Handlebar Movement
07-24-08, 08:05 PM
#1
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Handlebar Movement
Hi,
I am somewhat new to posting so please go easy on me if this is a daft question. I have a Surly Cross Check with the stock handlebars. I have a Ritchey stem. I have had the bike since May and have done about 850 miles on it. I did 5 miles standing on Tuesday and toward the end I was hearing some sort of creaking type noise. It also seemed to me that there was flex or loseness in the handlebars. So I tightend up the stem, one of the screws was a slight bit lose. Let me also mention that I am a big guy so there is a lot of weight on the bars when I am standing up.
Well now I am concerned, on my ride today I noticed the "creaking" was gone, but it still seemed like the handlebars had some flex in them. To be fair, this condition could have always been on the bike and could be 100% normal, I just noticied it Tuesday and now I can't stop thinking about it while on the bike. So does this sound normal - do bars normaly flex? I am probably going to take the bike to the LBS as I am a worrier type, but I figured I would ask here given the good info on the sight. Thanks in advance.
I am somewhat new to posting so please go easy on me if this is a daft question. I have a Surly Cross Check with the stock handlebars. I have a Ritchey stem. I have had the bike since May and have done about 850 miles on it. I did 5 miles standing on Tuesday and toward the end I was hearing some sort of creaking type noise. It also seemed to me that there was flex or loseness in the handlebars. So I tightend up the stem, one of the screws was a slight bit lose. Let me also mention that I am a big guy so there is a lot of weight on the bars when I am standing up.
Well now I am concerned, on my ride today I noticed the "creaking" was gone, but it still seemed like the handlebars had some flex in them. To be fair, this condition could have always been on the bike and could be 100% normal, I just noticied it Tuesday and now I can't stop thinking about it while on the bike. So does this sound normal - do bars normaly flex? I am probably going to take the bike to the LBS as I am a worrier type, but I figured I would ask here given the good info on the sight. Thanks in advance.
07-24-08, 09:05 PM
#2
Senior Member
Oh yes. Bars as well as stems all flex. As does the steer tube of the fork inside the head shell.
You're probably sensitive to it after the loose bars deal.
Being a big guy and presumably with muscles to match you'll likely flex everything more than some other folks would. Switching to a beefier stem and going with bars with the new 31.8 mm center mount sizing will mean that there's less flex in the bars. The Ritchey stem is a nice one (I had one on a bike I recently sold) but it's a road stem and is lighter as a result. And being the same size and lighter it's going to be more flexy than a burly mountain bike stem.
So if you're looking for the most stiffness I'd suggest a burly but not crazy heavy MTB stem with a 4 bolt front cap and two bolt wider spaced rear clamping area and a new set of bars in the new 31.8 mounting size. You'll add a couple of ounces overall but you'll have noticably less flex in the steering system.
In fact here's a drop bar and stem set that is just what I'm talking about. The stem is burly without being over the top. The 4 bolt cap adds some extra stiffness to the mounting area and the bars are 44 cm wide which is very likely what a larger guy with wider shoulders needs.
https://cgi.ebay.com/Selcof-Aluminum-...QQcmdZViewItem
You're probably sensitive to it after the loose bars deal.
Being a big guy and presumably with muscles to match you'll likely flex everything more than some other folks would. Switching to a beefier stem and going with bars with the new 31.8 mm center mount sizing will mean that there's less flex in the bars. The Ritchey stem is a nice one (I had one on a bike I recently sold) but it's a road stem and is lighter as a result. And being the same size and lighter it's going to be more flexy than a burly mountain bike stem.
So if you're looking for the most stiffness I'd suggest a burly but not crazy heavy MTB stem with a 4 bolt front cap and two bolt wider spaced rear clamping area and a new set of bars in the new 31.8 mounting size. You'll add a couple of ounces overall but you'll have noticably less flex in the steering system.
In fact here's a drop bar and stem set that is just what I'm talking about. The stem is burly without being over the top. The 4 bolt cap adds some extra stiffness to the mounting area and the bars are 44 cm wide which is very likely what a larger guy with wider shoulders needs.
https://cgi.ebay.com/Selcof-Aluminum-...QQcmdZViewItem
