Bent handlebars?

[kari-star]

I took a spill a while ago on the bike - pretty much I slipped on some gravel turning at slow speed into a driveway, and went down straight onto a handlebar (and my knee, THANK GOODNESS for armored pants). I didn't notice for a bit, but... my handlebars are a little bent now.

so what do I do? they're not ridiculously bent - I've been riding with them this way - but they're ever-so-slightly bent, and when I put my windshield on the bike it's really noticeable.

can I bend it back? how do I do that? or do I need to buy new handlebars this winter before I install any heated grips?

this (and, well, inertia) is the ONE THING standing in my way of handing warm hands riding to work. :rolleyes:

[opaque_machete]

Are the bars actually bent, or are they just off kilter? I dropped my XT and thought I had bent them, but, like a bicycle, the bars had just been pushed to one side. And like a bicycle, my hubby put his knees on either side of the front wheel, held on tight, and yanked the handlebars straight. Problem fixed.

[indianscout]

If the bar is kinked you will have problems whether you try to bend them back or leave them be. If that is the case then I would suggest to replace them. But it sounds like you only have a slight bend or pushed to one side you can fix it like om suggested.

One local ol'timer used to tell me about his dad being a motorcycle cop in Minneapolis in the 30's and was in charge of the new guys. He would make them sit on there bike and then ask how the handlebars felt. If they seemed too wide or narrow for the new officer he would strattle the front wheel and bend it to where it fit. (Guess he was a rather large man.) He said most of the bikes on the force had this modification and there never seemed to be any adverse problems with them.

Lesson of the day: Brute strength and good looks will prevail! :lol:

[theWolfTamer]

Sometimes the bars can twist in the trees or risers when you drop the bike. You can hold the front tire with your knees and "straighten" the bars by yanking or tugging or pushing in the opposite direction of the skew. Don't have to be that strong to do it.

I've done that a couple of times will no bad effects.

[opaque_machete]

Thanks, WT. That's what I was trying to say. :lol:

[ImaSoftT]

If you can move the handlebars by hand wouldn't you need to tighten something up so it stays put after you get it where you want it?

[theWolfTamer]

No, they're not that kind of loose. They're still tight and take force to move them. It just that the forces from the fall skewed them.

[opaque_machete]

+1 to what WT just said.

[KansasKawboy]

I twisted mine so bad one time I had to loosen the bolts where the fork tubes go through the triple trees.

[kari-star]

so how can I tell if they can be yanked back into place? just start yanking? I'm the girl who reads 10 recipes and then makes up her own - I need more specifics! :D:

[KansasKawboy]

so how can I tell if they can be yanked back into place? just start yanking? I'm the girl who reads 10 recipes and then makes up her own - I need more specifics! :D:
If you hold the handle bar straight is the front wheel straight or turned? If it is turned then it needs to be yanked back.

[kari-star]

If you hold the handle bar straight is the front wheel straight or turned? If it is turned then it needs to be yanked back.

I will need to walk outside to confirm, but I feel like the handlebars themselves are bent - not the way it attaches to the wheel. The brackets that hold my windsheld are on opposite sides of the bars, and when I attach the shield now, it is clearly crooked. I'll take a photo and post it in a bit.