When volunteering as a bicycle mechanic, I hear a common complaint. “My shoulders, neck, and back hurt when I ride my bike.” This is followed by a question, “Is it possible to raise my handlebars?”
Poorly fitting bicycles do produce aches in the neck, back, arms, and hands. This problem is becoming more common as a result of the increasing prevalence of buying a “bike in a box” over the internet or picking up a bike at Walmart. People without any mechanical experience have to assemble their internet bicycles. In such cases, seats are often too high or too low. Front stems are too long or too short. I have talked to several people about brakes that aren’t working properly because the forks have been installed backward.
The reality is that many variables can cause riders to have sore hands, shoulders, and backs. These include the height, location, and angle of the seat, the length of the top tube, the type of stem, and the style of suspension. It should also be remembered that parts of the body carry the weight of a bicycle rider. They include your feet, your bottom, and your hands. Any adjustment in the handlebar height will inevitably shift the weight between these body parts and perhaps require muscles to pick up the slack.
A couple of things are important to remember when considering adjusting the height of the handlebars or purchasing a bike with high handlebars. The first issue is that raising handlebars generally puts more pressure on your seat. This is the reason you see beach cruisers with thick rubber pads on the seats. Low handlebars also may increase pressure on your hands, shoulders, and neck.
Low handlebars may not cause problems for younger riders who can use their back muscles to lift their torso so that only light pressure is on their hands. The back also will be more angled or perhaps even curved for bikes with lower handlebars. This is fine for young adults who want to cut down wind resistance because they have the requisite strength and flexibility in their backs. However, this can be a problem for older adults with weaker muscles and less resilient disks between their back vertebrae.
The second issue is that raising the handlebars can mean that the cables connected to the brakes or gear shifters may have to be replaced with longer ones. This can complicate and increase the expense of adjusting the height of the handlebars. Each individual bike must be examined to see if the handlebars can be raised without the extensive work of replacing the brake and gear cables.
For each individual, there is a position that is just right for putting the proper amount of pressure on the feet, seat, and hands. The hands should carry very little or even minimal amounts of the distributed weight on the bicycle. The hands should be used for guiding the bicycle rather than carrying any of the load. Finding the right position can be a matter of trial and error. For younger people that are more flexible, getting the handlebar and seat position just right is not as critical compared to older riders. But even for younger adults, getting the right height and reach for their type of riding can mean the difference between pleasant and unpleasant rides and the ability to ride longer distances.