HOW TO: Align Bicycle Handlebars Perfectly // The BEST Method!

The easiest way to get perfectly aligned handlebars on your road, gravel, or mountain bike. Works with drop bars or straight bars. No special tools required. Come for the how-to, stay for the mathematical proof!

Help support nerdy bike content!

Now, to get those levers perfectly symmetrical:

Thanks for watching and subscribing if you haven't already!
#bikenerd #bikewrench #smilespermile

[prof_writer]

Every video your production standards are going up...loved the equations showing me how many degrees off center my handlebars are...and to think I've been eyeballing and tightening up for 30 years. Great work and it's clear you are an effective educator.

[rcbigdaddy]

Thanks! No more stopping in the street for another handlebar adjustment!

[artad]

i've been using a wooden 1 foot ruler that i tape to the fork. works all the time. great content video and use of animation to reinforce the point. thanks for the algebra lesson.

[meibing]

Highly recommended. Works like a charm. Used a clothes hanger with a broad base. Made it very easy to be sure it was aligned with the fork/wheel and perpendicular to the handlebars horizontally. Also, the clothes hanger top and head negates the need for any tape!

[h.p.]

This is great advice! What I do is I press the handlebars (shifter heads) against the wall, whilst putting a rod against the front fork (with the wheels removed). I make sure to align the bar to exactly the middle of the fork and measure the distance between the wall and the edges of the rod. Basically the same concept, but I feel it's more accurate as I don't trust my eyes to align them perfectly.

[nesutoneko]

Dude! FINALLY some content that satisfies my bike-nerdery OCD! This is fantastic work, well produced and clearly delivered - without cutting any corners or glossing over important details. Please keep up the excellent work and please continue the deep-diving nerdery! 💪✌️

[MTB-Josh]

Good stuff. A "tool" that most people have at home that I've used for a long time is a ruler. I set the ruler on the stanchions of my fork and align my bars that way.

[thebikefam]

OK, I like this. I’m new to drop bar bikes, but while I was doing this, I thought of using a laser level I have. A level line passing through your handlebars makes it easy when it projects across your brake levers. Maybe I’ll make a video on it. It worked super.

[thhall]

You nailed it, brother! My slightly crooked handlebar on my 2014 Specialized Tarmac SL4 "bothers me to my core" every time I ride it! I will try your method to get it right (finally) in 2024. Thank you!!

[dyaz_de]

As a bike n00b, this is freaking helpful. Love the thorough explanation!

[kge]

I get the nose of my saddle straight and then measure out to a common point of the left and right side of the handlebars. I keep these measurements written down for reference after any maintenance that requires the bars being moved. For saddle straight I use a 3/4” dowel that rests in the taint rail and runs to the center of the stem cap. This can also be used to check tilt and fore and aft.

[CheepSteal]

I'm loving the technical side of cycling that doesn't focus solely on Watts. Thank you! Keep up the great content!!

[kristiandawe]

this is brilliant, i'll use this method all the time now.

[davidmedina]

Greetings fellow nerds. Being a bike nerd, glad I stumbled on this channel of likeminded. I just got an Abby level setter for leveling the shift/brake levers altitude position. It occurred to me that the tool can be used for handlebar rotational centering as described in the video. Haven’t seen anyone online suggest this for the Abby tool, but i think it will work using the furthest outside vertical face of the lever as a reference point.

[skulluxe]

I also use this method to set my brake/shift levers on road bikes. You can tuck the stick against a common point on the hoods (usually where the lever and hood meet) and check that both levers are even vertically and horizontally with the bars. No more uneven fore/aft or up/down levers

[michaelrheiner]

Yeah....you certainly never hide the fact that you are nerding out....and yeah, I watched the whole thing so...it says something about me. Thanks for another nice tip!

[IPAColosseum]

Thx for this... will help with years and years of riding with slightly off kilter bars!

[Robwhat]

Wow, thank you for this! I have been “eyeballing it” for 20 years now and this is so much faster and more accurate.

[zdravo]

Hello and thank you for this very useful video. I am strugling with this setting just as you said and when I got on the bike, I have impression that it is not 100% algined. Your method is genius, I also found a video of famous bike mechanic RJ the bike guy which has similar method with ruler put against the edges of the forks, same principle as yours but a bit different.

[MrGoodaches]

Excellent vid. Useful topic. Fast, practical solution. Good reference to the relevant math