Have questions or want to discuss cycling? Join Now or Sign In to participate in the BikeRide community.

New: Take part in the November Giveaway for a fully customizable Villy Custom cruiser bike


How do I free up stiff handlebars?
#1
Hi. I have a Hero Ranger DTB bicycle and it's been a little over an year since I got it. I use it frequently but just recently, I've started having this problem.

When I start riding, I start to feel as if I have to put more pressure to make the handle turn. Slowly as I pick up speed, this seems more evident. When I go quite fast, in say 5th gear (rear), the handle just freezes up. And when I turn it with an effort, it shoots to the direction of the turn, in a very jerky manner.

Earlier, if I used to ride without having my hands on the handlebars, the bicycle would go just fine, and it won't go off-balance. But whenever I try that now, the handle just freezes up straight and doesn't automatically turn in the direction of my weight. This is just an observation which I thought might be worth writing.

How do I free up the handle? How do I make it as free and normal like it was before?

My bicycle: http://www.herocycles.com/rangerdtb1.htm

If you need a few close-up pics of my bike's handle or anything, plz let me know, and I'll respond as soon as possible.
  Reply
#2
It sounds like a problem in your headset. If this happened suddenly and nothing else has changed, it may be that you have a bad bearing. If you did any adjustments on the front end lately, you may have just overtightened the headset.

You can look at: http://bikeride.com/overhaul-threaded-headset/ for an overview of how to overhaul and adjust the headset.
  Reply
#3
Thanx for the response. I had asked my brother about the problem earlier, and he too had asked me to check the ball bearings, and oil them. I haven't done any adjustments to my bike, but I will check out the vid you linked for more info. And I'll also check up the headset's ball bearings asap.

Will update tomorrow. Thanx.
  Reply


Possibly Related Threads...

Forum Jump:

[-]
10 Latest Posts
Is there a way to get a bike on lease wi...
Yesterday 02:34 PM
1989 Miyata Skyrunner
12-03-2023 11:32 AM
New User
12-03-2023 08:33 AM
Costing while in a group.
12-03-2023 06:46 AM
Man on e-bicycle, Fire, pregnant woman!
12-03-2023 06:38 AM
Derailleur moves the chain but won't sta...
12-02-2023 11:00 AM
Bicycle Touring and Camping
12-01-2023 02:21 PM
Doctors are Prescribing Cycling
12-01-2023 10:20 AM
Human "powered" cycles
11-30-2023 06:04 PM
Worst Cities for Cycling? And what helpf...
11-30-2023 10:45 AM

[-]
Join BikeRide on Strava
Feel free to join if you are on Strava: www.strava.com/clubs/bikeridecom

[-]
Top 5 Posters This Month
no avatar 1. ichitan
37 posts
no avatar 2. GirishH
22 posts
no avatar 3. ReapThaWhirlwind
13 posts
no avatar 4. Lss555
9 posts
no avatar 5. Jesper
9 posts