How to Assemble a Mountain Bike - Handlebar and all the Commands

This hub belongs to a series of hubs about How to Assemble a Mountain Bike.

This stage of the assembling it is very important as it will influence the way you will ride your bike and control all the commands - brakes, shifters, suspension lock-out and any cyclo-computer you use.

After assembling the stem to the suspension tube it is now time to mount the handlebar.

Depending on the intended use for the bike you will want to choose the right handlebar.

If you are assembling a cross country bike (XC) then you want to have a handlebar that puts you in the right position every time you have to climb another uphill and the right choice would be a flat handlebar.

On the other hand if you want an All Mountain bicycle then you should go for a riser handlebar which will give you much more confidence on the downhill sections and also a more comfortable position to ride.

After putting the handlebar into place it is time to assemble all the commands.

Depending on the kind of shifters and brake levers you should check which configuration is the best for you (having the brake levers "inside" the shifters or the other way around).

I prefer to have the shifters fixed between the brake levers and the grip, this way I can reach the shifters without difficulty and at the same time reach for the brake lever with two or three fingers.

This setup can vary with different types of brake levers and shifters and I advise you to test both ways to see which one makes you feel more comfortable.

If your suspension has lockout with a handlebar control you probably want to have it "inside" all other commands. But of course this is something you will have to check for yourself.

After having all commands placed into the handlebar it is time for the handlebar grips. There are lots of different grips to choose from.

After trying several kinds of grips I chose to use foam grips from Ritchey as they are the most comfortable I found and even though they do not have any locking system they stay in place no matter how hard you ride.

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