Handlebars
 

Just purchased a Trek 7500 FX. Really like the bike but discovered that I would like to raise the handlebars and get a wider grip.
I am older and have issues with shoulders/wrists and would like to decrease the pressure on those points. Trying to get into a more upright posture. What size and shape handlebars would I purchase?
I've been looking for a size on the handlebars but can't locate it.
Thanks for any help!!

Post a picture to your gallery so we know what you have on the bike currently:
https://www.bikeforums.net/g/user/587778

Chances are, you have a handlebar with 25.4mm clamp diameter (ie. diameter of the bar where the stem clamps on it). If you have a measuring caliper you can measure that for yourself.

There are roughly 1000 choices of 25.4mm handlebars. Search 25.4mm riser bar on Amazon, Aliexpress or Ebay etc. Like this:
https://www.ebay.com/b/25-4mm-Bicycl...520Bar%7C%2521

Keep in mind that you may have need longer cables if the new handlebars is a lot taller than the existing one.

There are various stem and handle bar options out there. Do you know what stem/steerer design/size the bike uses? The 7500 model spanned a few years and the specs did evolve some over the span.

have you had an experienced fitter take a look at your position, as you pedal, and talk options for changes? One aspect of sitting more upright is that as your legs and torso angle opens up the power you can apply reduces. This is one reason why well designed upright bar bikes often have a slacker seat tube angle so one's butt can sit a bit further back, behind one's feet. This more rearward sit point position will increase core body muscles ability to support the upper body, reducing the weight on one's hands. Sadly when a "performance bike" has flat/upright bars it often still places the rider's sit point forward. Whether this is acceptable by the rider is for the test rides to discover.

When doing this "fitting" stuff on one's own it's often that the rider will end up wanting to try more than one solution, not knowing which path or dimension(s) work better for them and which would likely be a dead end. For those riders who enjoy this kind of process, make a change and ride the bike some to judge the results. And repeat till the results get worse then go back to a previous set up. I say great and you'll end up learning a lot about your needs, in time. But for those who don't want to end up with two or three extra stems or handle bars, stem risers that didn't result in what the rider thought would be the case and likely a few seats too I suggest finding a fitting shop.

While the cost for a fitting might not be a whole lot different then all those stems and such the rider had to buy to find out what was best the time spent getting to that point should be a lot quicker. Plus a good fitter will offer far more insight and advise than just what angle your arms need to be at, as a fit only example. I've watched my boss do his fittings for nearly 15 years now and am still disappointed in how little most riders know about how to ride their bikes. Most of his clients are as glad to learn about how to ride easier (even the simple "how to start pedaling from a stop") as they are for the actual fitting changes.

Generally flat/upright bars are measured from end to end, any rise from the clamping center to the grip portion, any angle back of that grip portion and the center clamping diameter. Stems have their rise and run (angle of the extension and how long it is C-C. Various "rules of thumb" exist for matching these dimensions to any one rider. Generally one starts by measuring their bars and stem to understand where they "are" currently and to begin to familiarize one's self with this stuff. Has the OP measured theirs yet? Andy

just remember... if you go too high with the bars, you will then hurt your lower back and rump, PLUS Dramatically increase the pressure on your hands.

also, when raising the bars too far, your REACH to the bars decreases..... you can end up with a sore back, sore hips, and numb hands.

did you, possibly, buy a bike that plain does not fit you well?

no amount of parts can fix that situation.

and please do verify the stem-bar clamp size before you buy different bars.
you can cut a piece of card paper in an increasingly wider parallel opening to get a "caliper" type measurement of a bar.
i once made a crude "caliper" out of three pencils and a rubber band... chop sticks will work...

Moving the bars further forward and stretching you out will allow you to spread the forces from your weight on the hands. Wider bars will be a mistake, IMO. As they will just brace you from the swaying movement of your body and put all that force into your shoulders instead of letting it be shared by other parts of your body.

Possibly you didn't really want a hybrid bike. For a better and more upright sitting position, you should get a cruiser style bike with a very slack seat tube and swept back bars.

handlebars
 

Thanks everyone for all the advice!!

Please can you help me understand this? At 75 this is an issue and I assume raising the bars shifts more weight to the saddle and less to the hands, potentially alleviating discomfort?

the original statement makes no sense - you’re not going to increase weight on your saddle and increase weight on your hands without increasing your weight overall. Unless your bike comes with its own gravity field, that’s not going to happen 🙄

the discomfort moves to your more tender regions... and the dramatically raised bars bring the grips closer to your shoulders.
you become cramped on top of the bike.

i've seen this too often.. the rider bought a 6" rise bar thinking it would help, and instead everything hurt more, plus a few new pains.

when pedaling, if you are too upright, your HIPS start rocking side to side more, this twists your lower back more... you also lose power and need to strain to gain forward motion.
if a frame is too long, then the rider tends to lock their elbows... this increases loading on your hands.
the trick is finding a happy medium via minor adjustments... IF the frame actually fits you..

