Rhyagelle

Well...I have had the bike for two days now.

I'm finding the bike to be a great experience, and it is strange to use something with such higher quality. I never expected it. It is like light and day, especially with the breaks. They respond so well I could have killed myself the first time testing it down a slope. I was expecting something good, sure, but nothing that responded so well. My Schwinns never performed so well, not even brand new. I do have to switch out the seat though, because it is really, really uncomfortable and I need fenders, a rear rack and a way to raise the handle bars because I don't find hunching forward to be comfortable (which I had adjusted on my Schwinn before).

Overall, I'm very impressed and I love this bike!

Maelochs

https://www.bikesonline.com/2021-pol...-mountain-bike that looks like a lot of bike for the money.

Your post made me recall the first time I tried hydro discs---or discs of any kind. I was just cruising around a parking lot at a few miles per hour---and very nearly fell over. I am sure I looked foolish, but yes, hydro discs Stop your bike.
So … for a new stem … I am Not recommending any of these products, but am posting them to give you an idea of what you could be looking for.

The adjustable stem---everyone hates them, and they are a little heaver, but I used one for a few thousand miles without any issue.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/TMARS-Bike-...QAAOSwUjhfIIjB

This fixed stem is more normal.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/WAKE-31-8mm...Cclp%3A2334524

https://www.ebay.com/itm/31-8mm-Bicy...Cclp%3A2334524

I’d shop EBay (I hate Amazon) but any online retailer should have access to all kinds fo stems

Your current stem is 45 mm long.. Usually they are standard for modern threadless head sets and most bars are 31.8 mm but you will want to be sure. Maybe the bike shop can help.

You can get stems which rise up at a number of angles from six or seven degrees to 17, to 45 …. Remember that as you raise the bars the reach might get shorter or longer, depending on how upright you plan to sit.

You can also buy extenders that bolt onto the steerer (the part of the fork that sticks through the headset, where the current stem is attached) and stick up a few inches. You could then bolt your existing stem right onto the extender (sometimes called a “riser.

Also, you can buy bars that sweep back more (or less.)

Whatever. You are smart enough to figure out all this stuff.

Miradaman

Congrats on the new bike! Make sure you lock that thing up ninety ways from Sunday...a nice shiny new mountain bike like that is sure to be a thief magnet...

Rhyagelle

@Maelochs

It was definitely money well spent. The bike arrived in amazing packaging too, and the inside was well kept to ensure parts didn't get loose or damaged. It was actually most of the building time just removing the safety harnesses and all of the cardboard/Styrofoam from the frame, wheels and chains. That isn't a complaint of course, I'm really happy they took the time to ensure my bike wouldn't get ruined on the way to me. They also sent me multi-tools and wrenches, which really surprised me.

And wow, thank you for the links and all of the information! Yea, I'd really need the reach to get shorter I guess, as I have to lean forward a lot to reach them right now (I have short arms I guess lol). I'm actually a little surprised that it was already at its highest reach because it seemed like it was set to its lowest. I really like to sit as upright as possible, as I have an old neck injury and cranking my head up to see to compensate for the further reach really irritates and hurts after about thirty minutes. Before you posted--and I'll look at those links right now--I was looking at the BlueSunshine Bike Handlebar Riser on Amazon, but stopped there because I wasn't sure how to ensure it would work properly with my new bike.

Yes, I've got it locked safely inside. We have a ton of thieves around here. One of my older bikes got stolen by my neighbor, so I've learned not to leave good things out. It comes in the house with me when I am home and when at work, the manager lets me bring it in (since lobbies are closed) or lock it in the back area if it isn't raining/snowing, which is inside of a garage like thingy. Hopefully thieves don't get courageous though, because it would suck to have it stolen.

