Flat bar to drops

badermans
badermans Posts: 32
edited July 2011 in Road beginners
First post!!!

I'm just getting into road bikes, but don't actually own one. I've been reading these forums for the past 3 weeks and decided to take the plunge. At the moment I have a flat bar road bike http://www.thebikelist.co.uk/marin/lucas-valley-2011

I would love to own a full blown carbon road bike, but at the moment I don't have to funds to buy one. I was thinking while I was saving up for one would it be a good idea to convert my bike to drop bars, and STI shifters? Does the riding position make that much difference?

Thanks[/url]

Comments

  • skyd0g
    skyd0g Posts: 2,540
    Your link doesn't show specifically which model Marin you have, however changing from flat to drop bars usually is more expensive than it is worth.

    A set of Tiagra shifters (new) is iro of £150 + a set of bars circa £50 + bar tape £10 + poss 2 new cables = £200+ ...unless you pick up bits 2nd hand...
    ...and then there's the question of setting it all up and making sure you have compatible parts with your existing set-up.

    Broadly speaking, better to keep the £'s in your pocket & save up for your intended steed.
    Cycling weakly
  • badermans
    badermans Posts: 32
    link fixed
  • Duffer65
    Duffer65 Posts: 341
    I doubt it's worth converting your Marin to road bars due to the cost, as already mentioned. Perhaps you could sell your current bike and buy a road bike and continue to save. Or keep your Marin as it is and wait until you have enough money saved up for your carbon dream-machine.
    Where would you be if you fell down a hole?.. Stuck down a hole... in the fog... Stuck down a hole, in the fog, at night... WITH AN OWL!
  • night_porter
    night_porter Posts: 888
    There are plenty of people who change their dropped bar roadies into flat barred bikes so if you keep an eye on ebay or the classifieds on here you might be able to do it cheaper.

    I got a set of bars already taped, fitted with Tiagra shifters complete with inner cables and the outers that go under the tape for around £100 including delivery.

    Because my flat barred bike already had mini vee brakes they worked fine with the levers and I had a bike that could run 700x28 tyres with full mudguards and a rack. This made a great winter commuter and the brakes were much stronger than cantis or callipers. Tektro Mini vee's can be bought for £30 a pair new if your bike has full vee brakes or you could change to a pair of Tiagra callipers for less than that from Ribble. If neither of these options are suitable then you need to buy some "travel agents" to extend the cable pull for road bike levers.

    It was reasonably simple to do and for £100 plus a bit of my time it was much cheaper than changing bikes. If your existing components are in reasonable condition you could sell them on on ebay too and make it even cheaper.

    I just looked at the spec for your bike and it is 8 speed so you would need to look for 2200/2300 or older Sora brifters but that might make it even cheaper. You just have to be patient and eventually you will find the right deal.

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