Flat bar on road bike - possible?

A shy person asked:

Quoted message said:

My wife would like to change the aero (drop) bar on her
road bike with a flat XC bar. First of all, is this
possible?

Absolutely, this is a very common modification.

Quoted message said:

If so, is there anything I should be aware of before
attempting this? What about shifters - will MTB shifters
work on road derailleur? Thanks.

She will need new brake levers (and shifters, if they're
mounted on the handlebars.)

She'll need brake levers for traditional
cantilevers/calipers, not the brake levers designed for
"direct pull" cantilevers.

If the bike has two chainrings, and Shimano shift
components, MTB shifters will work just fine. If she's got
Campagnolo stuff, she'll need a new rear derailer too.

If it has three chainrings, it gets more
complicated...let me know.

Some drop handlebars are a larger diameter where they fit
through the stem, so she may need to add a spacer shim, or
she might want to replace the stem with one that is higher
or shorter.

If you had provided more information about her bike, I would
have been able to give you more specific advice.

Sheldon "Educated Guesses" Brown +-----------------------------------------------------
+
| Life is the art of drawing sufficient conclusions | from
| insufficient premises. --Samuel Butler |
+-----------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts Phone 617-244-
9772 FAX 617-244-1041 harriscyclery.comharriscyclery.comOpen ↗ Hard-to-find
parts shipped Worldwide captainbike.comcaptainbike.comOpen ↗
sheldonbrown.comsheldonbrown.comOpen ↗

Me may have said:

My wife would like to change the aero (drop) bar on her
road bike with a flat XC bar. First of all, is this
possible?

Often almost painless, always possible. The complexity
depends on the equipment present.

Quoted message said:

If so, is there anything I should be aware of before
attempting this? What about shifters - will MTB shifters
work on road derailleur?

If you have Shimano ders, and they're relatively recent
(say, less than about 10 years old), the chances are good
that they'll work with mtb shifters. Brake levers may be
more of a problem; show the guys at the lbs what you're
trying to do, and they can fix you up with the right kind of
levers. You may have to replace the cables to get the ends
to match what the levers need. There is a *small* chance
that you'll need to shim the bar to make it fit in the road
quill. Don't forget to buy grips.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Quoted message said:

A shy person asked:

Quoted message said:

My wife would like to change the aero (drop) bar on her
road bike with a flat XC bar. First of all, is this
possible?

Absolutely, this is a very common modification.

Quoted message said:

If so, is there anything I should be aware of before
attempting this? What about shifters - will MTB shifters
work on road derailleur? Thanks.

She will need new brake levers (and shifters, if they're
mounted on the handlebars.)

She'll need brake levers for traditional
cantilevers/calipers, not the brake levers designed for
"direct pull" cantilevers.

If the bike has two chainrings, and Shimano shift
components, MTB shifters will work just fine. If she's got
Campagnolo stuff, she'll need a new rear derailer too.

If it has three chainrings, it gets more complicated...let
me know.

Some drop handlebars are a larger diameter where they fit
through the stem, so she may need to add a spacer shim, or
she might want to replace the stem with one that is higher
or shorter.

If you had provided more information about her bike, I
would have been able to give you more specific advice.

Sheldon "Educated Guesses" Brown +-----------------------------------------------------
+
| Life is the art of drawing sufficient conclusions | from
| insufficient premises. --Samuel Butler |
+-----------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts Phone 617-244-
9772 FAX 617-244-1041 harriscyclery.comharriscyclery.comOpen ↗ Hard-to-
find parts shipped Worldwide captainbike.comcaptainbike.comOpen ↗
sheldonbrown.comsheldonbrown.comOpen ↗

Thanks for the quick and informative reply. My wife's bike
is an old Trek - my guess is around 10 years old. Has
Suntour Superbe single pivot brakes and Shimano 400 rear der
- 7 speed, I think. Double up front. On a related topic, her
reason for switching is that with the current brakes, she is
not getting enough leverage to brake properly. Without going
to STI, will replacing the brake levers and brakes to dual
pivot give her more leverage? Thanks again.

Steve

Yes, yes, yes and yes. Go for it!

- -

"May you have the wind at your back. And a really low gear
for the hills!"

Chris Zacho ~ "Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

Chris'Z Corner geocities.comczcornerOpen ↗

On Mon, 19 Apr 2004 21:09:14 -0400, Me <[email hidden]> wrote:

< <Thanks for the quick and informative reply. My wife's
bike is an old Trek - <my guess is around 10 years old. Has
Suntour Superbe single pivot brakes <and Shimano 400 rear
der - 7 speed, I think. Double up front. On a related
<topic, her reason for switching is that with the current
brakes, she is not <getting enough leverage to brake
properly. Without going to STI, will <replacing the brake
levers and brakes to dual pivot give her more leverage?

Just the calipers, no need to swap change levers..... and
Koolstop salmon pads.

