris and am
having trouble inserting them into the ends of my handlebars. The
bar in question is an SR Sakae Custom Anatomic. The shifters are
ultegra 8-speed. I can squeeze the shifter in a but, but don't
seem to be able to get them in more than about 1/3 of the way.

The screw is turned counterclockwise to expand, I assume you already
minimized the outer diameter of the expander before inserting?

I understand how it is supposed to work. With the expander as small as
I can get it, It goes in part of the way, but I'm not able to get it to
go in any further. I'm trying to figure out whether it's a matter of
continuing to wiggle and press it in further, or whether there might be
a compatibility problem here. If the former, I'm looking for tips that
might help. If the latter, what can be done barring replacing the bar.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Do I need to ream or file something?

Shouldn't be needed. If anything else fails take material from the
expander, not from the bar.

Have you done this? If so, how difficult is this?

Thanks,
John

JBAFromNY said:

I understand how it is supposed to work. With the expander as
small as I can get it, It goes in part of the way, but I'm not
able to get it to go in any further. I'm trying to figure out
whether it's a matter of continuing to wiggle and press it in
further, or whether there might be a compatibility problem here.

Are there any obstacles inside the bar?
If you hold the shifter side by side to the bar: is the straight
part at the end of the bar long enough to take the whole shifter?

From general sizing it should fit in easily or something is
incompatible and needs some adaption...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Shouldn't be needed. If anything else fails take material from
the expander, not from the bar.

Have you done this? If so, how difficult is this?

Didn't need so far. Not sure if one can shorten the expander, will
have a look at home when I can take one into my hands...

--
MfG/Best regards
helmut springer

JBAFromNY said:

I just bought some Shimano bar-end shifters from Harris and am having
trouble inserting them into the ends of my handlebars. The bar in
question is an SR Sakae Custom Anatomic. The shifters are ultegra
8-speed. I can squeeze the shifter in a but, but don't seem to be able
to get them in more than about 1/3 of the way. Is there a trick? Do I
need to ream or file something? Should I just smack it with a mallet?

TIA,
John

I had exactly the same problem with a Modolo bar some eight or nine
years ago. The tubing seemed to be just a bit too thick to allow
mounting the shifters--and believe me, it's not easy to remove material
from the expander--I tried.

My procedure (not recommended, just for information) was as follows:

I found a wood-boring drill bit that was "just" too big to fit into the
handlebar end. Very carefully, I used this to ream the end of the bar
to about 1" in depth. Once I had done this, I was able to fit the
Shimano bar-con into the bar.

It worked well for a few thousand miles--I never had any troubles at
all. I think that's because (at least with my riding style) there
wasn't a whole lot of stress just above the bar-cons. Clearly, if you
ride with your hands on the ends a lot, it's not a good idea.

I'm having a very similar issue right now, trying to install
9 spd Dura Ace Bar-end shifters into Cinelli "Nerve" bars.
These bars do have short drops, but what is in the way of the
shifter inserting is the indented cable routing. On the left
I can fit the shifter in all the way and it is fine. On the
right side the shifter will insert up to 3/16th " away from
the end of the bar. This is because the cable routing indenting
goes a little further closer to the end on the right side of
the bar.
I can think of two solutions. As gently as I can, pound the
indentation out, it would not have to be pounded out much.
I'd probably clamp the bars and use a rounded off metal punch
to do this. OR, the way that I am favoring right now,
add a washer made from an old set of bars to lengthen the
end of the bars by an 1/8th of an inch, and still just
slightly press out the indentation to get a snug fit.
Anybody see any problems with this?

Thanks, Alex

Helmut Springer said:

JBAFromNY said:

I understand how it is supposed to work. With the expander as
small as I can get it, It goes in part of the way, but I'm not
able to get it to go in any further. I'm trying to figure out
whether it's a matter of continuing to wiggle and press it in
further, or whether there might be a compatibility problem here.

Are there any obstacles inside the bar?
If you hold the shifter side by side to the bar: is the straight
part at the end of the bar long enough to take the whole shifter?

