Cannot easily turn handlebars
 

Hi everyone
I have a situation that arose. I have a Schwinn Superior. I fell off the bike 7 weeks ago and was hurt but that's a story for another time. I started to try to ride again several days ago and I inspected the bike and it didn't look like there was any damage to it except I did bend the handlebars in my fall. I rode the bike half a mile the first try due to pain. a mile the second day and last Sunday I rode the bike 12 miles and everything was fine. The bike rode as it always did the only thing that was different was the handlebar on the left side is bent in slightly, which I figure I'll replace eventually but at the moment I don't have time to.
yesterday I rode the bike 10 miles and it did not feel right, it felt like it was pulling to one side when I got home I get off the bike to get the mail from the mailbox at the end of the driveway. when I go to turn the bike I cannot turn the handlebars because it seems like they are frozen if I force it I could turn it either way but they seem to be locked up. what can be the problem and is there a fix for this I hope I didn't destroy my Superior in my fall.
Cheers
Max Bryant

Is this an older bike with a threaded headset? Seems like the crash may have damaged some combination of your stem, steerer tube, and/or headset. I suggest you have someone pull the stem from the steerer and the fork from the frame and inspect all those parts for damage.

A bent steerer would cause a pulling to one side as well as a tightening of the headset bearing. An impact hard enough to bend bars can also cause secondary damage. As DOS said, find out what's wrong before you trust the bike. In extreme cases a bent part can later crack and fall apart with little warning. (And most won't think the impact is a warning:)) Andy

Don't ride it until you resolve the issue. If its a fork or steer tube the damage could give way while you are riding. At that point the ground might be the best option for things you could hit (others are trees, signs, cars, or into a car path, or another person). There are a lot of things to check, and if you aren't pretty bike savvy I'd suggest taking it into the bike shop and having them check the fork and steer tube and frame for alignment.

Thanks guys,
I guess I will have to take it to a bike shop. I do my own maintenance and general upkeep but this sounds like a job for a pro.

I don't understand why it rode fine for a couple of rides and all of a sudden this problem. If I bent the steerer would it not have been messed up from the start? Sure hope I didn't Jack up a hand assembled fillet braised frame! I'll never be lucky enough to get one again!
Cheers
Max Bryant

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7b254bab87.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...afd27cb161.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fcb8eb0bec.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ed11f36486.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...58af9dae68.jpg
Here are some pics. I don't know if you can tell the handlebars are bent on the left side
Cheers
Max

My guess is that there is some fork steerer damage, that wasn't felt initially but destroyed the headset bearings over time.

Could be bent steerer, or the bearing race could have cracked (really reaching here). Get it checked out. If its the bearings, one can find replacements.

The handlebars do look bent. I'd find a replacement before riding. Aluminum is formed in annealed condition and then heat treated to make it strong. But it also makes it brittle when enough force is applied to bend it. So if the bars are bent they could fail at any time.

But if all you have to do is replace the bearings and the bars, you'll have a nice bike at low cost.

Superiors are great bikes.

Why not just take it apart and look? What's this thread really about?

If the steerer is bent it might be at the base, just above the crown, where the wall thickness is thinned down (the butt transition). This generally won't become any more a problem, onto it's self, then what is felt immediately after the impact. But another location of steerer damage is at the stem's bottom, especially if the stem's bottom is above the steerer's threading bottom. The steerer's threading is a weak point, what with a substantial amount of material removed when the threads were cut, as well as being what we call "stress risers", a shape/form of the material that concentrates the stresses to a single small point. It is this second possibility of bend location that can, and does, change over time as the now bent and weaker point (the threads) will tend to crack. When this happens the top and bottom of the steerer are now no longer connected and all sorts of bearing issues can happen.

Not saying that either of these is what's going on but either are possibilities. When you have another do the work (the shop) it's nice to have some understanding as to what might be going on before you have them do the work. Andy

I think that has been suggested but OP does not seem to have enough knowledge to do the disassembly and inspection himself so it has been suggested he take the bike to someone who does.

Your pictures do show a bent handlebar. Replacement is the best option for that. Regarding the "pulling to the left" issue; your crash may have bent the fork blades. A tool like the Park FT-4 can check blade alignment:

http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/park-ft4.jpg

As Andrew and others have noted above, the steer tube itself may be bent. Both this, and the bent fork blade possibility, are something your bike shop should be able to assess. If you're comfortable removing the fork from the frame, you may be able to save a little money by just bringing the fork to the shop. Otherwise, bring the whole bike and let the shop deal with it.

Neat tool, I just sold the first version on another forum, saved the second version that handles 1 1/8 steerers. But this won't do much for a bent steerer except to better show it. Andy

It's about me wondering why the bike rode fine on three separate rides and all of a sudden the bars/fork be frozen up. it's also about me not wanting to have to take apart the headset if I don't have to. A little insight from people who are better experience than I.
So when I get the time, probably over the winter, I will disassemble the headset and take the fork and everything off. then I will take it to a bike shop for an assessment.

Max Bryant

Max- I think it's a good idea to find the cause and fix it, before the bike gets used more. Bikes don't fix themselves and continuing riding a bike with a potential steering issue isn't smart. Andy

Good plan re: the bike shop. The answer to all your questions is inside the headset.

Gotta go with Andrew's advice on this one. A cracked steerer tube might end up yielding. Then you go from a curious condition to a medical one. Seriously, it takes five minutes if you've the proper wrenches. Ok, ten maybe.

The damage possibilities are real, but it could just be a co-incidental, headset that needs a clean, lube and adjustment revealing itself. Only disassembly and a careful examination can determine. Don