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Fitting Your Bike > Handlebars

Once you find your sweet seat height, you can adjust your handlebars. When you're sitting on your bike with your hands on the handlebars, raise or lower your handlebars so they block your view of the front axle (figure 4). With racing bicycles, your elbows should be slightly bent (not locked)

• Lower back pain often means the handlebars are too far away, while upper-arm or shoulder fatigue often means the handlebars are too close to you (figure 5). Try raising or lowering the handlebars, or moving your seat forward or backward. You can also change to a shorter or longer handlebar stem.

• Don't raise your handlebars so high that fewer than two inches of your handlebar stem extends into the frame (figure 6). If you have to raise your handlebars higher than the safe limit, get a longer stem.

• Rotate your handlebars so that they put even pressure across the palms of your hands. This shouldn’t bend your wrists in a strange way.

Considerations In Fitting Your Bike