Me said:

Thanks for the quick and informative reply. My wife's bike
is an old Trek - my guess is around 10 years old. Has
Suntour Superbe single pivot brakes and Shimano 400 rear
der - 7 speed, I think. Double up front. On a related
topic, her reason for switching is that with the current
brakes, she is not getting enough leverage to brake
properly. Without going to STI, will replacing the brake
levers and brakes to dual pivot give her more leverage?
Thanks again.

Steve

I'd try the dual pivot and aero brake levers first. And
maybe a shorter stem if a shorter reach would help her get
more leverage.

Save yourself some time and money- go to a local bike shop
and have her ride a bike with dual pivot brakes. And a bike
with cantilever brakes and flat bars (if there are any in
the shop). Let them know what you are looking for, and when
she decides be sure to buy the parts at the shop!! Let them
do the work if you won't be doing it yourself.

The difference between single pivot and dual pivot is
significant, I think. And for road riding, road bars are
more comfortable for any distance.

Yes it is not only possible, a number of manufacturers are
making bikes set up this way. I also have my roadbike set
up this way. I can not ride with drop bars due to an old
wrist injury.

You will need a MTB stem, flat bar, brake levers with new
cables, shifters, and grips.

Stem - you will most likely need a longer one than your road
stem. Bar - pretty much most flat bars will due, so select
your favorite. Brake levers - I'm using a pair of Dia-Comp
PC11 levers. Try to select some that are designed for
cantelever (spelling?) brakes not V brakes, they will work
best. Shifters - I am using a pair of Paul's Thumbies. They
turn a pair of Dura Ace bar end shifters into 8 or 9 spd
thumb shifters. Since the front is friction, there is no
shifting problem. The rear shifting works fine. Shimano also
makes a Rapid Fire shifter that is designed just for this
purpose as well. I'm not sure if they have a brake
lever/shifter combo or just the shift pods, and if they are
8 or 9 spd.

Note: I hear standard MTB shifters will not work with
Shimano road front deraileurs. You may be able to use
a MTB front deraileur if your frame has enough
clearance. (different design MTB vs Road)

I love the MTB riding position with a sub 20lb bike.

Me <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

My wife would like to change the aero (drop) bar on her
road bike with a flat XC bar. First of all, is this
possible? If so, is there anything I should be aware of
before attempting this? What about shifters - will MTB
shifters work on road derailleur? Thanks.

Steve

me-<< My wife would like to change the aero (drop) bar on
her road bike with a flat XC bar. First of all, is this
possible? If so, is there anything I should be aware of
before attempting this? What about shifters - will MTB
shifters work on road derailleur? >><BR><BR>

Yes to rear, no for front. shimano and Campagnolo for 2005,
makes road specific brake/shift levers for flat bars.

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.comOpen ↗ "Ruote convenzionali
costruite eccezionalmente bene"

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

My wife would like to change the aero (drop) bar on her
road bike with a flat XC bar. First of all, is this
possible?

yes. I'v seen it done many times.

Quoted message said:

If so, is there anything I should be aware of before
attempting this?

You will need to get a stem with the appropriate openeing,
25.4 mm. Most of the inexpensive stems come in this size, so
it should be cheap and easy to get one.

Quoted message said:

What about shifters - will MTB shifters work on road
derailleur? Thanks.

If they are shimano and not 6,7 or 8sp dura ace, yes the MTB
shifters will work.
---------------
Alex

Me ([email hidden]) wrote:

: Thanks for the quick and informative reply. My wife's bike
: is an old Trek - my guess is around 10 years old. Has
: Suntour Superbe single pivot brakes and Shimano 400 rear
: der - 7 speed, I think. Double up front. On a related
: topic, her reason for switching is that with the current
: brakes, she is not getting enough leverage to brake
: properly. Without going to STI, will replacing the brake
: levers and brakes to dual pivot give her more leverage?
: Thanks again.

Hi Steve,

If you're interested in selling the old brakes, I'd be
interested in buying them.

-Ken [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

Has Suntour Superbe single pivot brakes On a related
topic, her reason for switching is that with the current
brakes, she is not getting enough leverage to brake
properly. Without going to STI, will replacing the brake
levers and brakes to dual pivot give her more leverage?
Thanks again.

Steve

I just got a 20 year old bike with Suntour Sprint (Superbe's
little brother) single pivot brakes, possibly with original
pads. I changed only the levers to the Shimano Aero levers
that Sheldon recommends. The brake feel and function is now
really really good. Much lower hand effort required,
especially when braking with your hands on the hoods, as I
usually do.

This cost me $40 for the levers and cables, and $10 for new
bar tape. Money well spent.

Erik

PS, These brake levers come with a little grey plastic bit
inside the lever that rattles. After hearing from others
that it has no function, I took it out of each side and
the rattles stopped.