Advice wanted - converting to straight bars

I once had some bars made by Scott that were a combination of drops, aero and straight.

(See attachment)

Perhaps something like these would work.

Scott

Your shop is trying to rip you off. Shimano makes flat bar shifters that should work with your 105 setup.
http://www.speedgoat.com/product.asp?part=45302&cat=280&brand=226

chriswalkerlond said:

...

Problem is, my local bike shop reckons it would be impossible to get straight bar shifters to go with the current kit on the bike (Shimano 105 throughout), so it looks like I would have to change not only the shifters and brake levers, but also the front derailleur, bottom bracket and probably also the rear derailleur! Obviously, even if I downgrade significantly from the 105, this is still going to be very expensive to do.

I now have 2 options. First is to sell the bike on Ebay and look for a decent hybrid with the proceed.

Second is to hope that some smart person out there knows of shifters that will mount on straight bars but also work with 105 kit?

Well, Shimano's newfangled updated web site is a piece of [censored] and is down half the time or I'd link you to their flat bar shifters. They have both Tiagra and Ultegra grades. Both are 9 speed.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your replies. Now I just need to find out if Shimano sell those shifters in the UK!!

Cheers,

Chris.

Shimano do the 443 8 and 9 speed Shifters, Brake Levers and Front Derailleur world wide, they are standard on my Felt SR81.

10 speed Ultegra and 105 will be out later this year.

Try the aus web site for pix, http://www.shimano.com.au/publish/content/australia/en/cycling.html "Road, Sora, Flat Handlebar": http://www.shimano.com.au/publish/content/australia/en/cycling/products/road_components/flat_handlebar_.html

chriswalkerlond said:

Hi All,

I have a 2002 (I think) GT ZR 3.0. Most of the cycling I now do is to and from work. As this is about 12 miles each way, it is great having a really light frame, but a real pain having narrow drop bars, when it comes to slow speed navigation round dog droppings in cycle paths etc. As I also carry a laptop in a back pack, it is more comfortable to have a more upright riding position.

My initial thought was to flip the stem to get it rising rather than falling and put straight hybrid type bars on. I figured that and putting on different shifters and brake levers would do the job.

Problem is, my local bike shop reckons it would be impossible to get straight bar shifters to go with the current kit on the bike (Shimano 105 throughout), so it looks like I would have to change not only the shifters and brake levers, but also the front derailleur, bottom bracket and probably also the rear derailleur! Obviously, even if I downgrade significantly from the 105, this is still going to be very expensive to do.

I now have 2 options. First is to sell the bike on Ebay and look for a decent hybrid with the proceed.

Second is to hope that some smart person out there knows of shifters that will mount on straight bars but also work with 105 kit?

Any recommendations welcome!

Thanks,

Chris.

I'm afraid I can't help you there but wondered if you knew what handles are the most comfortable on the market?

Cheers,

Liketoride78 said:

I'm afraid I can't help you there but wondered if you knew what handles are the most comfortable on the market?

Cheers,

Can't really help you I'm afraid. The only ones I know are the standard specced bars on my two bikes (2002 GT ZR 3.0 and 2005 Specialised XC Pro).

As they are completely chalk & cheese (drop bars vs MTB) there's no comparison between them, and I've not really got any knowledge of any other bars to compare against.

Having said that, thanks to the other guys who answered my post, I now know I can change the GT, so once I've got some bars on that, I'll give you a comparison report between them and the Specialized.

Second is to hope that some smart person out there knows of shifters that will mount on straight bars but also work with 105 kit?

Any recommendations welcome!

Thanks,

Chris.[/QUOTE]
Check these out,any of the Shimano 9 speed listed will work.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/Default.aspx?ReferID=Googframes&cat=cycle&

SL-R440-8 for 8 speed,
SL-R660 or SL-R440 for 9 speed,
SL-R770 for 10 speed shifters.
BL-R440 for brake levers.
See my post and links above.