brake levers hit top tube

the brake levers on my mountain bike's handlebars hit the top tube of the frame when the handlebars
are turned 90 degrees.

i imagine that this is considered a bad thing - in an extreme situation i could damage a
brake lever.

my current handlebar is a steel riser (lets say 1" rise) the choices i'm considering are 2" risers
or a flat bar (both aluminum).

the higher rise would allow clearance for full handlebar swivel.

i would prefer a flat bar, but with it the grips would hit the top tube. is there anything
inherently bad or dangerous about this?

cosmetics are not much of an issue. i have several scratches on the frame and only one is from a
brake lever. the frame is aluminum; i have no fear of scratches corroding.

'02 the bike is a 25" Giant Rincon in stock configuration. (oh, how i tried smaller, lighter
frames... but alas, i am just too damned tall.)

 

War_Pig5 wrote:
> the brake levers on my mountain bike's handlebars hit the top tube of the frame when the
> handlebars are turned 90 degrees.
>
> i imagine that this is considered a bad thing - in an extreme situation i could damage a
> brake lever.
>
> my current handlebar is a steel riser (lets say 1" rise) the choices i'm considering are 2" risers
> or a flat bar (both aluminum).
>
> the higher rise would allow clearance for full handlebar swivel.
>

You shouldn't be choosing your handlebar height based on whether the brake levers hit your toptube.
Don't worry about it.

Greg
--
"Destroy your safe and happy lives before it is too late, the battles we fought were long and hard,
just not to be consumed by rock n' roll..." - The Mekons

 

War_Pig5 <[email protected]> wrote:
: the brake levers on my mountain bike's handlebars hit the top tube of the frame when the
: handlebars are turned 90 degrees.

: i imagine that this is considered a bad thing - in an extreme situation i could damage a
: brake lever.

Ummm... unless you are a skilled trials rider, trying to ride a bike with handlebars turned 90 deg
from the direction of travel is a perfect setup for a face plant. The point is, that there is never
any reason in typical riding to have the bars turned more than a few degrees.

On my road bike the front brake adjuster on the front forks would hit the downtube well before 90
deg comes up, but I've never had a reason to turn the bars that much in any riding or transporting
situation.

Hopefully this addresses all your other concerns.

Cheerz, Lynzz

 

On Sat, 11 Jan 2003 16:17:40 GMT, Bert <[email protected]> wrote:

>On Sat, 11 Jan 2003 00:31:41 -0500, "War_Pig5" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>the brake levers on my mountain bike's handlebars hit the top tube of the frame when the
>>handlebars are turned 90 degrees.
>>
>>i imagine that this is considered a bad thing - in an extreme situation i could damage a
>>brake lever.
>>
>>my current handlebar is a steel riser (lets say 1" rise) the choices i'm considering are 2" risers
>>or a flat bar (both aluminum).
>>
>>the higher rise would allow clearance for full handlebar swivel.
>>
>>i would prefer a flat bar, but with it the grips would hit the top tube. is there anything
>>inherently bad or dangerous about this?
>>
>>cosmetics are not much of an issue. i have several scratches on the frame and only one is from a
>>brake lever. the frame is aluminum; i have no fear of scratches corroding.
>>
>>'02 the bike is a 25" Giant Rincon in stock configuration. (oh, how i tried smaller, lighter
>>frames... but alas, i am just too damned tall.)
>>
>Some of the other posts are indicating that you will not achieve a 90 degree position while
>cycling. I have the same problem and it left a nice deep scratch in the paint of the top tube
>of my bike.

I did this while carrying the bike of perhaps it fell and then the handlebars twisted around on me.
>
>You can try adjusting the angle of the brake levers on the handlebars a bit. I'm not sure about how
>much you would need to adjust that angle and if that is feasible. If it is just a little this of
>course will not be a problem.
>
>Bert

 

"Bert" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> >>
> >Some of the other posts are indicating that you will not achieve a 90 degree position while
> >cycling. I have the same problem and it left a nice deep scratch in the paint of the top tube of
> >my bike.
>
> I did this while carrying the bike of perhaps it fell and then the handlebars twisted
> around on me.
> >

If you crash or drop your bike there are numerous places you could get a scratch or dent.

 

A friend's Ritchey got a dent in the top tube when he crashed. The brake lever lined up with the
dent perfectly. He now uses padding on the top tube where the lever comes close.

"War_Pig5" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> the brake levers on my mountain bike's handlebars hit the top tube of the frame when the
> handlebars are turned 90 degrees.
>
> i imagine that this is considered a bad thing - in an extreme situation i could damage a
> brake lever.
>
> my current handlebar is a steel riser (lets say 1" rise) the choices i'm considering are 2" risers
> or a flat bar (both aluminum).
>
> the higher rise would allow clearance for full handlebar swivel.
>
> i would prefer a flat bar, but with it the grips would hit the top tube. is there anything
> inherently bad or dangerous about this?
>
> cosmetics are not much of an issue. i have several scratches on the frame and only one is from a
> brake lever. the frame is aluminum; i have no fear of scratches corroding.
>
> '02 the bike is a 25" Giant Rincon in stock configuration. (oh, how i tried smaller, lighter
> frames... but alas, i am just too damned tall.)

 

"dianne_1234" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> A friend's Ritchey got a dent in the top tube when he crashed. The brake lever lined up with the
> dent perfectly. He now uses padding on the top tube where the lever comes close.
>

Planes are not built to crash, they are built to fly.

Not a perfect analogy perhaps, but it works for me.

Ed Chait

 

its virtually unanimous that this isn't considered a big problem. that puts my mind at ease, so i
can be more objective when i choose a bar height.

my current bar height is simply the factory default, so i'd like to experiment with other heights.
before i invest in a parts, i plan to ride-test lower heights by removing spacer washers from
beneath the stem.

thanks, all - i was surprised i got so many responses, and more surprised still that this didn't
degenerate into the old flat-bars-vs.-riser-bars debate! and, as always, additional thoughs on this
subject are welcome.

"G.T." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> War_Pig5 wrote:
> > the brake levers on my mountain bike's handlebars hit the top tube of
the
> > frame when the handlebars are turned 90 degrees.
> >
> > i imagine that this is considered a bad thing - in an extreme situation
i
> > could damage a brake lever.
> >
> > my current handlebar is a steel riser (lets say 1" rise) the choices i'm considering are 2"
> > risers or a flat bar (both aluminum).
> >
> > the higher rise would allow clearance for full handlebar swivel.
> >
>
> You shouldn't be choosing your handlebar height based on whether the brake levers hit your
> toptube. Don't worry about it.
>
> Greg
> --
> "Destroy your safe and happy lives before it is too late, the battles we fought were long and
> hard, just not to be consumed by rock n' roll..." - The Mekons