Handlebars won't rotate fully

lukester

Sorry for the flurry of threads (well, 2) but I'm a wee bit stuck.

Just took delivery of a new bike, it was shipped with the stem facing the rear, so I loosened it and turned it to face the front, and put the bars on.

Now it will only turn about an inch in either direction, i.e. it will rotate left and right about an inch each way and comes to a stop, it's not the cables blocking it.

Any ideas?

Thanks

TinyExplosions

Was the stem facing the rear, or was the entire fork rotated 180 degrees? You should have been able to just flip the whole fork, not just the stem

lukester

It was just the stem, the forks were in the correct position, i.e. curving slightly forward. Maybe I should have turned the stem the other direction, i.e. clockwise instead of counter-clockwise

Chips Lovell

Moving the stem alone shouldn't have any effect on the steering. Did you do anything with the bolt in the top cap of the steering tube?

lukester

el tonto wrote: »

Moving the stem alone shouldn't have any effect on the steering. Did you do anything with the bolt in the top cap of the steering tube?

Yes, I loosened it to turn the stem back toward the front...although I realised afterwards that the two side bolts on the stem seem to be for that.

niceonetom

lukester wrote: »

Yes, I loosened it to turn the stem back toward the front...although I realised afterwards that the two side bolts on the stem seem to be for that.

yeah you could probably have left the bolt on the top alone.

loosen it a bit and free give the stem (also loosened) a wiggle to free every thing up again. the bolt on the top only needs to be tight enough to press the stem down onto the spacers and top of the headset to stop any 'play' in the fork - no tighter. with it loose you'll be able to feel the fork rattle slightly inside the headset - tighten it a little at a time until there is no 'play' in the fork but it still rotates freely on the bearings - you'll know you've gone to far when you feel the fork resist rotation. then tighten the stem bolts, they're what keep the whole thing secure not the top nut.

as always i'm open to correction, but this method has served me well up to now.

Chips Lovell

OK. How much did you tighten the top nut when putting it back in place? Does loosening it a bit make any difference on the steering?

lukester

Sorted! I loosened the top bolt a little until the forks were moving freely, then aligned bars and forks and tightened everything again. Still not sure what I did wrong in the first place, feeling very noobish..hehe

Still have to adjust the derailleurs and brakes, front derailleur is scraping a bit against the cage and back brake has too much play. But I did want to learn basic maintenance..I think.

Cheers for all the suggestions

kona

lukester wrote: »

Sorted! I loosened the top bolt a little until the forks were moving freely, then aligned bars and forks and tightened everything again. Still not sure what I did wrong in the first place, feeling very noobish..hehe

Still have to adjust the derailleurs and brakes, front derailleur is scraping a bit against the cage and back brake has too much play. But I did want to learn basic maintenance..I think.

Cheers for all the suggestions

go to the park tools website before you do anything else. they have a great tech section that will tell you everything!!
make sure the star fangled nut in your fork is okay, they can disintegrate if you over tighten, which you did.
make sure those two bolts at the side are tightened evenly too;)
when you do the brakes pump the tyres first, then align the pads, with a lil toe-in, then do the cable tension, then balance the levers:)
the front mech is easy, its either your limits or cable tension, there is a barrel adjuster on the L/H gear lever to adjust this.
be careful ith the limits some models are opposite to others. and tighten your left hand crank, and the right:)


**** just noticed that you have ultegra....much of what i said applies , but when it comes to road stuff i wouldnt take my stuff as gospel, i just do mtb!!lol
nice bike and good price too, you know about the reverse thread on the pedals??? or did it come with any??

lukester

kona wrote: »

go to the park tools website before you do anything else. they have a great tech section that will tell you everything!!
make sure the star fangled nut in your fork is okay, they can disintegrate if you over tighten, which you did.
make sure those two bolts at the side are tightened evenly too
when you do the brakes pump the tyres first, then align the pads, with a lil toe-in, then do the cable tension, then balance the levers
the front mech is easy, its either your limits or cable tension, there is a barrel adjuster on the L/H gear lever to adjust this.
be careful ith the limits some models are opposite to others. and tighten your left hand crank, and the right


**** just noticed that you have ultegra....much of what i said applies , but when it comes to road stuff i wouldnt take my stuff as gospel, i just do mtb!!lol
nice bike and good price too, you know about the reverse thread on the pedals??? or did it come with any??

Cheers for the tips

I didn't tighten the top bolt that much, I'm pretty cautious after learning the hard way in the past.

I got a bit stuck on the front mech, but I started from scratch this morning and think I'm nearly there, I needed to release and retension the cable, even with the barrel adjuster fully out it didn't want to shift to the largest chainring.

I knew about the reverse threading on the pedals, I ordered some single sided spds, which seem a good compromise.

I use the Park Tools site a lot, kind of wondering why I bought the Zinn road bike book now, but I had a book token to get rid of

Cheers for the tip on balancing the levers for the brakes, not sure what that is but will look it up. Haven't tightened the cranks, but I have a torque wrench at home, just need to get some allen key bits for it.


It's frustrating but ultimately satisfying doing this stuff yourself

kona

lukester wrote: »

Cheers for the tips

I didn't tighten the top bolt that much, I'm pretty cautious after learning the hard way in the past.

I got a bit stuck on the front mech, but I started from scratch this morning and think I'm nearly there, I needed to release and retension the cable, even with the barrel adjuster fully out it didn't want to shift to the largest chainring.

I knew about the reverse threading on the pedals, I ordered some single sided spds, which seem a good compromise.

I use the Park Tools site a lot, kind of wondering why I bought the Zinn road bike book now, but I had a book token to get rid of


Cheers for the tip on balancing the levers for the brakes, not sure what that is but will look it up. Haven't tightened the cranks, but I have a torque wrench at home, just need to get some allen key bits for it.


It's frustrating but ultimately satisfying doing this stuff yourself

sorry man,by levers i mean the brake arms not the actual levers you pull:D:D
but on callipers like yours its not the same as v-brakes,you still have to do it but its a bit easier:) i know with some of the cheaper stuff you have to bend the arms to align the pads,(you shouldnt have to do this:))
single sided spds are a good idea but drive me mad when the pedals keep staying spd side up when im on flats and vic versa:D:D!
im not sure what torque to do em at, we just leave the wrench to the set torque all the time:D:D
the manual should say.:)