Adapting the handle bars

[Abi335]

Hello,
I don't own a bike but have started hiring one each week at my local park. I love it but I have slight problem! My right arm is shorter than my left (due to surgery on my shoulder as a kid) and it aches like mad because of stretching to reach the handle bars. There aren't any other types of bikes for hire unfortunately, so I was wondering if there's anything I could buy to make the handles more reachable? I wondered about buying a pair of bar ends as they look like they might do the trick? I would welcome your advice. TIA

 

[vickster]

What type of bike have you been using? If a flat bat bike, bar ends could be a good solution and perhaps a shorter stem to lessen the reach for your shorter arm, and use the bar end as needed for the longer arm?

Are you looking to buy your own bike? I'm not sure if you would be able to add bar ends to a rental?

 

[mjr]

Swept bars (North roads, porters, cruisers) or butterfly bars may be more tolerant of different arm lengths, but again are something to do for your own bike, not easily a rental.

 

[Abi335]

Thanks for your replies. Pardon my ignorance but I think it's a mountain bike! I would like to buy my own bike sometime in the future. Looking at images of bars, I thought they looked as though they could be easily put on and taken off? I'm very new to all this as you can tell

 

[steveindenmark]

It would help if we could see a picture of the rental bike you are buying.

 

[Abi335]

Hi Steve,
I'm not buying the rental bike. I just go to the park once a week and borrow it for an hour from the kiosk.

 

[Sharky]

I suspect, if you are only cycling for an hour a week and on a different bike each time, your body has yet to acclimatise to the different physical strains that you are now putting on it. Speaking as somebody who has managed to break both collarbones and an ankle, it can take months/years for all the aches to disappear. But they do ease after a while I promise.

Keep riding and start saving to buy your own bike.
Cheers

 

[mjr]

Looking at images of bars, I thought they looked as though they could be easily put on and taken off?

Mountain bike bar ends are fairly easy to put on and off, but all I've seen require you to cut the outside ends off the grips and most mark the bars, so aren't really an option for putting your own onto rental bikes.

It sounds like you need something that will clamp on over the grip or inner bare bar enough to shorten the reach, firmly enough to allow control, but not so harsh it marks the bar. This intrigued me and I don't think you can be the only person with this need who wants to rent a bike but I didn't find anything suitable in the mainstream retailers and I don't know if any specialists have online shops of any size. Maybe you could contact http://www.getcycling.org.uk/disability-cycling/ or similar and let us know what they say?

 

[Abi335]

Thank you for the link mjray. I'll get in touch with them for advice.

I'd love to buy my own bike but I live in a very hilly town - so not the easiest for cycling plus I'd also be worried about safety on the main roads - there are a lot of accidents where I live due to idiot drivers..

 

[shouldbeinbed]

Swept bars (North roads, porters, cruisers) or butterfly bars may be more tolerant of different arm lengths, but again are something to do for your own bike, not easily a rental.

+1 if you google moustache bars, you will see the sort of swept back style that could help a lot.

Depending on your long term plans, repeated hiring is going to be a false economy quite quickly over buying a decent entry level bike (I know its heresy on here to some but you don't have to spend many hundreds or more to get a good perfectly usable machine )

If you do wish to keep hiring though and could guarantee to the hirer you would be a regular customer at a regular-ish timeslot maybe you could have a chat with them and see if they'd be prepared to set up a bike with bars more suited to your comfort needs and keep it back for you at your regular time as your custom would make it worth their while.

 

[Abi335]

Hi again,

Here is the (very quick!) response from getcycling.org :-

We provided a bike for a lady recently who had a right upper arm four inches shorter than the left. The straightforward solution was to assemble some components to create and locate a new section of handlebar exactly where she could reach it. This, of course, is a very easy solution if you already own or are buying your own bike. If you are using a bike from a rental/hire/loan fleet you’d want something that you can carry with and attach to any bike. This introduces some problems because, if I can relocate the handlebar grip area itself quite easily, it’s a whole nother matter to relocate the shifter and brake lever - which we’d need to do if you are to ride the bike safely. The other potential problems are:


*Will the owner of these bikes allow you to bolt an attachment to their bikes?

*It’ll need to have the grip moved (or removed entirely) to make room for the new components.

*Without seeing you on each individual bike that you’re likely to ride it’s hard to know what shape and dimensions the new assembly needs to be.

*The side that we add the new parts to will probably need new control cables.


I hope all this hasn’t put you off!


I think that the best option for you is to get your own bike and have it adapted to suit you. We can adapt it for you if you buy it from us or if you buy one elsewhere and bring it to us. Alternatively, if you can find a bike shop locally who’s prepared to do the work I’m happy to tell them what to do to make it fit you.

 

[ozboz]

I have the same problem , my right arm has 6" less reach ,at first I rode with the handlebars slightly out if whack to favour the short one , didnt really work it overstretched the left , so I put an headtube extension on it , worked ok for me , I was riding virtually with my back upright , that is an MTB , i have done similar with my Surley C C , back not quite as straight but ok , I will be getting a CX later this year , will play around with that , you will find something you can get on with

 

[mickle]

Hi again,

Here is the (very quick!) response from getcycling.org :-

We provided a bike for a lady recently who had a right upper arm four inches shorter than the left. The straightforward solution was to assemble some components to create and locate a new section of handlebar exactly where she could reach it. This, of course, is a very easy solution if you already own or are buying your own bike. If you are using a bike from a rental/hire/loan fleet you’d want something that you can carry with and attach to any bike. This introduces some problems because, if I can relocate the handlebar grip area itself quite easily, it’s a whole nother matter to relocate the shifter and brake lever - which we’d need to do if you are to ride the bike safely. The other potential problems are:


*Will the owner of these bikes allow you to bolt an attachment to their bikes?

*It’ll need to have the grip moved (or removed entirely) to make room for the new components.

*Without seeing you on each individual bike that you’re likely to ride it’s hard to know what shape and dimensions the new assembly needs to be.

*The side that we add the new parts to will probably need new control cables.


I hope all this hasn’t put you off!


I think that the best option for you is to get your own bike and have it adapted to suit you. We can adapt it for you if you buy it from us or if you buy one elsewhere and bring it to us. Alternatively, if you can find a bike shop locally who’s prepared to do the work I’m happy to tell them what to do to make it fit you.

:-)

 

[winjim]

:-)

Sound familiar?

 

[Abi335]

Ah Mick you've found my source of referral Thanks again for your advice!