Adjusting Your Handlebars
The design of a bicycle is to help the needs of a cyclist, but the majority of cyclists are not racers. The new bikes seem to have longer top tubes and have been sized smaller than it was designed years back. This is best for cyclists who are looking for the quickest positions, or for the weekend biker who is looking for a high intensity workout, but isn’t good for the long distance cyclist who spends more time on the bicycle.
Racers are always looking to find the perfect bike. The intensity and high gear pedaling allows their legs to hold the upper body even when the cyclist leans forward. This sort of riding style cannot be sustained for long periods of time. Long distance riders aren’t always searching for speed, but endurance and usually tend to avoid extreme efforts in order to not waste energy, as cyclists age, their positioning on the bicycle is likely to change.
If you happen to raise or lower your handle bars, be sure not to overdo it. If you raise the stem or expander too high on your bicycle, you may find that the handlebar disconnecting from the bike while riding. Most stems have a minimum insertion mark that will show you how high you can put the handle bars and still be safe. If your stem doesn’t have this mark, there should be at least 2 inches or 50 mm of stem in the fork.
Many of the new bikes have been coming out with the pop top stems. This stem has a removable part held on by two bolts instead of the single bolt, plus it’s easier to change than the one style bolt stems because now there’s no need to remove handlebar grip to change the stem.
If you’re looking to raise the bar and your stem is at its max, you can always replace the stem. You can also use a stem extender, which is a tubular device which is placed between the steerer and the stem. These are available for both threaded and threadless headsets and can be found at 1 inch and 1 1/8 inches.