Miradaman

And make sure you have some sort of solid thief-proof lock if you park it outside anywhere. Some years ago when I worked in downtown Chicago a coworker of mine spent $500 on a new bike on a Saturday, rode it to work on Monday and locked it up in front with just a regular cable lock. He came out at the end of the day to find the cable cut and the bike gone. Stories like his are what put me in the lifelong habit of riding old beater, ahem, I mean "vintage", bikes...

Rhyagelle

If someone leaps over the 12 foot wall separating the store from the walk in freezer to steal my bike, I'm going to be astonished (plus it'll be on camera hehe). But, you scared me proper, so I'll invest in a good lock. lol Do you have any recommendations? At the moment I have a simple thick one with a key. I think it was a Wal-mart lock, but I can't be sure.

Miradaman

Ha, I was thinking more along the lines of when you use it to run errands and lock it up to a bike rack outside the grocery store or library or wherever. When I lived in the city I'd lock the frame to the bike rack with a heavy-duty U-lock and then lock the front wheel to the frame with some sort of cable lock. If it was going to sit there for a long time, like on a work day, I'd take the seat and seatpost into the building with me. Of course, this was in Chicago, so you might not need to be as paranoid as I was where you live...

Phil_gretz

The handlebar is installed backward, since the controls are shown rear-facing. The stem's relationship to the fork is correct. So, the bar is flipped backward. Am I the only one who saw this?

Rhyagelle

Phil_gretz
No, that's correct, it goes the other way. I can't reach it the other way (too awkwardly out of reach) because its so far "down", so I had to switch it around so I'd be able to reach all of the components. Also, the other way had the wires twisted around the frame, and that also got in the way of reaching things.

@Miradaman

Oh, Chicago, that makes sense. lol yea, I'll have to get some locks. We do have thieves here, I just felt relaxed with the work location...no sense in encouraging them though.

sloppy12

Yep definitely backwards. brakes are going to be backwards that way to.

May want to look into some swept back bars. lots of options.

Rhyagelle

Do you mean the brake levers are backwards, or something else entirely? I kinda like the levers in that position, but if swept back bars will help put it in its correct position, I'll look into them.

sloppy12

backwards and reversed it looks like. the lever should face forward with a downward angle that matches your grip on bars, the left side(seated on bike) should be front wheel, Right side should be rear. I am guessing shift levers are also flipped.

see how your bars has a slight bend toward the front of bike? that should bend toward the rider.

a swept back bar like these would probably be all you need. https://www.amazon.com/UPANBIKE-Bicy...8126827&sr=8-1
You can get bars with more rise and more back sweep.

if you want sweep and rise these are nice. https://velo-orange.com/products/grand-cru-klunker-680
will need a new stem for the klunker bars and prossibly longer cables.

Herzlos

So you're engaging the brakes using your thumbs? That'd presumably be safe enough if you're comfortable with it but it does mean that front/back are the other way round from what you are used to.
More difficult will be using the gear shifters which would normally be thumb operated.

You could always just unscrew the brake and gear levers and then re-attach them on the other side. That'd save you needing to worry about new bars.

Though it should be possible to have the bars the correct way round and still have everything within reach, I'm just not sure how you'd do it as I can't visualise the problem.

Charliekeet

HOLY COW I can't believe Iooked at that photo and didn't notice until Phil_gretz pointed it out. I'm getting old.
Yes, Rhyagelle , the whole darn thing is backwards - look at any other bike: the brake levers go on the front of the bar (you pull them backward toward you to brake). Your bars already do have some backsweep - you just have it "sweeping" away from you, which is making your reach a bit longer!

mack_turtle

is this a joke thread now? holy hell, put your handlebar on the right way! my wrists hurt just looking at that. you have forward sweep on that handlebar.

Phil_gretz

^ this has to be joke. There'd be no way to operate the shifters, except by reaching over and "typing" on the paddles with fingertips. Yikes.

Rhyagelle

Alrighty, thanks guys! I'm gonna take it apart again and try it once more the way it was meant to. Hopefully I was just doing it wrong before and it is easier to reach.

