Install The Handlebar - Espin Aero Quick Start Manual

4

INSTALL THE HANDLEBAR

4 .1 If the bike arrived with the stem rotated
around as shown in Figure 5, the stem will
need to be rotated forwards. The stem on
some of our models may come pointing back-
wards to save space in the box. If the stem is
pointing forwards as shown in Figure 7, pro-
ceed to installing the handlebar in 4.4.
4 .2 To rotate the stem around, first loosen
the two bolts clamping the stem onto the
steerer tube, labeled in Figure 11. Once the
bolts are loose, brace the fork with your feet
or legs and rotate the stem around clockwise
as shown in Figure 6. After rotating the stem
around, if the fork seems harder to turn (tight
headset bearings), then the top cap bolt la-
beled in Figure 6 needs to be loosened. While
the two stem bolts are still loose, loosen the
top cap bolt one quarter turn. If the headset
bearings still feel tight, loosen the top cap
bolt one more quarter turn. The fork should
be able to rotate with little force.
4 .3 Once the top cap bolt is set and the stem
is pointing directly forwards, tighten the stem
bolts previously loosened in Figure 6. The
torque for these is 11 to 12Nm. These bolts
should be tightened progressively. Turn the
top one a quarter turn, then the bottom one a
quarter turn, then the top one etc. The stem
and fork should now be oriented as shown in
Figure 7.
For a video of this process, watch the YouTube video here:
CLICK TO PLAY
10
4 .4 To install the handlebar, first the
faceplate must be removed as shown in
Figure 8. Unscrew the 4 faceplate bolts
all the way, and be careful not to drop
them!
4 .5 Place the center of the handlebar
in the stem. Put the faceplate back into
place over the handlebar, as shown in
Figure 9. There is no top or bottom side
of the faceplate. Make sure there are
no wires between the faceplate, stem,
or handlebar as these can get pinched
Figure 5
and damaged. When riding the bike,
the handlebar should be angled so that
your wrists are straight when grabbing
the brake levers.
4 .6 Thread all 4 bolts back on, but only
halfway. When the faceplate is tight-
ened properly, there will be even gaps
on the top and bottom of the faceplate
as shown in Figure 10. To do this, thread
the top and bottom bolt on the left side
all the way in until the gaps are bal-
anced, but don't tighten them. Once the
gaps are set, thread the other two bolts
all the way in without tightening them.
Figure 6
4 .7 When tightening the faceplate
bolts, they must be tightened in an X
pattern, similar to the star pattern used
when tightening the lug nuts on a car
wheel. As shown in Figure 11, tighten
1, 2, 3, and 4 in that order, one quar-
ter turn each. After one quarter turn
each, go back to bolt 1 and give them
all another quarter turn and repeat this
process until they are all evenly tight.
The torque for these bolts is 5 to 6Nm.
Figure 7
For a video of this process, watch the YouTube video here:
CLICK TO PLAY
Figure 8
Figure 9
Figure 10
Figure 11
11