there are several vids online showing basic bicycle fitting...
here's a pretty good one...ALL the factors relate to the others. Seat setback or a different (steeper or a different length) stem can change a lot, and are the most common adjustments after seat height.

there are many more vids.
they can SHOW what it would take hours to type out.

the single most common mistake is having the seat too low.
next is a seat too far back
next is the bars too high.
when things are right, riding becomes funner and easier.
watch a few vids.... each has strong and weak points.

and at 67, i too have some fresh pains to deal with, and a few old ones too.

set seat height, seat setback(knee over pedal at 3 o'clock position), unlock elbows, get the shoulders to relax...

and STRETCH OUT before a ride, ok? it seriously helps.

not Weight on the hands... PRESSURE on them.. your back wants to lean into the work... having the bars too high causes more pressure on your hands, until you approach bolt upright, which introduces any number of other issues

just because You don't understand something, doesn't mean it doesn't happen, ever.

If the vids online don't get things sorted out for you, then we will need some basic info... your height, your inseam, and the Size of your trek's frame... not the seat tube length from the crank center to the top of the tube, but the Actual Frame size Designation... the FX has a slanted top tube type frame, making the old "seat tube measurement" irrelevant.

I also do not understand his point. My experience with osteoarthritis in my hands and one wrist is the opposite of what I understand maddog34 is saying. With over 70 years in saddles I move slowly and cautiously and have been raising bars incrementally and finding a notable less loading transferred to my hands and a more pleasant ride..

"incrementally"... how high? how much in each change? did you change any other parts? stem? seat setback? seat? do you lock your elbows, or do you gain elbow angle with every move upward of your now really high bars?
were the changes to one bike, or several?
how did the upward motion affect your back and hips?
do you stretch out before a ride?

share your experience.
i've had a broken wrist, and a broken thumb.. both on the right side.
i get numbness and pain, variously.

both shoulders have been dislocated multuple times, and my left collar bone has wire wrapped around a permanent spiral fracture.
i have two plates in my chest from a split sternum, and a few feet of wire holding them together. my left hip has fractured three times.

i remedied the hand issues by moving the seat forward, cork-like tape,and using a 20mm shorter stem on my '82 trek road bike.
compact drops help too.
on the more recent MTBs, i went with softer grips, comfort grips on the rails to trails bike, and careful cockpit sizing.

While osteoarthritis is not trivial, steroid shots in knees, etc., I sure would not trade with your issues, wow! I have way too many bikes and too much room for them and shelves for parts so have tried countless iterations over the 15 years I have been retired. Where I am at today is most of my current riders have the bar tops level or up to an inch plus below the top of the Selle Anatomicas and am currently in the process of shifting to short drop road bars, 120 to 125mm . My saddle is a bit back of where my last pro fit would have it to help get weight off my hands which helps with the numbing in my left hand. I like just enough weight on my bars to allow for good steering control on less than ideal paths and in the Wyoming winds but insure the fit leaves my elbows slightly bent which helps with the numbing. Here is a shot of an example with the high bars near the saddle height (with a Zimbalde similar to my Anatomica) and the saddle slightly back from my last bike fit but prior to my shifting to shorter drop bars. I have shifted to half finger vibration dampening gloves used by jack hammer operators and rock drillers and for the bars in the first photo am liking a set of Ergon GS1 Evo grips ,although strangely on the opposite bar to their recommendation, and Redshift top grips under the tape.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ec13c7e1c.jpeg
and Redshift top grips under the bar tape.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b05757b01.jpeg

Or just use an adjustable wrench - I even have one that has millimetres etched on the side (not quite precise enough for this application though, where you may need to measure to 0.1 mm). But really everyone should have some calipers, because you need to measure multiple bike parts for fit or wear - $10 gets you a digital one or a Vernier caliper (but spend a bit more if you're going to be using it regularly - you can feel the difference).

I have very similar issues with hands., shoulders and spine. I have done a lot of experimenting with cockpit set up. I have 3 different Velo-Orange handlebars now in use: Porteur, Left Bank, and Tourist handlebars.
For me, it's a matter of trial and error to get right.
While, all the given advice is good, seems sensible, your own physical and mental quirks will likely take numerous adjustments, done in small increments, to nail it. Think about what exactly does not feel just right, and what might fix it, then try one change at a time.
Also, keep in mind, often a change feels good, initially, simply because it's different, then doesn't work so well after some time and miles.
The pursuit of perfection can itself be the problem. You never quite get there, but there is always a bit of "as good as it is going to get" involved.

I bought some handlebars for a couple of bikes because they looked like they would be comfortable, some rise and quite swept back, like the VO Tourist. But after a while I realised they were never going to work, my wrists hated them, so I switched to a flat bar with a slight bend, which was immediately more comfortable. Hard to say what made more difference, the angle or the height; I may try the other one inverted before giving up on it.