igp said:Hi All,
I'm in the process of changing my flat bar road bike into a drop bar
bike and need a little advice. I've recently bought a used set of
shimano sora combined shifters for the job and would like to change
them over myself. A few questions that I need answered before I buy
anything else are1. Existing bars are 25.4mm must the new drops be exaxtly 25.4mm.
2. Existing stem is 90mm from centre of riser to centre of bars is this
an appropriate length for drop bars.
3. Bar width Is there an easy way to determine correct width.
4. What type of bar tape is recommended.
5. I'm pressuming that I will need new cables.Any other advice would also be much appreciated
Can't answer most of those, but I was told that the width of the bars
should be about the same as the width of your shoulders - ie, arms
should be parallel rather than resembling more of a V shape etc.
Certainly was nicer once I'd changed my bars to a narrower (and
therefore closer to my shoulder-width) set.
Bare in mind with the stem reach that your hands will be further forward
comparad with flat bars, due to the shape of the drop bars - this may or
may not be to your liking, it depends if you are comfy where you are (in
which case you might find it a bit of a stretch to be on the
hoods/brakes) or if you want the more stretched out position.
--
Velvet