Am i the only one

[velomaniac]

Close one eye when lining something up, binocular vision helps with depth perception but not alignment problems.

You will always have one eye dominant over another which will give the brain alternate messages of what you are seeing. You can tell which eye is dominant by focusing on an object then alternatively closing/covering an eye at a time. The image seen by a single eye that most closely resembles the image seen by both eyes indicates that that eye is dominant. Use this eye for alighning things and you should get it right more often.

You could also try set squares, protracters, plumb lines, lazer alighnment tools etc but they do not take manufacturing errors or component damage into account.

Finally do not look at the bars as you ride and decide if it feels right, if it does then you have probably reached what is ergonomically right for you.
Nobody has exactly equal length arms etc so a predetermined set up will never be perfect !

Cheers

 

[JustKev]

Nobody has exactly equal length arms etc so a predetermined set up will never be perfect !

Cheers

this reminds me of something my ex-boss told me.

After work one evening I was building my own bike up, and as I was checking the brake lever and bar end angles (from the side, one eye closed) he came into the workshop and said "You'll never get it feeling right like that!"

He got me to slightly loosen the bolts on the levers, bars, and bar ends and sit on the bike with my eyes closed. Then when I had everything 'feeling right' I tightened the bolts down. Needless to say things weren't quite symetrical but all felt great on the trail!

Doesn't work with making sure your stem is straight though - my only test for that is to ride no hands....

 

[REKIBorter]

I'll try to explain how I do it, stay with me on this one ...

Stand in front of the bike with the front wheel between you legs. Look from above and line up (by eye) the rear edge of the bars with a point on the top of the forks (adjuster caps or similar). Move the bars until you have equal amount of gap showing either side, the bars are now perpendicular to the front wheel. Not very well explained but it's much easier to demonstrate than explain in writing.

And yes I know the bar is crimped