I will try and remove them, and redo the process tonight then. I was just trying to make due with what it had so I could reach. That first link looks great, exactly what I was looking for in design! If I needed a way to lift it as well, would something like this work with the bike and that handlebar? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...UFCQGKFX&psc=1

Yes, I'm engaging the brakes with my thumbs. I tested it the other way, and my fingers could not reach it with enough force to use the brakes. I had to do some reworking on my position and hands in order to reach them that way. I have very tiny hands and arms. I will try some reworking tonight, see if I was just messing something up.

Yea, it's backwards. When I first put it together and sat down to test it, I found that it was too awkward to reach and I couldn't press it without removing my hands and readjusting, so I tried it with the brakes nearer me and I was able to use it with my thumbs without having to readjust or anything. I should have mentioned that I did this on purpose, but it slipped my mind. I'll try it again.

Please read the other replies as to why it was put on like that. I know it is meant the other way, but the way I put it on (I'm assuming) made it too awkward/impossible to use the brakes without readjusting myself. I was hoping a new handlebar or a way to lift it would alleviate it so I could put it back the way it was meant to be.

Maelochs

Nothing wrong with having the brakes the way you do ... until you hit a bump while braking and crash.

With any brakes and particularly with hydro discs (one-finger brakes) you use the thumb and the rest of your fingers to hold the bar. Otherwise, if you do hit a bump, or even if you just stop really suddenly, your hand will come off the bars and you will eat the stem---which will not taste good, even with added pieces of broken teeth.

Also there is no way you could effectively work the shifters while holding the bars securely.

Further still the bar bends the wrong way, which will torque your wrists painfully. The first two laps of the parking lot might feel okay .... but after a couple miles your wrists will remind you that they don't bend that way .... though likely, you wouldn't make it two miles before needing to hit the brakes hard, which would knock you off the bike.

Some folks need to test a few different bars with different angles of sweep to find one which matches the natural line of their wrists. A little too much or too little, compounded by constant vibration, plus every bump, over a multi-mile ride, could leave you hurting or numb.

Maelochs

There are probably screws for adjusting the reach (from bar to lever) on each brake lever. Check that out. Some folks have short fingers, and many bike makers make allowances for that.

Maelochs

The Riser or Extender you are looking at is exactly what I suggested (well, one of many things.) But you would still want to consider bars which sweep back more, possibly. You can also get riser bars and lay them back so they extend back more than up---combined with the extender, you should be able to sit pretty much upright.

Rhyagelle

Then I will get the sweep back bar provided above with the riser on the 18th, as the more upright I can sit, the more comfortable I will be at the end of my rides. I just took the thing apart and put it back together too, and its a bit better than it was the first try I built it. Still a bit awkward to reach, but it isn't impossible like it was before. I also don't want to hurt myself or the bike, so I'll deal with the position until the new parts arrive.

EDIT

Ooops, one last question, if you guys wouldn't mind? Would this fender pack, rear rack and seat work with the bike? I'm having a hard time finding that information.

https://www.amazon.com/SKS-Commuter-...dp/B000MDZAFU/

https://www.amazon.com/AIKATE-Comfortable-Universal-Replacement-Waterproof/dp/B07VGGFSFR/

https://www.amazon.com/Aluminum-Adjustable-Mountain-Commuter-Disc-Brake/dp/B08BYLJ6SV/

dedhed

along these lines.

Maelochs

Saw a decent aluminum riser bar on Amazon (which I still hate) for about $20.

Maelochs

In the vid above---I would pull the lever in and then tighten it ..... maybe secure the lever to the bar with an old inner tube or something.

sloppy12

Yes that will rise the bar up. I would try a swept back bar first. I am not a huge fan of those stem risers but for your application its fine. One thing you may run into with both swept back bars and a riser is cables may be to short. I think when you reach that point you will need a shops help.

Those brakes should have a screw for reach adjustment.