From general sizing it should fit in easily or something is
incompatible and needs some adaption...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Shouldn't be needed. If anything else fails take material from
the expander, not from the bar.

Have you done this? If so, how difficult is this?

Didn't need so far. Not sure if one can shorten the expander, will
have a look at home when I can take one into my hands...

--
MfG/Best regards
helmut springer

Andy M-S said:

JBAFromNY said:

I just bought some Shimano bar-end shifters from Harris and am having
trouble inserting them into the ends of my handlebars. The bar in
question is an SR Sakae Custom Anatomic. The shifters are ultegra
8-speed. I can squeeze the shifter in a but, but don't seem to be able
to get them in more than about 1/3 of the way. Is there a trick? Do I
need to ream or file something? Should I just smack it with a mallet?

TIA,
John

I had exactly the same problem with a Modolo bar some eight or nine
years ago. The tubing seemed to be just a bit too thick to allow
mounting the shifters--and believe me, it's not easy to remove material
from the expander--I tried.

My procedure (not recommended, just for information) was as follows:

I found a wood-boring drill bit that was "just" too big to fit into the
handlebar end. Very carefully, I used this to ream the end of the bar
to about 1" in depth. Once I had done this, I was able to fit the
Shimano bar-con into the bar.

It worked well for a few thousand miles--I never had any troubles at
all. I think that's because (at least with my riding style) there
wasn't a whole lot of stress just above the bar-cons. Clearly, if you
ride with your hands on the ends a lot, it's not a good idea.

I'm willing to try this. You wouldn't by chance remember what size
drill bit this was? My handlebars are labeled "Modolo" as well as SR,
and I'm thinking what worked for you would work for me. Barring that,
what do you think of the idea of using a tapered hand reamer?

John

JBAFromNY said:

Andy M-S said:

JBAFromNY said:

I just bought some Shimano bar-end shifters from Harris and am having
trouble inserting them into the ends of my handlebars. The bar in
question is an SR Sakae Custom Anatomic. The shifters are ultegra
8-speed. I can squeeze the shifter in a but, but don't seem to be able
to get them in more than about 1/3 of the way. Is there a trick? Do I
need to ream or file something? Should I just smack it with a mallet?

TIA,
John

I had exactly the same problem with a Modolo bar some eight or nine
years ago. The tubing seemed to be just a bit too thick to allow
mounting the shifters--and believe me, it's not easy to remove material
from the expander--I tried.

My procedure (not recommended, just for information) was as follows:

I found a wood-boring drill bit that was "just" too big to fit into the
handlebar end. Very carefully, I used this to ream the end of the bar
to about 1" in depth. Once I had done this, I was able to fit the
Shimano bar-con into the bar.

It worked well for a few thousand miles--I never had any troubles at
all. I think that's because (at least with my riding style) there
wasn't a whole lot of stress just above the bar-cons. Clearly, if you
ride with your hands on the ends a lot, it's not a good idea.

I'm willing to try this. You wouldn't by chance remember what size
drill bit this was? My handlebars are labeled "Modolo" as well as SR,
and I'm thinking what worked for you would work for me. Barring that,
what do you think of the idea of using a tapered hand reamer?

John

Could well be the same bars...I *think* mine had a sleeve at the
center, with the Modolo script in black on one side and the model
number on the other. Been too long :-)

Alas, I don't recall the size of the bit, but it was a standard
non-metric of the kind you get in a Sears Craftsman set. A little
experimentation should show you the one you need--maybe try drilling
into a 2x4 and see what is the smallest bit that would allow you to
(just) slide in the shifter (with the expander fully narrowed, of
course).

I think a *tapered* reamer would be a mistake, because by the time you
get enough *length* reamed, you'd be cutting too far into the bars by
the opening. What you need is a *cylindrical* reamer of some sort (a
hone?) rather than a tapered one. I'm sure these exist...it's just
that when I did this O So Long Ago, I was near-broke and had to use
what I had in the toolbox. Ask your LBS if they have anything like
this...I seem to recall that there's a special tool for widening seat
tubes, so they just might have something similar to that.

