Flat Bar Conversion

adamrejzl

Hi Guys,

I'm going to switch my drops for flat bars to make my Giant a bit safer around town.

I need to know if Shimano MTB shifters/levers are compatibile with my Tiagra/Sora gears and Calliper Brakes? I was specifically thinking about running the Deore STI STM510?

Can anyone recommend some good equipment?

Thanks

Adam

cooper.michael1

Deore (or any MTB groupset) is not strickly compatable.

The brake levers pull the wrong amount of cable, as they are designed for V brakes. You need the r-440 r550 or r770 levers. Apparantly Avid speed dials work ok though.

That is strickly true for the shifters too. However in reality if you are running a double chainset the Deore ones will work...

Just grabbing something to eat, i'll log on later and help a little more...

adamrejzl

Thanks,

I have found an r440 shifter set, but can't seem to see matching levers, there are some T400s, would they do the job?

Is there an STI set available or are they pretty much all seperate components, do Campag have any sets that would be compatible?

adamrejzl

Ah, how about the r221 or r225. These seem way cheaper than the r440s, are they a bit rubbish or will they do the job? Does anyone have any experience of these shifters?

urban_winter

Don't forget eBay. I have a pair of virtually brand new R770 shifters for sale on there at the moment. They will be a lot cheaper than buying new. Also Avid speeddial levers come up reasonably often and are not expensive (I think I paid less than £20 for a set).

U.

cooper.michael1

Deore Shifters will work the rear mech perfectly. Its the front mech that is a the problem, it you have a triple it wont pull enough cable to engage all three rings.

If you have a double it will work...a bodge but it does work. As would gripshifters, infact on a double i think they would be ace, no indexing so you would be able to trim the front mech to perfection. Again different cable pull so woulfnd work a triple.

As for using avid speed dial levers, not confirmed this works, but several people have said it and ive seen them on a coulpe of flat bar road bikes so, must be ok. I think they have an adjestable setting and at one end of that it is ok to use them with road dual pivots.

R-440 is like tiagra level 550 is 105 and 770 is ultegra. the 200 series stuff is one below Sora, will work but wont be pretty.

adamrejzl

:? :? :?

Well that goes against what my LBS told me, so its just as well I checked on here, they said that MTB shifters would work fine and actually reccomended Alivio (8 speed cassette) pods with seperate levers. Maybe I should buy them and get them to fit them, then when they don't work they will be obliged to fit me some r440s for the same price :twisted:

I've also seen certain websites which state that r440 shifters need to have a 440 series front mech as well? I take this is all lies?!

It looks like r440 and speed dial levers would be the way to go, its a shame as I fancied an STI config, but if the only set up I can get is going to be nasty I guess i'll have to make that sacrifice!!!

adamrejzl

Just had an after thought.

Can I use a MTB front mech on a Road Chainset?

cooper.michael1

Bike shops generally know feck all....if you talk to some it makes you wonder how they stay open. The guy in my bike shop didnt know what a sram power link was?!

Think about it, and what they have said, if MTB groupsets worked and were 100% compatable, why would shimano waste its time producing the r-440/550/770 kit? They would just say use the MTB kit.

MTB front mech wont work as it does not have a big enough capacity (designed to go upto a 44/48t big ring not a 53t big ring) The old one should work fine...

Plus paying them to fit it makes no sense (£20-30) you might as well buy the better compatable stuff online and fit it yourself!

What is the advantage of STI? If you brake you shifter you have to replace the whole unit...

adamrejzl

You talk much sense mate, i'm a little shocked by it though as i expected my bike shop to be a fountain of knowledge re all things bike.

Re : STI - I just liked the idea of an STI as I wanted to run super narrow bars, but from what i've been reading the R440s and 550 levers pretty much sit on top of each other, so I shouldn't really lose much space and they're likely to be tidier anyhow than a cheaper STI unit and will perform better.

I've found the set for of 440s and 550 levers on EBay new for about £50 the lot, which when you add on some bars & grips means the whole lot shouldn't cost more than about £70 which i'm pretty happy with, and figure the investment in better parts always pays dividends.

Now I just need to decide if its worth switching my cassette and chain for a 9 speed whilst i'm all dirty anyway!

acorn_user

What your lbs is saying is not too far off. What components do you currently have? If you have 8 speed Sora, Alivio would be a good match. The issue is the front mech. I have a Shimano trekking mech running with a road triple, but it is tight, and a real beast to set up. As for brake levers, any canti/caliper type levers will do. As long as they are not for v-brakes/discs!

Btw, have you considered running friction shifters? That would save a lot of hassle.

adamrejzl

Hi AU.

Currently running a Tiagra rear mech but its on an 8speed Cassette, Sora front mech on a triple chainset, all being moved by Sora STI shifters.

Yeah I've had another online bike shop tell me mtb shifters would be ok now as well, but figure its worth the extra £ to go for the road specific flat bar components despite the fact that the Shimano docs still only "reccomend" the flat bar specific range of shifters!!!

I've asked my LBS to get some R440s in as well as some Alivios so I can check the documentation within for details on pull distances and stuff. I'm glad everyone can agree that V brake levers are a definete bad Idea though!!

Funnily enough I was considering going for a friction shifter for the front mech just because they were never this much hassle and an absolute doddle to install, i don't do that much shifting on the front anyway living in good flat old Norfolk! Are the DURA Ace ones pretty much all you can buy? I'd want a clamp on as opposed to braze and preferably one I could split them into individual shifters so I don't have a rear shifter clamped on i'm not going to be using...

Thanks for your patience guys!

craigenty

Mr Cooper is right. The rear end stuff will work and most Shimano 9 speed stuff is compatible between road and MTB's.

It's the front shifter which pulls the wrong amount of cable. I converted Mrs. Ents roadie to a flat bar and couldn't get the front mech to trim for love nor money. Then a mechanic from a proper bike shop (Rourkies in Stoke) told me what the problem was and i got the right shifter and now it's fine.

Craig

cooper.michael1

You can download the documents on shimanos website.

There wont be any info on cable pulls etc... All shimano will tell you is to use 100% compatable components...which are the r-440s

Trust me bike shops and many bike shop staff know feck all about bikes. The Alivio wont work, or as the other guy said the front mech trim will be awful!

adamrejzl

Opted for the safe option and ordered the 8 speed R440s along with Tiagra flat bar brake levers (Paid £55 in the end). So they should be here in a few days, hopefully in time for me to do the conversion on Sunday!

adamrejzl

Quick Update to anyone who's interested!

I had a late change of heart and opted for the cheaper Shimano R221/225 STI units. I decided that £55 for shifters & levers was a little on the spendy side for something that wasn't adding anything to the bike. I have to say i'm really pleased with them, they work really well and fit nicely to hands. Really easy to trim up (loads of adjustment thanks to shifter barrels and inline barrels!) means i'm not dreading the cables stretching!

All in all I did the whole conversion for less than £50 and find the new rig much better for zooming around the city. They work well on distance runs as well, although they could possibly benefit from some shiny carbon bar ends?!

Anyway, i'll post a picture tomorrow of the finished article!

Cheers for your advice

Adam

adamrejzl

Well as promised here is the finished job!





Cheers

Paul Sh

Hi Adam, Just noticed your bike is a triple 8 speed, mine is a double 8 speed, will the shifters you have work on my bike, also where did you get them from as there is not that many on the net by the looks of it, still looking though.