Changing drop bars to flats

dg74

Anyone give me some advice on what is the best way to do this rather cheaply. I'm currently riding a Spesh Secteur triple and I reckon it would make a better commuter / tourer than the current set up.

Oh and if anyone has any of the kit as spares (bars, gear shifters, etc) and they are cheap or free (I'll pay for P&P) I'd be grateful.

Thanks

Darren

morstar

You are so going to get flamed for suggesting this.

Only thing I could offer is bar grips as I replaced mine with some fancy bar ends that have built in grips. You can have them if you want them and I can actually find them.

dg74

morstar wrote:

You are so going to get flamed for suggesting this.

Only thing I could offer is bar grips as I replaced mine with some fancy bar ends that have built in grips. You can have them if you want them and I can actually find them.

I probably will get flamed but I'm sure that most people would agree that the Secteur would make a better tourer / commuter and not be so quick to judge.

Maybe I should have stuck this in the commuter workshop section

Yea I'm interested in the grip, drop me a pm and I'll get back to you tomorrow when I've finished night shift. Thanks!

Flasheart

dg74 wrote:

morstar wrote:

.

Maybe I should have stuck this in the commuter workshop section

Some sense at last

dg74

Flasheart wrote:

dg74 wrote:

morstar wrote:

.

Maybe I should have stuck this in the commuter workshop section

Some sense at last

Only just though, Flash, only just

Ben6899

I'm not sure why you'd want to replace bars which offer three (3) hand positions with bars which offer only one (1) hand position.

But it's your bike and your call and your money.

nicklouse

dg74 wrote:

Anyone give me some advice on what is the best way to do this rather cheaply. I'm currently riding a Spesh Secteur triple and I reckon it would make a better commuter / tourer than the current set up.

Oh and if anyone has any of the kit as spares (bars, gear shifters, etc) and they are cheap or free (I'll pay for P&P) I'd be grateful.

Thanks

Darren

if you get some bars similar to the On*One Mary bars you could get away with using your current STIs other wise it is new shifters and suitable brake levers( V brake ones will not do)

Re the Bars see what your LBS has in.

redddraggon

dg74 wrote:

morstar wrote:

You are so going to get flamed for suggesting this.

Only thing I could offer is bar grips as I replaced mine with some fancy bar ends that have built in grips. You can have them if you want them and I can actually find them.

I probably will get flamed but I'm sure that most people would agree that the Secteur would make a better tourer / commuter and not be so quick to judge.

Tourers and commuters are better off with drops.

dg74

Ben6899 wrote:

I'm not sure why you'd want to replace bars which offer three (3) hand positions with bars which offer only one (1) hand position.

But it's your bike and your call and your money.

Just going to find it easier to swap bars, etc, then put my old flat pedals on and use it as a bike I can just jump on and go instead of throwing on padded shorts, my cycling shoes, etc.

Ben6899

I have a single speed which I use during winter. Throughout the finer months, I use it to go to the shops on etc. So at the moment, it has flat pedals (with clips) and I don't wear padded shorts when I go for the newspaper. It has drop (track) bars and it's fine - I can grab the tops, hoods or drops.

The point I'm trying to make is: you don't need to get rid of the drop bars to ride your bike in casual clothes on flat pedals. In fact, more relaxed flat bars might shift more weight towards your backside and increase the need for padding.

It's worth noting that I don't care what you do , but I thought I'd offer my thoughts on the idea.

morstar

I would say from personal experience that there are advantages to a flat bar for commuting that I would list as follows.

1) More head up position = better visibility. (This is not the same as sit up and beg).

2) A handful of brakes to hand. (split seconds count on urban rides)

3) If you are carrying a rucsac it doesn't slide up your neck when reaching for the brakes on drops.

Those are pretty much the key reasons I bought a flat bar commuting bike. I wholeheartedly believe it was the best solution for me.

Essex Man

If you want a more upright position then why not put a stem on with a steeper angle?

Still struggling to work out why changing the bars affects what you wear on your arse or what peddles you put on....

morstar

Essex Man wrote:

If you want a more upright position then why not put a stem on with a steeper angle?

Agreed this can be a solution. I've endlessly fiddled about with the set up on mine and unsurprisingly I find the geometry of key points is almost identical to my drop bar road bike with the flat bars almost dead centre between the hoods and straight bar of the drops. The big difference is when on the brakes (which is much more frequent where I was commuting), you are still in that position and not 5-6 inches lower on the drops.

Essex Man wrote:

Still struggling to work out why changing the bars affects what you wear on your ars* or what peddles you put on....

I'm with you on the clothing but a one sided SPD is the pedal of choice so you can ride either flats shoes or cycle ones.

I love my flat bar commuter bike. It is purposefully different and modified to deliver a specific ride experience and does it well.

bompington

morstar wrote:

It is purposefully different and modified to deliver a specific ride experience

You don't work in advertising by any chance do you?

morstar

bompington wrote:

morstar wrote:

It is purposefully different and modified to deliver a specific ride experience

You don't work in advertising by any chance do you?

That can be taken in very different ways. I suspect I'm being accused of slipping into estate agent speak! Apologies if so, was just trying to capture a point succinctly.

I suppose the crucial point is this...It is perfectly possible to ride a flat bar bike and to be content you're on the right machine for the job!

lae

Have you considered getting cross-top brake levers (google'em) so that you can ride on the tops and still have the brakes at your fingertips? It'd probably be cheaper than buying bars, levers and shifters, with the added bonus that you've still got the drops and associated controls if you do want to race/tour.