A Set Of Twisted Bicycle Handlebars?

question: When I had my bike shipped to another state it arrived with the handlebars turned almost 90 degrees off alignment. Now the handlebars are turned to the left while the tire faces forward. How can I fix it?Hi Sonya, It’s always a worry when you ship a bike from one place to another, the amount of bikes I’ve heard of being damaged or badly treated on planes even in boxes or with adequate protection. I think you have got off lightly if this is your only problem, I think the worst I ever saw (or didn’t see) was the complete loss of a bike, never to be seen again!

The solution

OK the two possibilities are; first if your bike has an a-head stem you need to loosen the bolts that clamp the stem to the steering column, these should be at the back of the stem pointing towards the saddle. Don’t undo the Allen key bolt on the top of the stem, if you do this you will have to adjust the headset again. Once you have loosened the clamp bolt or bolts, hold the front wheel between your legs and move the handlebars round until they are straight with the wheel, then retighten the bolts and that should be it.

If you don’t have a-head system you don’t have to worry about the head set adjustment, loosen the bolt on the top of the stem, this will be a Allen key or if an older bike, a nut, loosen it just a couple of turns, not all the way, if you do that the wedge on the inside will fall out. Once you have turned the bolt you may have to give it a tap down to loosen it, once you have done this, as above hold the wheel between your legs and turn the handlebars until the bars point the correct direction, and then just tighten the bolt and away you go.

Under the circumstances that your bike has been damaged it would be a good idea if you got it checked out by a bike shop and get a note of the damage and cost as you might be able to claim something from the shipping company, at least you should complain about it. I hope all is good for you now?