If you have the patience, I suppose careful wet-sanding might be a way
to remove just enough material...Hmm. Or a Dremel tool set up with a
grinding stone? Handlebar aluminum is pretty soft, IIRC.

OK, this may sound rather lame (or maybe not, as others are bound to
have suggested it), but have you tried loosening the clamping nut more?
I have these shifters and I know they can get pretty narrow, damn near
narrow enough to fit into _steel_ handlebar ends.

- -
Comments and opinions compliments of,
"Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

My web Site:
http://geocities.com/czcorner

To E-mail me:
ChrisZCorner "at" webtv "dot" net

Andy M-S said:

Could well be the same bars...I *think* mine had a sleeve at the
center, with the Modolo script in black on one side and the model
number on the other. Been too long :-)

Alas, I don't recall the size of the bit, but it was a standard
non-metric of the kind you get in a Sears Craftsman set. A little
experimentation should show you the one you need--maybe try drilling
into a 2x4 and see what is the smallest bit that would allow you to
(just) slide in the shifter (with the expander fully narrowed, of
course).

I think a *tapered* reamer would be a mistake, because by the time you
get enough *length* reamed, you'd be cutting too far into the bars by
the opening. What you need is a *cylindrical* reamer of some sort (a
hone?) rather than a tapered one. I'm sure these exist...it's just
that when I did this O So Long Ago, I was near-broke and had to use
what I had in the toolbox. Ask your LBS if they have anything like
this...I seem to recall that there's a special tool for widening seat
tubes, so they just might have something similar to that.

If you have the patience, I suppose careful wet-sanding might be a way
to remove just enough material...Hmm. Or a Dremel tool set up with a
grinding stone? Handlebar aluminum is pretty soft, IIRC.

I haven't got a dremel, but I've got an elecric drill and some grinding
bits. I guess I'll try that. Worst case, I guess, is $25 for a new
handlebar.

John

Hi there.

I used a 3/4 inch dia flat blade wood boring bit to ream out the inside
of my aero bar ends.

! !
!__ __!
V

Bit looks like above diagram.

Before you ream out your handle bar ends be aware that the step from
the new 3/4 in diameter to your bar's interior diameter MAY create a
stress-riser.

What I would do is make sure that the 2 expander pieces are NOT
slipping back down the shifter body as you insert it into the bar end.

I had that happen to me when I tried putting them into the handle bar
ends before I moved them to the aero bars.

Also, if you have or have access to a Vernier caliper you can measure
the inside of your handle bar and then place the caliper over your bar
end shifter to make sure that it is indeed the right diameter to fit
within your bars.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

Peter

JBAFromNY said:

I just bought some Shimano bar-end shifters from Harris and am having
trouble inserting them into the ends of my handlebars. The bar in
question is an SR Sakae Custom Anatomic. The shifters are ultegra
8-speed. I can squeeze the shifter in a but, but don't seem to be able
to get them in more than about 1/3 of the way. Is there a trick? Do I
need to ream or file something? Should I just smack it with a mallet?

TIA,
John

I said:

I just bought some Shimano bar-end shifters from Harris and am having
trouble inserting them into the ends of my handlebars. The bar in
question is an SR Sakae Custom Anatomic. The shifters are ultegra
8-speed. I can squeeze the shifter in a but, but don't seem to be able
to get them in more than about 1/3 of the way. Is there a trick? Do I
need to ream or file something? Should I just smack it with a mallet?

Problem solved. I was able to wiggle one of sections of the expansion
nut out of the clip and now the shifters fits in the bars just fine.
The bike is now completely assembled and clicking away happily from the
bars.

Thanks to all for your advice,
John

JBAFromNY wrote:
[Shimano bar end shifters too big to fit in SR Modolo handlebar]

Quoted message said:

Helmut Springer said:

take material from the
expander, not from the bar.

Have you done this? If so, how difficult is this?

I've done it a few times and it works great. It's been a piece of cake
for me every time. I took material from the inside diameter of each
wedge, using a common round file. No precision needed.