handlebar riser for Radmission

[handlebar]

Almost 2 years ago I bought a Radrunner 1. With modifications, it's not so horrid as it was, but after 3,000 miles it's still horrid.

Today my Radmission arrived. What an improvement! The big problem is handlebar height. I lean forward to get my weight over the pedals for power and a smooth ride. If the bars are too low, that can put too much weight on my hands. This is my second Radpower bike whose seat can be raised or lowered, but not the handlebars.  What were they thinking?

I'd like to give the Radpower CEO a piece of my mind. Meanwhile, I need a riser. How far will the OEM cables allow the handlebar to be raised? If I want to raise it more, are longer cables available?

[Elderberry]

I went this far and can set it at the highest setting with no problems so far but I think it is about the limit.  And it got rid of that nasty pain in the back left of my neck?. 😎

https://amzn.to/3D4W1vL

[handlebar]

I went this far and can set it at the highest setting with no problems so far but I think it is about the limit.  And it got rid of that nasty pain in the back left of my neck?. 😎

https://amzn.to/3D4W1vL

Thanks. Raising the bar will make bumps less harsh on my hands and let me turn my head for a better look behind.

So far, I've rotated the bar so the ends point up like the horns of a longhorn steer. That gives me 4" of rise and 3" of reach beyond the steering axis. It feels weird, but it works. It's just not high enough.

I cut zip ties to evaluate cables individually. Mounting my LCD display will give the control cable an extra 6". The next potential problem is the sensor line for the front brake. My front rack came with an unneeded 12" headlight extender. It has the same connectors used for the brake sensors and the throttle. In case I want to extend all three, I'm sure the cables are available.

If brake cables are a problem, I can make longer ones. Speaking of cables, I adjusted the brakes as I assembled my Radmission. When I tried them out, I was amazed that there was so little sponginess in the cable housings.

[trepaning]

this is what I used to raise the radmission handlebar, has worked great, mimics the setup of my commuter (non electric)

spacers
https://amzn.to/3MKcuIZ

angle stem
https://amzn.to/3eETxet

riser
https://amzn.to/3De3AR7

[trepaning]

before adding the riser, I just tried the angle stem, as seen in this thread. Note how I have set the light, it remains like that to this day https://www.radowners.com/index.php/topic,1401.0.html 

[trepaning]

I did not cut any zip ties or adjust any cables, just the light position flipped upside down.

[handlebar]

this is what I used to raise the radmission handlebar, has worked great, mimics the setup of my commuter (non electric)

spacers
https://amzn.to/3MKcuIZ

angle stem
https://amzn.to/3eETxet

riser
https://amzn.to/3De3AR7

Thanks. I used a similar riser
https://amzn.to/3ShIB49

I used 4 of the 5 spacers to get a rise of 9 cm. I rerouted the front brake sensor line. The rear brake cable is just long enough.

I felt that the angle from my shoulders down to the hand grips was too steep for stability. There's a friendly young dog whose owner thinks it's harmless to let him run out to my bike. I don't want to hit it, but if it happens, a stable riding position could save my life.

It's also much more comfortable. The pavement around here has ripples nasty enough to rattle a car at 10 mph. Higher handlebars let me lean forward (to get weight off the seat and on the pedals) without pressing down on the bars. They can go up and down without punishing my hands.

[Hama]

I use this one. Cheap $6.50, fits perfect

https://amzn.to/3FTpNW9

[handlebar]

I use this one. Cheap $6.50, fits perfect

https://amzn.to/3FTpNW9

How much height did you add? I'd experiment further if I knew how to extend all those cables.

[Hama]

I use this one. Cheap $6.50, fits perfect

https://amzn.to/3FTpNW9

How much height did you add? I'd experiment further if I knew how to extend all those cables.

Maybe 3-4 inches, cables were no problem.

[PowayVoyager]

I use this one. Cheap $6.50, fits perfect

https://amzn.to/3FTpNW9

How much height did you add? I'd experiment further if I knew how to extend all those cables.

Maybe 3-4 inches, cables were no problem.

I bought this one for my RR6 and was able to install it, but I couldn't get the original riser (the tappered part) to lay flush against where it meets the frame and it had too much play in it. I tightened the long center screw as tight as i could get it too. Once I removed it and put back on the original stock one, it fit flush and had no play. I might need to try a different one. 

Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk

[Hama]

I use this one. Cheap $6.50, fits perfect

https://amzn.to/3FTpNW9

How much height did you add? I'd experiment further if I knew how to extend all those cables.

Maybe 3-4 inches, cables were no problem.

I bought this one for my RR6 and was able to install it, but I couldn't get the original riser (the tappered part) to lay flush against where it meets the frame and it had too much play in it. I tightened the long center screw as tight as i could get it too. Once I removed it and put back on the original stock one, it fit flush and had no play. I might need to try a different one. 

Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk

I guess the rr6 has a different stem. Fit perfect on my two missions

[handlebar]

I bought this one for my RR6 and was able to install it, but I couldn't get the original riser (the tappered part) to lay flush against where it meets the frame and it had too much play in it. I tightened the long center screw as tight as i could get it too. Once I removed it and put back on the original stock one, it fit flush and had no play. I might need to try a different one. 

Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk

That happened to me when I installed a similar riser on my Radmission. I tightened until I couldn't get it any tighter because the unseen "nut" was turning. Having installed a similar riser on my Radrunner, I thought I knew what I was doing. When I took it apart, I saw what I'd done wrong. The center screw works by sliding the riser down the steerer tube until it sandwiches the head tube against the fork assembly. My riser wouldn't slide because I'd tightened the clamping screws. Doh!

I checked Wikipedia to find out what a steerer tube is called. The article doesn't mention any tapered connections. Pushing the head tube down on the steerer tube to be sure there's no play at the bottom, you might drop the riser onto the steerer tube to see if it will slide down against the head tube. If instead it bottoms out against the top of the steerer tube, I guess the 28mm hole in the riser isn't deep enough. In that case, one of the spacers might solve the problem.

The nut that holds the center screw is in a disk in the steerer tube. It wouldn't stand much torque, and little is needed. The screw just holds things in place until the clamping screws are tightened.

[PowayVoyager]

I bought this one for my RR6 and was able to install it, but I couldn't get the original riser (the tappered part) to lay flush against where it meets the frame and it had too much play in it. I tightened the long center screw as tight as i could get it too. Once I removed it and put back on the original stock one, it fit flush and had no play. I might need to try a different one. 

Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk

That happened to me when I installed a similar riser on my Radmission. I tightened until I couldn't get it any tighter because the unseen "nut" was turning. Having installed a similar riser on my Radrunner, I thought I knew what I was doing. When I took it apart, I saw what I'd done wrong. The center screw works by sliding the riser down the steerer tube until it sandwiches the head tube against the fork assembly. My riser wouldn't slide because I'd tightened the clamping screws. Doh!

I checked Wikipedia to find out what a steerer tube is called. The article doesn't mention any tapered connections. Pushing the head tube down on the steerer tube to be sure there's no play at the bottom, you might drop the riser onto the steerer tube to see if it will slide down against the head tube. If instead it bottoms out against the top of the steerer tube, I guess the 28mm hole in the riser isn't deep enough. In that case, one of the spacers might solve the problem.

The nut that holds the center screw is in a disk in the steerer tube. It wouldn't stand much torque, and little is needed. The screw just holds things in place until the clamping screws are tightened.

That makes sense. I'll give it another try and tightened the center screw before I tighten the two clamp screws on the riser. Thanks for the information.

Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk

[handlebar]

I use this one. Cheap $6.50, fits perfect

https://amzn.to/3FTpNW9

How much height did you add? I'd experiment further if I knew how to extend all those cables.

Maybe 3-4 inches, cables were no problem.

I used a 145mm adjustable stem on top of a riser to raise my bar clamp 7". That puts the handgrip bottoms 4.5" above my saddle. What a difference! I lean forward a bit, partly because a little forward pressure on the bars stabilizes me. If the bars are too low, a little forward pressure entails a lot of downward pressure, which is less stable and makes bumps hard on the hands.

With only the riser, I could get my handgrips high enough by rotating the bar so that they pointed up, but that cocked my wrists to a bad position and made my mirror vibrate.

I needed a new brake cable to raise the bars so far. Now the limit is the electrical line for the rear brake. I have an extender that came from Radpower with one of the racks.