Dawes Giro 200 - Handlebar ajustment

[Scruffy]

Hello,
Please could I have some advice?

I've just come back from the garage having failing to raise the handlebars on my Dawes Giro 200. Even my dad couldn't do it.

We loosened the bolt at the top and nothing moved. So we looked just in case there was anything else that we needed to loosen and no luck. They won't budge and I really do need to adjust them.

Have I missed something?

Sorry if this is a bloody stupid question

.

Thanks

Scruffy

 

[e-rider]

yes, you have missed one very important thing - you CAN'T adjust them!

Bar height is fixed and is something that should be considered when choosing a suitable bike.

You do have 3 options:

1. Flip the stem upside down - this will lift the bars a little
2. buy an a-head extension
3. buy a stem with more rise (they come in different angles and lengths)

 

[Scruffy]

yes, you have missed one very important thing - you CAN'T adjust them!

Bar height is fixed and is something that should be considered when choosing a suitable bike.

You do have 3 options:

1. Flip the stem upside down - this will lift the bars a little
2. buy an a-head extension
3. buy a stem with more rise

Oh bugger, now I feel like a complete idiot

. I bought the bike second hand earlier this year and wanted to sort it out as there is too much weight on my hands. It never crossed my mind that you couldn't do it and have no bike manual.


Thank you so much for the options. I shall look into them.

 

[Alien8]

yes, you have missed one very important thing - you CAN'T adjust them!

Hold your horses....

I had a Giro-200 circa 2004 that had a quill stem.

Maybe Scruffy's 2nd hand bike is that old.

Scruffy, does your stem look sort of like the top picture here? If so then you have a quill stem which you can raise up and down.

It could be that it has seized so once you've undone the bolt a bit put a bit of wood or such like over the bolt head and then give it a decent whack with a hammer to dislodged the wedge below.

But if it's a threadless headset, like the second picture in the link, tundragumski is quite right.

 

[Scruffy]

Hold your horses....

I had a Giro-200 circa 2004 that had a quill stem.

Maybe Scruffy's 2nd hand bike is that old.

Scruffy, does your stem look sort of like the top picture here? If so then you have a quill stem which you can raise up and down.

It could be that it has seized so once you've undone the bolt a bit put a bit of wood or such like over the bolt head and then give it a decent whack with a hammer to dislodged the wedge below.

But if it's a threadless headset, like the second picture in the link, tundragumski is quite right.

Hiya Alien8,
Thank you so much for the glimmer of hope. I've had a look at the pictures and my bike has a threadless headset so tundragumski is right.

I'm ashamed I didn't know before I got the bike

. I love it but the handlebar height has caused me hand problems, so I need to sort it out.

Thanks though

 

[Scruffy]

Someone had just suggested to me that moving the saddle forward might solve the problem but I'm not convinced.

 

[palinurus]

Various options,

first thing- are there any spacers above the stem?- like this (coloured spacers below and a black one above)

If this was your bike you could move the black one underneath and raise the bars a bit. If all your spacers are underneath already this won't work.

If not then flipping the stem upside down might give you enough height, as already suggested.

If not that then you could get a stem (of similar length unless you want to change this aspect too) with a bit more of an angle to it and use that, stems are relatively cheap.

You can buy aheadset extenders

More expensive option, but one which allows you to choose the height you want exactly: you can get some new forks- they come with a long steerer tube which you, or the bike shop, can cut down to size.

 

[palinurus]

I know what you mean about the hands- a few cm too low and it can be agony after a while.

Incidently- same subject came up the other day

Thread about handlebar height

 

[Scruffy]

Various options,

first thing- are there any spacers above the stem?- like this (coloured spacers below and a black one above)

If this was your bike you could move the black one underneath and raise the bars a bit. If all your spacers are underneath already this won't work.

If not then flipping the stem upside down might give you enough height, as already suggested.

If not that then you could get a stem (of similar length unless you want to change this aspect too) with a bit more of an angle to it and use that, stems are relatively cheap.

You can buy aheadset extenders

More expensive option, but one which allows you to choose the height you want exactly: you can get some new forks- they come with a long steerer tube which you, or the bike shop, can cut down to size.

Hiya,
I'm afraid there are no spacers. I need to look at all the options to figure out the best for my bike and me.

Thank you very much for the advice

 

[Scruffy]

I know what you mean about the hands- a few cm too low and it can be agony after a while.

Incidently- same subject came up the other day

Thread about handlebar height

I have discovered this

. The Doc says I've damaged the tendons in one of my hands and the other isn't that happy so I really need to get this sorted.

I'll have a look at that thread.

Thanks very much

 

[e-rider]

I thought I'd answered the question in my first post!

Flipping the stem upside down is the only option that doesn't involve buying new parts - give this a go first - it's a 5 minute job.

putting the seat forward would be likely to increase the amount of weight on your hands/forearms so this is crap advice! The seat needs to be in the 'correct' position - you could then fit a shorter stem if you find the reach too long

 

[Scruffy]

I thought I'd answered the question in my first post!

Flipping the stem upside down is the only option that doesn't involve buying new parts - give this a go first - it's a 5 minute job.

putting the seat forward would be likely to increase the amount of weight on your hands/forearms so this is crap advice! The seat needs to be in the 'correct' position - you could then fit a shorter stem if you find the reach too long

You did! But people have been kindly offering advice. I'm still learning about cycling and will try the stem option first as suggested. I'm preparing just in case that doesn't work.

My seat is in the correct position and I wasn't happy with the advice of moving it. I didn't know whether it would make a difference but in my head I didn't think it would. What you've said has absolutely clarified it so thank you for that!

All the advice I'd had has been brilliant.

Thank you