Flat Bar Conversion
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
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
Kona Caldera
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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...
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?
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U.
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.
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!!!
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Can I use a MTB front mech on a Road Chainset?
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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...
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!
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Btw, have you considered running friction shifters? That would save a lot of hassle.
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!
Thanks for your patience guys!
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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
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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 censored all about bikes. The Alivio wont work, or as the other guy said the front mech trim will be awful!
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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
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Cheers
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