Newbie wants to raise the handle bars.....

[Twitchell]

There are two large nuts holding the handle bar to the frame. To raise the
handle bar, I assume I just loosten the top nut or bottom nut or both. I
loostened the top one but the bars wouldn't pull up when I tried.

Am I doing something wrong?

http://www.imgplace.com/image/view/fd92b0a70075bfbc234554da61add555

Please advise....riding the damn thing isn't all that comfortable because I'm
really kind of hunched over and I think if I could be a little more straight up,
it'd be better.

twitch

 

[A Muzi]

Twitchell wrote:
> There are two large nuts holding the handle bar to the frame. To raise the
> handle bar, I assume I just loosten the top nut or bottom nut or both. I
> loostened the top one but the bars wouldn't pull up when I tried.
>
> Am I doing something wrong?
>
> http://www.imgplace.com/image/view/fd92b0a70075bfbc234554da61add555
>
> Please advise....riding the damn thing isn't all that comfortable because I'm
> really kind of hunched over and I think if I could be a little more straight up,
> it'd be better.

You refer, I believe, to the headset (fork bearing) assembly. Don't
touch that for this operation.

Look at this photo:
http://www.yellowjersey.org/PEARL5.JPG

Remove the black plastic piece shown in your photo. Slack the bolt on
the very top, smack it to release the wedge below. Remove the stem to
lubricate the thread and wedge then install stem, observing the 'max
safe' line and tighten again.

our FAQ only touches this tangentially:
http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/8e.11.html

--
Andrew Muzi
<www.yellowjersey.org/>
Open every day since 1 April, 1971
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

 

[[email protected]]

Twitchell who? wrote:

> There are two large nuts holding the handle bar to the frame. To
> raise the handle bar, I assume I just loosen the top nut or bottom
> nut or both. I loosened the top one but the bars wouldn't pull up
> when I tried.

From your picture I suspect two things. First, that you are loosening
the ring-nut around the bar stem that adjusts fork bearing clearance
and has no effect on stem height. Second, even if you were to take
off the plastic cap on the top of the stem and loosen the expander
screw, the stem may be rusted in place and require some forceful twist
and pull. Aluminum stems often permanently seize this interface with
aluminum oxide from water and (salty) sweat that runs down the stem
into the fork tube in wet weather.

> Am I doing something wrong?

I think so, especially because you ask.

> http://www.imgplace.com/image/view/fd92b0a70075bfbc234554da61add555

> Please advise....riding the damn thing isn't all that comfortable
> because I'm really kind of hunched over and I think if I could be a
> little more straight up, it'd be better.

Riding bent over the bars is the preferred way for youngsters <70 yrs.
because it reduces wind resistance and puts the body center of gravity
over the downward pedal, a condition that allows forceful pedaling.
How you use your bicycle is your business but don't assume the rest of
bicyclists and bicycle retailers have it wrong about riding position.

Jobst Brandt

 

[Chalo]

Twitchell wrote:
>
> There are two large nuts holding the handle bar to the frame. To raise the
> handle bar, I assume I just loosten the top nut or bottom nut or both.

Nope. Those adjust the head bearings that mount the fork to the
bike's frame. You might want to get a bike shop or a bike-savvy
friend to readjust those bearings to the proper tension. Don't let it
slide, because if you have overtightened them, they can self-destruct
pretty quickly.

> I loostened the top one but the bars wouldn't pull up when I tried.
>
> Am I doing something wrong?
>
> http://www.imgplace.com/image/view/fd92b0a70075bfbc234554da61add555
>
> Please advise....riding the damn thing isn't all that comfortable because I'm
> really kind of hunched over and I think if I could be a little more straight up,
> it'd be better.

If you want the bars higher by more than an inch or so, the most
expedient and cost-effective way to do that will be to swap your
handlebars for ones with more rise. For instance:

http://harriscyclery.net/page.cfm?PageID=49&action=details&sku=HB2068

Note that such a change will probably require you to change out all
your brake and derailleur cables for slightly longer ones.

Chalo

 

[Paul Cassel]

Twitchell wrote:
> There are two large nuts holding the handle bar to the frame. To raise the
> handle bar, I assume I just loosten the top nut or bottom nut or both. I
> loostened the top one but the bars wouldn't pull up when I tried.
>
> Am I doing something wrong?
>
> http://www.imgplace.com/image/view/fd92b0a70075bfbc234554da61add555
>
> Please advise....riding the damn thing isn't all that comfortable because I'm
> really kind of hunched over and I think if I could be a little more straight up,
> it'd be better.
>

Unlike very old bikes, you don't have two concentric tubes where you can
adjust how much exposed tube there is. To adjust handlebar height on
this bike, you'll need to change the 'stem' which is the dog bone sort
of device connecting the vertical tube with the handle bar.

