Note: Most bike manufacturers recommend having no more than 30mm of spacers below the stem and no more than 10mm of spacers above the stem. If your stem is angled, you can also flip it so it points up or down. To lower your bars, remove spacers from underneath the stem (these spacers will need to be placed above the stem). Add spacers beneath the stem to raise it higher. With the stem and spacers removed, you can now rearrange the stem and spacers on the steerer tube to achieve your desired riding position. Remove the stem and spacers from the steerer tube. Just loosen them enough for the stem to move side-to-side freely.Ĭompletely remove the top cap by unscrewing the top cap bolt. You don’t need to remove these bolts entirely. This makes it easier to align the handlebars at the end, and it keeps the fork from falling out of the frame when you loosen the steerer clamp bolts and remove the top cap. I prefer doing this with the bike on the ground. You will only need to remove the handlebars if you are flipping the stem or replacing it entirely. You can adjust handlebar height without removing the handlebars. How to remove a bike stem and adjust handlebar height Note: If you are installing carbon handlebars, apply carbon assembly paste where the handlebars contact the stem. You can also simply loosen your stem bolts to adjust your handlebar angle and tighten them back up when you’re happy with the new position. Use a torque wrench to torque the faceplate bolts to the recommended spec (usually 5 Newton meters). Unless the stem manufacturer states otherwise, make sure the gap between the faceplate and stem is equal top and bottom. When reinstalling the faceplate and handlebars, tighten the faceplate bolts in an X-pattern to ensure they are tightened evenly. If you want to flip the stem or replace it entirely, follow the instructions in the “How to remove a bike stem and adjust handlebar height” section below. You can allow the handlebars to dangle from the cables to continue working on the stem, but ensure they don’t get twisted or scratch your frame or other components. This will separate the faceplate from the stem and free your handlebars. To remove handlebars, simply remove all the bolts from the stem faceplate. How to remove and install bike handlebars Over-tightening bolts will damage carbon components. It's always a good idea to use a torque wrench when tightening your stem bolts, especially if you have carbon handlebars or a fork with a carbon steerer. Some stems (Zipp stems, for example) will require a T25 Torx wrench. Most stems and top cap bolts use 4mm or 5mm hex bolts. To adjust or change a stem, you will need one or two hex wrenches. Most bikes will come with some spacers installed above or below the stem. Spacers: Steerer tube spacers also aren’t technically part of the stem, but are essential for adjusting the height of the stem. The top cap is used to preload the headset (the bearings inside your bike’s head tube that allow the fork to steer) and eliminate headset play before tightening the stem’s steerer clamp pinch bolts. Top cap: Though technically not part of the stem, we also need to be familiar with the top cap and top cap bolt. Most modern stems are designed to clamp standard 1 1/8” steerer tubes. It clamps the steerer tube of the fork and usually has two pinch bolts. Steerer clamp: This is where the stem attaches to the bike. Most modern stems are designed to hold either 31.8mm or 35mm handlebars. It’s attached to the stem using two or four bolts that thread directly into the stem. Note: this guide does not apply to proprietary or integrated stems found on some aero road bikes.įaceplate: This part of the stem holds the handlebars. If you’re riding a bike made within the last 20 years, this should be the type of stem on your bike. Modern threadless stems will look similar to the stem shown here. SHOP STEMS | SHOP BIKES Bike stems explainedīefore we get started, let’s cover the basic anatomy of a stem, specifically a modern “threadless” stem. Here is how a bike stem works and how to adjust or change the stem on any modern road, gravel, or mountain bike. (Hopefully, you’ll keep the rubber side down!) It’s also useful to know how to adjust a stem if you ever need to straighten out crooked handlebars after a crash. If your bike’s cockpit feels too stretched out, cramped, too high, or too low, try tweaking your stem. After picking the right frame size and setting your saddle height, adjusting your bike stem is the most important part of dialing in your fit.
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