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Raising the handlebar

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15K views 31 replies 16 participants last post by  TheCapt95  
#1 ·
Hi, Is there a way to raise the handle bar? I leaning too forward and it's not comfortable.
 
#2 ·
Saw this in the owners manual:
Handlebar Height
The eBicycle is equipped with a "threadless" stem, which clamps onto the outside of the steerer tube. A qualified service provider may be able to change handlebar height. Find qualified service providers at www.Serial1.com.

I don’t see them raising the bars very much as there is only so much steer tube above the head tube it’s further complicated by the electrical wiring and brake lines running through their as well.
I surprised they didn’t fit the bike with an adjustable handlebar stem to accommodate everyone’s preference.
 
#3 ·
Saw this in the owners manual:
Handlebar Height
The eBicycle is equipped with a "threadless" stem, which clamps onto the outside of the steerer tube. A qualified service provider may be able to change handlebar height. Find qualified service providers at www.Serial1.com.

I don’t see them raising the bars very much as there is only so much steer tube above the head tube it’s further complicated by the electrical wiring and brake lines running through their as well.
I surprised they didn’t fit the bike with an adjustable handlebar stem to accommodate everyone’s preference.
Thanks for the info, I am in Spain now so I will have to take it one of the regular bike shops around here.
 
#14 ·
yeah no, it's more than difficult to raise the height of the grip location. The limiting elements are the length of the brake lines and the way they're routed. I just spent several hours changing my Cty-S bars. It required parts from TRP (the manufacturer of the brakes) and skills developed over 30 years in bicycle, motorcycle and electrical industries.

If Serial1 had the option of different handlebars with internal routing all that would be required is a pair of TRP hose couplers (for 5mm hose), new olives & barbs and extra 5mm hose to accommodate the extra distance inside the different bars. There is plenty of length for the control wires to the Brose system stuffed inside the handlebars so long as the bars aren't significantly different, like on their Chopper project. The most significant limitation to the change of bars is the internal routing of the front hose. by having it come through the steer tube and the Star Nut it has to be routed through the stem and bar. If the stem had an exit hole underneath the hose could be routed out and then be exposed like on other bikes.

I imagine Serial1 is experiencing production limitations in the same way other industries are. Even if they designed and computer tested a new handlebar it would still have a production lead time of 9-12 months. A project I'm working on with established components that requires no testing has an anticipated delivery of 24 months. The customer asked if $$$$ would grease the wheels, it's a $2 million dollar item, and the likely expedited delivery would be 22 months... with no guarantee.

Later this weekend or early next week I'll post images of what I've done to mine to allow the installation of Surly Moloko bars.

Have a good ride.
 
#15 ·
If Serial1 had the option of different handlebars with internal routing all that would be required is a pair of TRP hose couplers (for 5mm hose), new olives & barbs and extra 5mm hose to accommodate the extra distance inside the different bars. There is plenty of length for the control wires to the Brose system stuffed inside the handlebars so long as the bars aren't significantly different, like on their Chopper project. The most significant limitation to the change of bars is the internal routing of the front hose. by having it come through the steer tube and the Star Nut it has to be routed through the stem and bar. If the stem had an exit hole underneath the hose could be routed out and then be exposed like on other bikes.

Serial 1 needs to have an online configurator offering customers to configure some of the features of the bikes. Handle bars could be offered with different amounts of rise and sweep or a stem with more rise along with a number of other options like grips, pedals, tires etc….
 
#17 ·
There’s one problem with installing more spacers under the stem. You’ll run out of steer tube (in yellow) to clamp with the stem. The front brake line (in red) travels through the inside of the steer tube. The rear brake, Brose wires and lighting wires (in blue) are routes up the downtube, up the head tube and through the stem.
You can’t add more stack height to the spacers.
Image
 
#25 · (Edited)
There are a lot of factors to consider when adjusting the handlebar height on your mountain bike. The most important step is to determine whether your bicycle is sporting a threadless or threaded headset stem. For mountain bike threadless headset: Using the spacers for handlebars you have at hand, add in as many as you need and mix and match the spacers according to your liking. You can get packs of spacers with various sizes from 3mm up to 20mm. Don’t just blindly choose a random spacer; try multiple before settling on the height that you are most comfortable with.
 
#26 ·
Hello- I just purchased a Rush/Cty and I am very new to this forum. I would also like to raise the handlebar as the current bars puts too much strain on my neck and shoulders. I've read the forum and, quite honestly, I don't see a "home run" solution listed here. Have you found a solution; are you still looking for a way to raise handlebars?
jeff
 
#30 ·
I don't want to take away from the spacer possibility.
I live in Chicago area and I called 5 or 6 experienced Ebike repair shops, some of which are also Serial 1 retailers. All but 1 told me they would not customize the handlebars on a new bike because it was too much risk for them regarding product liability and lack of support from the mothership. Serial 1 would not support them for maintaining the bike warranty, which means the bike shop would be on their own if things didn't work out. One shop said they would charge me around $700 to swap out the handlebars and rewire. However, one Ebike shop said, "sure I'll give it a shot, no promises." I recently put Trek handlebar grips on the bike for $40 which helped me a lot with comfort, but it's not the ultimate solution of raising the bars.
 
#31 ·
I see that Serial1 has listed on their website the following parts:
STEM WITH TOP CAP S/M $80
MIDDLE SPACER $10

If you own a L/XL frame bicycle, the stem is substantially longer than the one for S/M frames. If you swap from the L/XL stem to the S/M stem, there might be enough slack created in the brake lines and wires to allow at least one, maybe two of the spacers to be inserted. But there might still not be enough steerer tube to allow insertion of any spacers. However, shortening the stem would still create a more upright riding posture. Question is, would it make enough difference to be worth the cost? Also, can the excess slack in the brake lines be taken up in the shorter stem or elsewhere without creating a kink that affects brake function?
 
#32 ·
I’ve completely stripped down the bike to install a new headset, adjustable stem, and cruiser bars to give my mum a more upright riding position - see my thread on the subject.

FYI - The stock headset is made by FSA and uses their ACR system. The stem is then keyed to fit the headset spacers and has provision for the front brake hose to be routed via the top which the ACR standard calls for. You can buy FSA ACR stem spacer kits, but the stem from factory is already set at the highest position on the steerer tube, so that option is a no-go as it would be unsafe to go any higher.