Changing to drops

benlawrence

I have a Ridgeback Meteor with straight bars and want to change to drop bars.

I have just bought some drops but am unsure as to what to put so far as brake/gear levers are concerned. Would prefer STI shifters. Current equipment is Shimano 9 speed shifter and a triple on the front. Deore derailleur on back.

Any ideas as to what I can fit as shifters? I don't want to spend a fortune.

Thanks

redddraggon

Tiagra or any other of the 9 speed STIs will do the job.

geoff_ss

You should be OK at the back, as RedDragon says, but I'm not so sure about the front. When I built my straight bar road bike I was advised that I might have trouble with the front deraileur. As I chose to use an ATB chainset (44/32/22) with an ATB deraileur it wasn't a problem.

I should consult a knowledgeable LBS or someone who knows what the different pulls are. I just wish they wouldn't bother with indexing front changers. It'd be a lot easier IMO

Geoff

redddraggon

I thought that the front derailler would work as long as you use a top pull mech as a top pull mech (not try and use it as a bottom pull) it should still work with STIs, but I'm wrong.

CTC Website wrote:

Whereas Shimano road and mountain-bike equipment is completely interchangeable with regard to rear shifting, at the front they are different. That doesn't matter with bar-end or down-tube shifters, since they don't index the front shift, but STI controls won't pull enough cable to work an LX front mech.
So if you want the STI you’ll also have to fit the Ultegra front mech and chainset and your worry about gear ratios may be justified, since road stuff has more teeth in front as well as fewer in back. (However you can keep your mountain rear mech and cassette, since that’ll still index fine.)

Since the XTC has smallish wheels (actual diameter with a touring-style tyre will be about 25 inches rather than the nominal 26) the overgearing effect of a roadie chainset will not be quite as great as on a typical (nominally 27in wheel) tourer. And although road triples never come with fewer than 30T on the inside, they'll all accept something smaller (see previous answer).

benlawrence

Oh blimey.

Thing is the front chainset is road really - not MTB - so I guess it should work but might have to get Tiagra front mech as well.

Hmmm. It's turning expensive

redddraggon

benlawrence wrote:

Oh blimey.

Thing is the front chainset is road really - not MTB - so I guess it should work but might have to get Tiagra front mech as well.

Hmmm. It's turning expensive

A Tiagra front mech should be pretty cheap <£20 probably - but then again if you've got a top pull mech on the bike now, you might not be able to route a cable under the BB for a bottom pull mech.

What mech is on the front now?