MR. WOMO Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 Hey all, I did a quick search or two on this and was coming up with mostly info about handlebar risers, kits, that sort of thing. I was more interested in simply loosening the pinch bolts on either side and moving the bars forward just a bit. I've been riding my new mountain bike quite a bit lately and got to thinking how much I liked the nearly horizontal angle of that setup. I'm not interested in getting the Birds bars anywhere near that conficuration naturally, but wondered if it was A) possible to simply make that adjustment, and benefits/drawbacks to it. Interested as always to hear you guys weigh in on this! Cheers, Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fast Eddy Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 Hey all, I did a quick search or two on this and was coming up with mostly info about handlebar risers, kits, that sort of thing. I was more interested in simply loosening the pinch bolts on either side and moving the bars forward just a bit. I've been riding my new mountain bike quite a bit lately and got to thinking how much I liked the nearly horizontal angle of that setup. I'm not interested in getting the Birds bars anywhere near that conficuration naturally, but wondered if it was A) possible to simply make that adjustment, and benefits/drawbacks to it. Interested as always to hear you guys weigh in on this! Cheers, Kevin There is a tab/slot that keeps them in a spot. There is a little room to wiggle or just slide them off and grind/file off some tab. I like the position of the ergo's so I don't know if it a good move or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiXXation Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 Others have pulled the clip-ons up on the fork tubes high enough for the indexing tab to clear it's slot without any reported problems (with proper re-torqueing to specification). You could do that, and rotate them forward until you encountered dash/fairing/windscreen inteference, but I don't think you would get too far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01xxallen Posted September 21, 2007 Share Posted September 21, 2007 Others have pulled the clip-ons up on the fork tubes high enough for the indexing tab to clear it's slot without any reported problems (with proper re-torqueing to specification). You could do that, and rotate them forward until you encountered dash/fairing/windscreen inteference, but I don't think you would get too far. When I mounted my Heli's there was no locating tab, so I thought I could move them around. I quickly found that there is a little room but soon with the wheel turned hard over, you can easily hit the tank in one direction and the fairing in the other. I suspect the purpose of the tab is so the bars can be installed at the factory the same every time. You can grind it off, but you don't gain much. Or, +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shovelstrokeed Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 Others have pulled the clip-ons up on the fork tubes high enough for the indexing tab to clear it's slot without any reported problems (with proper re-torqueing to specification). You could do that, and rotate them forward until you encountered dash/fairing/windscreen inteference, but I don't think you would get too far. When I mounted my Heli's there was no locating tab, so I thought I could move them around. I quickly found that there is a little room but soon with the wheel turned hard over, you can easily hit the tank in one direction and the fairing in the other. I suspect the purpose of the tab is so the bars can be installed at the factory the same every time. You can grind it off, but you don't gain much. Or, +1 I disagree, I raised my fork tubes about 10mm in the triple clamps and then raised the bars so that the top of the bar clamp was flush with the top of the tube, I was then able to rotate my bars forward, which is what the OP intended doing, to give me a much flatter bar position. Greatly improved hand fatigue and even shoulder joint fatigue for long rides. No interference with the tank, since the bars are rotated forward, and no problems with the windscreen either. About a 20 minute mod if you're slow and using box wrenches instead of a ratchet to raise the tubes. Side benefit is slightly quicker steering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01xxallen Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 I disagree I'm used to it, take a number. J/K. Give it a shot, there's nothing to lose. Just swing the steering from lock to lock before you go for a ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiXXation Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 Raising the forks in the triples will move the clip-ons back as they are moved up to the top of the tubes as shovelstrokeed stated he did. That should provide a little more dash clearance. It will, however, lower the front of the bike and change the steering geometry, which is a little beyond the original question. YMMV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shovelstrokeed Posted September 23, 2007 Share Posted September 23, 2007 Raising the forks in the triples will move the clip-ons back as they are moved up to the top of the tubes as shovelstrokeed stated he did. That should provide a little more dash clearance. It will, however, lower the front of the bike and change the steering geometry, which is a little beyond the original question. YMMV. Yup, slightly quicker steering, and a little heavier as well, when the bike is unladen. However, I do a lot (>25K miles/year) of long distance riding and mostly on highways. The bike is usually laden with about 80 lbs of luggage as well. I was gonna do the rear shock shim thing but that would raise my seat height higher than I want. Raising the tubes in the triples accomplishes the same thing (nearly) and allows my geometry to be near normal with the bike heavily laden. I do have the rear preload pretty well jacked to handle the load so the ride ia a bit harsh when running without the bags. The modification did allow me to turn the bars quite a bit forward (stock bars) and, because I rotated them forward, there is no interference anywhere. Clutch and brake levers come close to the windscreen but, I have Pazzo shorties on mine and can still get my fingers around the levers at full lock. Naturally, with the bars forward, they don't come anywhere near the tank or my tank bag. Made a bid difference in long distance comfort for me as the angle of the grips is now much more friendly to my shoulders and elbows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR. WOMO Posted September 24, 2007 Author Share Posted September 24, 2007 Thanks for the very informative replies, all! I had posted originally at work, but when I got home, I did see the tabs that were spoke of. I guess it's not THAT big a deal - sounds like raising the bar ends up enough to clear the tabs might be a bit more experimentation than I was expecting. Odd that you can't adjust them even a little?! You never know, I still might give it a go, but I do appreciate the great info - as always! Cheers, Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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