Handlebar adjustment help
 

I've been able to replace my seat, and attach most of my accessories, but I've had two problems. I don't know how to raise or readjust the position of the handle bars, and I couldn't attach a behind the seat rack (I forgot the actual name, it looks like a long black slab that I'll be using to carry my hot and ready's home whenever I want them) securely because theholder/plastic thing won't fit on the inside. I can post pictures tomorrow if they're needed.

Pie is good

And you might want to give us some more information if you want help.

What else can I give? I'm mainly interested in the handlebar help, I'll be able to post pictures and a better description for the slab tomorrow, but I'm not sure on how to raise the handle bars on tmy 28" mens Schwinn Trailway hybrid.

Nope, this sin't sarcasm or meanness. My friend next to says that it loked like that, but ti's not if it comes off like that.

I found a photo of a Schwinn Trail Way hybrid on Amazon. From that photo, it looks like your bike has what is called a "threadless" stem. You won't be able to raise the bars straight up and down.

However(!), it also appears that your stem is adjustable, in that you can loosen a bolt and rotate the front part of the stem up or down. If you rotate the stem upwards, the bars will also get closer in, so two adjustments are really happening at the same time.

There should be a hex bolt on the side of the stem where it hinges. Loosen that. You may need to take it all the way out. I had an adjustable stem once that was designed such that it would not rotate unless I took the one hex bolt all the way, and then I had to pull off the side cap and slide the stem apart a bit on the other side. I'm not explaining that very well, but once you get the hinged part of the stem apart you'll probably see what I'm talking about. My stem was designed not to rotate unless the hinge portion was mostly taken apart.

Once you get the bar rotated upwards, you may find yourself wanting to readjust its angle. You can do that by loosening the bolts on the very front of your stem and rotating the bar to wherever it feels good. Tighten the bolts when you're done. Then you might want to adjust your brake and shift levers. To do that, loosen the bolts holding them onto the bar. Rotate them into a new position. Retighten the bolts (But not too tight, else you might break a plastic part. Just get them snug).

BTW, there are two bolts that attach your stem to the steerer tube. DO NOT loosen those bolts unless you are reasonably sure of what you are doing. There are one or two things that can go wrong when you loosen and retighten those bolts (as I've learned the hard way:) ).

If you truly want to raise the bars straight up without also bringing them in closer, then you need to either buy a new stem with a higher rise to it, or you can buy a new handlebar with a higher rise to it. I recently took the latter approach on one of my own bikes.

I don't know what to suggest about the rack that you are trying to mount.

I hope all this helps.

http://www.parktool.com/repair/readh...p?id=65#adjust

Just let parktool expain it.

Schwinn Trailway handlebar setup
 

I have the same problem. The Schwinn Trailway has a swivel kind of thing ahead of the post where it looks as if you can adjust the height of the handlebars. There is a allen head bolt that goes from side to side of this swivel "adjustment" (which by the way has a decal saying "do not adjust torqued to ....") that I loosened. I actually removed one side of this bolt without being able to budge the handlebar. This did not allow the adjustment to be made. I saw a picture on the internet showing this adjustment is able to be done. The owners manual is a joke. It says nothing specific to the Trailway. I went to the Schwinn internet site which says do not attempt to do ANY adjustment. They say to bring the bike to an authorized dealer. Is there anyone here that can help with this adjustment?

Schwinn Trailway handlebar setup
 

I believe I have found the adjustment instructions for the handlebar setup on this Schwinn. I found it on Amazon. I read the owner reviews and lo and behold there it was. I copied it and pasted it here: Could find nothing on Park Tool.

The handlebar height on this bike can only be adjusted a small amount. That's because it has a threadless headset, which weighs a bit less and is less expensive to manufacture, but doesn't allow the handlebar stem (the piece that clamps to the handlebars) to move up and down.

Instead, loosening a bolt on the bottom of this stem allows for it to pivot a bit, but you can't lower the handlebars, you can't raise them very much, and you can't raise them at all without also moving the handlebars closer to the seat.

The lack of adjustability makes this a chancey purchase even when purchased from the store, since Target will not accept returns on bicycles unless they have not been ridden _at all_.

The bike has nice features for the price, but trying to ride a bike that doesn't fit is as bad as trying to walk in tight shoes. You'll see the two I bought (men's and women's) on craig's list. Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)

Pics?

I recently got a lightly-used Schwinn that has an adjustable stem. I wanted to raise its angle a bit, and this stem needs to be disassembled to change anything -- which I don't mind, because I'm pretty confident that it won't slip, either.

There are also several spacers on the steerer tube that I could rearrange to further adjust the height. Take off the stem, take off a spacer or two, put the stem back on, and stack the spacer(s) on top.

If this doesn't help (and it might not), you can always swap the stem out for another one.

You can get a stem extension for a thread-less stem so it can be raised straight up.

I went out to my bike (Schwinn Trailway Hybrid) yesterday using the allen head bolt UNDERNEATH) the stem(?) was able to adjust the handlebar almost 90 degree more upright than what it was and allowed me to ride more upright (in the saddle) than the factory adjust. I had to adjust the handlebar angle and the brake/sprocket assembly as well. I was satisfied with the maximum upright adjustment I was able to do. I really like this bike even though its "Off the rack" rather than custom built. Rode it over 7 miles last evening without strain or muscle cramps and feel as if I could have gone a lot further. 72 and still riding.

Oh yeah! Do not loosen the allen head screw on the side of the stem!! It's not necessary.