This sort of bike is meant to be ridden bent over. If you aren't
comfortable then it's probably due to the bike not fitting you. The only
way to get that checked is at a bicycle store or if you know an expert.
Fit is critical in bicycles and even minor misfits will result in
discomfort.

If you wish to ride straight up, then you'll need a different sort of
bike. An exemplar is an Electra Townie or a Rans Zenetik. You can search
the Web for pix.

-paul

 

[[email protected]]

Paul Cassel wrote:

>> There are two large nuts holding the handle bar to the frame. To
>> raise the handle bar, I assume I just loosen the top nut or bottom
>> nut or both. I loosened the top one but the bars wouldn't pull up
>> when I tried.

>> Am I doing something wrong?

http://www.imgplace.com/image/view/fd92b0a70075bfbc234554da61add555

>> Please advise... riding the damn thing isn't all that comfortable
>> because I'm really kind of hunched over and I think if I could be a
>> little more straight up, it'd be better.

> Unlike very old bikes, you don't have two concentric tubes where you
> can adjust how much exposed tube there is. To adjust handlebar
> height on this bike, you'll need to change the 'stem' which is the
> dog bone sort of device connecting the vertical tube with the handle
> bar.

This bicycle does not seem to be one with a threadless steer tube,
using the type of bar stem you describe.

> This sort of bike is meant to be ridden bent over. If you aren't
> comfortable then it's probably due to the bike not fitting you. The
> only way to get that checked is at a bicycle store or if you know an
> expert. Fit is critical in bicycles and even minor misfits will
> result in discomfort.

I don't think that is the problem. Many riders who begin riding after
age 30, as does the public at large, see bicycling as uncomfortable,
the position awkward, and the saddles uniformly too hard.

> If you wish to ride straight up, then you'll need a different sort
> of bike. An exemplar is an Electra Townie or a Rans Zenetik. You
> can search the Web for pix.

I think the bicycle in question can be made to meet the rider's needs.

Jobst Brandt

 

[Twitchell]

In article <[email protected]>, A Muzi says...
>
>Twitchell wrote:
>> There are two large nuts holding the handle bar to the frame. To raise the
>> handle bar, I assume I just loosten the top nut or bottom nut or both. I
>> loostened the top one but the bars wouldn't pull up when I tried.
>>
>> Am I doing something wrong?
>>
>> http://www.imgplace.com/image/view/fd92b0a70075bfbc234554da61add555
>>
>> Please advise....riding the damn thing isn't all that comfortable because I'm
>>really kind of hunched over and I think if I could be a little more straight up,
>> it'd be better.
>
>You refer, I believe, to the headset (fork bearing) assembly. Don't
>touch that for this operation.
>
>Look at this photo:
>http://www.yellowjersey.org/PEARL5.JPG
>
>Remove the black plastic piece shown in your photo. Slack the bolt on
>the very top, smack it to release the wedge below. Remove the stem to
>lubricate the thread and wedge then install stem, observing the 'max
>safe' line and tighten again.
>
>our FAQ only touches this tangentially:
>http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/8e.11.html

I took the black plastic piece and there appears to be a nut 2" DOWN INSIDE the
tube. I guess the next challenge is to find a socket small enough to go inside
the tube but big enough to match the nut....so far, no luck.

twitch

 

[Hank]

On Jun 14, 8:05 pm, Twitchell <[email protected]> wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>, A Muzi says...
>
>
>
>
>
> >Twitchell wrote:
> >> There are two large nuts holding the handle bar to the frame. To raise the
> >> handle bar, I assume I just loosten the top nut or bottom nut or both. I
> >> loostened the top one but the bars wouldn't pull up when I tried.
>
> >> Am I doing something wrong?
>
> >>http://www.imgplace.com/image/view/fd92b0a70075bfbc234554da61add555
>
> >> Please advise....riding the damn thing isn't all that comfortable because I'm
> >>really kind of hunched over and I think if I could be a little more straight up,
> >> it'd be better.
>
> >You refer, I believe, to the headset (fork bearing) assembly. Don't
> >touch that for this operation.
>
> >Look at this photo:
> >http://www.yellowjersey.org/PEARL5.JPG
>
> >Remove the black plastic piece shown in your photo. Slack the bolt on
> >the very top, smack it to release the wedge below. Remove the stem to
> >lubricate the thread and wedge then install stem, observing the 'max
> >safe' line and tighten again.
>
> >our FAQ only touches this tangentially:
> >http://draco.acs.uci.edu/rbfaq/FAQ/8e.11.html
>
> I took the black plastic piece and there appears to be a nut 2" DOWN INSIDE the
> tube. I guess the next challenge is to find a socket small enough to go inside
> the tube but big enough to match the nut....so far, no luck.
>
> twitch

A nut or an allen-head bolt? I would be amazed if it was anything but
a 5 or 6 (probably 6) mm allen-head bolt.