Aligning Handlebar With Wheels

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07-08-18, 07:48 AM

#51

rachel120

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Charliekeet

Then stand over the top tube, sight down from the middle of the stem...

I wish I could do this part, and me not being able to makes it a lot harder to eyeball it.

I have to be on the seat and have one foot on the ground since bikes don't balance well when stationary. So the bike is leaning slightly, which skews my perspective.

07-08-18, 11:08 AM

#52

I-Like-To-Bike

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Sy Reene

Close one eye.

Straighten it good enough for any rational person by eyeballing with both eyes open, then close both eyes and dream up another problem to get all OCD about; or better yet take the bicycle to an LBS for a proper $50 consultation to expertly fix this "problem".

07-08-18, 05:58 PM

#53

chelvel

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Witterings

Are there any "tricks" for aligning your handlebars perfectly at 90 degrees with your front wheel, I can always get it "close" but think I'm a bit OCD about it

... would love to know if there are any good methods of doing it rather than just by eye.

From Dave Moulton - Aligning Handlebars: Dave Moulton's Blog - Dave Moulton's Bike Blog - Aligning Handlebars: Update

07-09-18, 01:00 AM

#54

Justinitus

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Quote:

Originally Posted by chelvel

From Dave Moulton - Aligning Handlebars: Dave Moulton's Blog - Dave Moulton's Bike Blog - Aligning Handlebars: Update

That’s how I was taught to do it as a kid - lean the bike over and align stem with the tyre. Still works for me!

I did experiment with taping a plumb line to the centre of the stem and aligning with the centre line of the tyre, but the plumb took so long to stop moving each time it drove me nuts!!

07-09-18, 08:22 AM

#55

mann2

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I usually just eyeball the ends of the forks with the leading edge of the bars. make sure they show up or disappear at the same time.

07-10-18, 09:59 AM

#56

Iride01

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Quote:

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

1. Eyeball it
2. Ride no hands. Look good? No?
3. Loosen. Move. Tighten. Go to step 2. Repeat as necessary.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jefnvk

I just keep dicking with it until it stops bothering me. Not the most efficient, but it gets me there eventually.

Quote:

Originally Posted by f4rrest

It's pointless if the hoods aren't aligned to the bars...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Witterings

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kedosto

it simply doesn't matter.

F**&-g does when you're OCD about it

The OCD thing will have you doing the suggestions of the first two even if you had a multi-million dollar CNC macine checking the alignment of everything. Little visual distortions such as suggested by the third whether actually there or not are going to make it look wrong. So you'll wind up going back to tweaking it as many of us do that have learned wisdom of @Kedosto.