# Handlebars not aligned with bike frame



## ludawg23 (Jun 1, 2011)

Hey guys,

First post, please be easy on me 

Just bought a Cannondale caad8 and have been reading/watching a lot of tutorials. Man, there's so much to learn!

I noticed recently that my handlebars do not line up straight with my bike fram when I'm looking down (bird's eye view). The handlebars seem to be about an inch or so off to the left.

Problem is, I don't know how to straighten it out. I tried using an allen wrench to unscrew the top lid of the handlebars but it didn't budge.

Can anyone help? Thanks guys and I look forward to learning from everyone.


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## Opus51569 (Jul 21, 2009)

Welcome.

The top "lid" is a cap that pre-loads the headset bearings. It won't help you to turn the bars. 

Look at the sides of the stem where it meet the frame of the bike. There should be two allen bolts there that you can loosen. This will enable you to keep the wheel straight and turn just the stem and bars until they line up properly with the wheel. Once they do, tighten the stem bolts again.

On a related note, it might not be a bad idea to check out the Park Tools web site. They have good how-to info that will help you get more familiar with the parts of your bike, how they work, and how to make adjustments.


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## ludawg23 (Jun 1, 2011)

Opus51569 said:


> Welcome.
> 
> The top "lid" is a cap that pre-loads the headset bearings. It won't help you to turn the bars.
> 
> ...


Thank you very much Opus...I will give it a shot when I get home from work.

I will also check out the Park tools website.

Again, I appreciate the quick response


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## Opus51569 (Jul 21, 2009)

No problem. Post a pic of your bike when you get a chance.


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## ludawg23 (Jun 1, 2011)

Well, that was easier than I thought. As you said, I just had to loosen up the two bolts with the allen wrench and I was able to straighten out the handlebars easily.

Here's a picture of my new bike. Very basic as it's only a caad8 but hopefully I can learn on this bike and upgrade in the future.










I waiting for a bunch of accessories to ship in. Going to change the bartape to white, a new saddle and some shimano 105 clipless pedals. I didn't realize getting all the right gear for this sport could be so expensive 

Thanks again for your help.


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## Splaticus (Apr 20, 2011)

ludawg23 said:


> Well, that was easier than I thought. As you said, I just had to loosen up the two bolts with the allen wrench and I was able to straighten out the handlebars easily.
> 
> Here's a picture of my new bike. Very basic as it's only a caad8 but hopefully I can learn on this bike and upgrade in the future.
> 
> ...


Congratulations on the new bike and early foray into wrenching. The suggestion to look at the Park website for advice is a good one. I think you'll find it very rewarding to do your own maintenance.


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## durielk (Jan 8, 2011)

Nice bike, get a seat bag, cartidge inflators, & loose the wheel reflectors & you can ride with me.


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## kbwh (May 28, 2010)

Some proper shoes and clipless pedals and you can ride with me too.

A very nice beginners bike. Good luck and ride a lot!


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## frmrench (Apr 10, 2009)

And add another bottle cage to the seat tube so you can add the second bottle that you'll be needing so you can take 40+ mile rides with me!


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## Krackor (Apr 26, 2011)

If you removed the top cap, I would recommend taking the bike in to a shop to get the top cap readjusted. It's important to have the bearing preload set properly, and I imagine in your ignorance you failed to do that. No offense! I did the same thing on my bike when I didn't know anything about the headset, and I think I ended up causing significant damage to the headtube in the process due to too loose/too tight bearings.

Get that torque checked by a shop the next chance you get. It only takes 30 seconds to correct by a skilled mechanic and chances are if you are a friend of the shop they probably won't even charge for the adjustment.


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