How do I get my Shifters straight/even?

#gravelspecific question, does anyone have any hacks/tools that make life easier getting road/gravel shifters evenly aligned?

I’ve always tended to look at the bar end/drops section and align to that in terms of rotation inwards, but as bars get funkier shaped I just seem to struggle getting them even left to right. Maybe an optical illusion but one always seems slightly off, if I knew I’d lined them up a bit more robustly I’d likely be able to put it out of my mind!

Bonus points for pictures of homemade contraptions and creative workarounds.

Ceramic Speed do an App

Abbey Does some fancy tools, Park have ripped them off.

Hanger Alignment Gauge (HAG)

Lever Setter

Do it by eye. Sit on it, if it feels right it is right.

Go for a short ride. Adjust as necessary. Go for a short ride, adjust, etc.

Then do the bar tape…

AliExpress have an even chaper one

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006891839212.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller.6.2197UAWAUAWAJv&gps-id=pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller&scm=1007.40050.354490.0&scm_id=1007.40050.354490.0&scm-url=1007.40050.354490.0&pvid=8a867e05-d652-4f00-b800-40ba944f6fe6&_t=gps-id:pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller,scm-url:1007.40050.354490.0,pvid:8a867e05-d652-4f00-b800-40ba944f6fe6,tpp_buckets:668%232846%238113%231998&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21EUR%2119.17%2119.17%21%21%21145.14%21145.14%21%40211b61b017290086536906760e0024%2112000038634782765%21rec%21IE%214292155829%21XZ&utparam-url=scene%3ApcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller%7Cquery_from%3A

For height, take a ruler, pop it across the tops of the hoods then align that by eye with the flat section of the bar. Then measure top centre of the hood to the stem cap centre each side to get them aligned for angle relative to the stem/rider. Repeat process if you’re picky : ) (the angle adjustments do affect the height alignment)

The problem is I will repeat the process, several times. And then I’ll do the tape and look at it again and convince myself it’s not straight anymore..!

I’ll try the ruler trick and if not I might have to buy one of the tools just so that I know they’re done.

get it right by eye, pretty sure your arms and all the joints in them aren’t even so don’t stress it

i use a long spirit level, lay it on the hoods and get the level parallel to the top of the bars when looking at the bike, upright from the front. I then use same spirit looking from above the bike centrally over stem, with the level sitting on top of the hoods, to see if it is then parallel to the flat section of the bars,  takes a while but gets there.

One thing I have noticed though, is that for various road levers, Rival AXS in particular, the hood body on one shifter is slightly longer, just a couple of mm,  than the other, so need to factor that in to the parallelogram for the birds eye view piece.

Spirit level as mentioned to make sure levers are at same angle. If you then want to get proper mad, get a protractor and measure the angle of the lever that feels good, then replicate on the other side…then check spirit level again.

I’ve got this version by BSC Tools which is very nice. https://www.bicycleservicecentre.co.uk/product/bsctools-lever-height-adapter/199

I’ve got this version by BSC Tools which is very nice.

I like having the right tool for the job, but I just drilled a hole in an old mech hanger.

I’m with the OP. Nothing really works. A spirit level needs to bike completely immobile and dead level. And not very nearly. Those things that spin in the headset cap need a protractor as you can make the gauge tip touch the levers in different ways.  Of course it maybe my arms are not symmetrical but the fact that my levers are not perfect really annoys me.

The Aliexpress tool link just goes to the adaptor. You need the 35 quid version for the full works.

Spirit level works perfectly if you have bike on a hard floor and completely stable in a rear wheel floor stand. I do it in my wood floored kitchen

Can usually get it by eye as long as the bars( drops) are not an unusual shape.

(For me)a ruler and bits of string work as precision checkers 😉

My body is all sorts of wonky and asymmetrical lengths. Eyecrometer it and stop over thinking….

My simple process to set ‘bars and shifters:

1) Handlebars loosely installed in stem. Shifters loosely fitted but largely ignored at this point. Sit on bike (against wall or with feet on something), close your eyes and reach for the handlebars. Do the hooks feel in the right position? If the top section is shaped, does that feel right? Adjust as necessary and nip up the stem bolts.

2) Shifters roughly in place yet loose enough to move. Sit on bike (against wall or with feet on something), close your eyes and reach for the shifters’ tops. Relax and assess if they FEEL right. Move them if not (vertically and rotationally). Nip them up.

3) Go for a short ride; you should open your eyes now 😉   Does it all feel ok? Tweak if not. Torque it all up, then apply tape.

The shifters may well not be perfectly symmetrical, but neither are you. Nor are the roads ever 100% flat. Comfort and feel should almost always trump aesthetics 🙂

I thought I had Sheldon Cooper levels of OCD when it comes to setting up my bikes and I’ve only ever eyeballed it to get it set up. The human eye is remarkably accurate for things like this.