How to Raise Handlebars on A Mountain Bike? Thread and Unthread Setups

Before you enter your favorite trails with your squad or alone, you must learn how to raise handlebars on a mountain bike for comfy trekking and avoid mishaps.

Mountain biking is the perfect pastime activity that helps me burn calories, stay fit, ride in the laps of mother earth and live with nature.

You can do the same.

It undoubtedly is the healthiest yet most entertaining activity. Once you fall in love with mountain biking, there is never going back.

But if the bike is not set and adjusted according to the body, one can end up with an aching back, paining limbs, and sore hands. ☹️ No, no. With my guides at MTB Knowledge, I will never let you go astray with your bike.

I am here to help you vroom into the bike with perfectly adjusted handlebars, dropper post, and weight, according to the biking trail and bikers’ requirements.

Read➜ Ideal Weight for a Mountain Bike: A Beginner Guide to Adjust Bike Weight

Scroll below to know how to raise handlebars on a mountain bike

Can you raise the handlebars on a mountain bike?

Yes. With the spot-on approaches, you can easily fine-tune your bike and adjust the handlebar height on the up and up.

The first method that I, as a professional trekker, practice is to elevate the haft using headset spacers. MTBs are concocted with free-to-move 20 to 30-mm headset spacers above or below the stem.

If you are still confused about how to raise handlebars on a mountain bike? Don’t worry! As a beginner, it will take time to acquire mountain bike specs and components and their customization.

My help is always here. Being in the mountain biking business for the past 20 years helped me learn a lot about mountain bikes and the bikers themselves. It is a kind of chemistry.

I later decided to pen down my experiences and help all those novice people coming to mountain biking so they don’t have to go through all those messed-up things that I had to because I didn’t have a mentor.

You can always reach me at MTBknowledge.com. I will tell you about upgrading your MTB. Now coming back to the discussion,

How to Raise Handlebars on a Mountain Bike?

There are four ways in which you can change the height of the handlebars or raise them:

1.     Adjusting Spacers

This is, so far, the easiest method. Stem spacers, also known as headset spacers, are small aluminum or carbon fiber stem extenders that come with several rings.

These rings slide onto the forks of the steerer tube, which you can find in the middle of the stem. To keep it lightweight, you can go with carbon-made rings.

You can add more rings to get plenty of options to adjust the height of the handlebars. It would help to have a handlebar with Allen wrench nuts on top and the sides.

Check the video below to adjust the spacers:

2.     Change your Handlebars

If you want to know how to raise the handlebars on a mountain bike cost-effectively, simply change the handlebars.

As a beginner, I never had an idea about raising handlebars on my MTB; I was also unaware of the Perfect Sized Handlebar.

I learned it with experience.

However, the easiest you can do is, consult a local bike shop in this regard. Do tell the bike expert about your expectations from a handlebar.

He would ask you some questions about angles and wideness and suggest handlebars that match your needs in the best possible way.

I have compiled a guide in this video:

3.     Change Stem

Another method to increase the height of your handlebar is by changing the stem. The stem is one of the essential components of a mountain bike and other bikes.

The primary function of the stem is to connect the handlebar with the steerer tube of MTB’s fork. This method can produce a rise between 0 and 15 degrees.

One important thing to remember is that changing the stem will also change the length of your handlebars. As a result, your body position can also be reformed.

It means, in this method, the handlebar and stem, both components of your bike, will be changed.

Changing a stem will have the same method as changing the handlebars discussed above.

4.     Adjust Using Fork

Modern forks come with height adjustment parameters marked on them. If you already have a fork from such manufacturers, you can simply increase the height of your bicycle handle.

This method will not require any skills; even a novice can do it without guidance. All you have to is

1. Unscrew the fork
2. Adjust the height
3. Screw it back

Yes, it is that simple. You can find forks with height adjustment from any store.

Learning how to raise handlebars on a mountain bike is not enough unless you know the perfect handlebar height per your body.

But how do you know if you are adjusting the handlebars at the optimum or ideal position to your body and requirements?

How to adjust bike handlebars in a perfect position?

The most important thing about bicycle handlebar adjustment is the position of the handlebars vs. the rest of the bike: Mountain bike and handles bars should be in accurate alignment.

How to know if it is perfectly aligned with your bike?

Look at the front wheel of the bike.

“The handlebar should be aligned perpendicular to the wheel before you adjust the overall height.”

1.     Handlebar Sweep

Handlebar sweep is the angle between the stem and your hands. The perfect angle will be at which the bar bends back from the stem and let your hands come into an ideal holding position.

“It is approximately 5 and 9 degrees.”

2.     Width Span

To calculate the width of your handlebar, there are various factors to consider, such as:

1. Riding Type:

The wide span is determined by the purpose of nature of your mountain biking (climbing, trailing, jumping, etc.).

For instance, if you are going for dirt bike riding, a wider bar span will ensure excellent control and maneuverability.

2. Location:

Taking location into account is essential. If you are going to ride in a tree-filled area, the narrow bar will go well, as there will be fewer chances of banging in the trunks.

How to raise handlebars on a mountain bike while racing on flat ground? Set handlebars with more wideness.

3. Personal preference:

Your personal preference will matter too. For instance, if you are used to biking with narrower handlebars, adjusting to wider ones can be challenging, and vice versa.

4. Body type:

Your height, body type, and overall posture will make a difference as well. People with narrow shoulders (slender build) cannot hold wider bars comfortably.

While as a broad-shoulder person, you will have more room between your hands, so the broader handlebar setting will come in handy for you.

If you are still confused, here is a tip: Find bikers having your height and body type, take a test ride on their bikes, and set your handlebars subsequently.

Don’t be confused about the mountain bike handlebar setup

There are two types of designs available on mountain bike handlebars.

One is threaded, which requires screwing to tighten the handlebar with the stem and bike.

The other one is unthreaded setup based on the fork. It doesn’t have threads on the steerer.

How to raise handlebars on kids’ bike?

You can use the same methods to increase the height of the handlebars on a kid’s bike.

What happens when you know to raise mountain bike handlebars?

As a novice biker, you might think that learning to ride on different terrains is enough. However, you should also know to manage and handle your bike.

As you have learned in the above discussion, MTBs handle height varies based on the ground, race type, and other factors.

So would you go to a professional whenever some adjustments in the handlebar are needed? This can be costly and a hassle too. Once you know how to raise handlebars on a mountain bike, you will be able to do the following things without help:

• You can increase handlebar height as your child grows without adding to service charges that you would otherwise pay when getting handlebar adjustments from a professional.
• You upgrade old bikes and sell them in the market or gift them to your squad’s junior entering the mountain biking field and looking to save some bucks on MTBs’ purchases.
• Set your bike according to your sole comfort. The more comfortable you are on a bicycle, the better you can roam on the steeper, jumpy, or hassling roads.
• A handle set according to your height, ride type, and location adds a lot to your comfort and ensures no injuries.
• By doing so, the overall bicycle performance will improve.
• All with this, you will enjoy mountain biking more when the handle is adjusted according to your comfort needs.

Bottom Line

Here our discussion on How to Raise Handlebars on A Mountain Bike comes to an end. I have described detailed ways to help you independently increase the height of your MTB’s handlebar.

If you still got questions or want to know more about mountain bikes, you can reach me anytime at my blog.

You can also bookmark my website for more information and future posts, and detailed guides on mountain biking.

More to come on MTB Knowledge:

• Best Mountain Bike Trails In Southern California
• How Fast Can A Mountain Bike Go – Tips To Increase Your Biking Speed
• Why Are Mountain Bikes So Expensive – How To Find The Cheaper Deals

Until next time, Ciao!