Hybrid - road conversion.

ara3791

I'm toying with the idea of converting my Boardman hybrid into a road bike.

I Understand I may have to opt for a shorter stem, but my question is, will I have any issues with cable pull to the disc brakes when using road shifters?

I can't think why but I'm not 100% sure.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

turnerjohn

its not going to be cheap thats for sure !
Depends on what disk brakes you have...if their road specific your be ok...e.g. Avid do BB5/7's in mtb and road spec...road spec uses less cable pull so can be used with road levers....don't use mtb ones with road levers..you wont stop :shock: !
You can buy converters for around £15 to £20 each...aint cheap !
Your need new bars, shifters, tape and cables as a minimum...depending on spec you could easily pay few hundred quid on it !

turnerjohn

oh and you dont "need" to change your stem

ara3791

Hmmmm, I have Avid BB7 MTN calipers...

So, this means that I won't get enough cable pull with road levers compared to my current levers...

This may well spell doom to my conversion dreams....

turnerjohn

http://www.phred.org/~alex/bikes/brakes.html

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/travel-agent ... -prod6546/

those should help out

Monty Dog

The flat-bar Avids require more cable pull than road brakes - they can be made to work, just need careful adjustment, but the cost of the new shifters, bars, cables etc could make this a pricey exercise. Flat bar bikes generally run a longer toptube than road bikes so you may need to look at stem length too.

ara3791

Thanks guys.

I've decided to shelve the idea. Just not worth the money.

It's only my commute and poor weather bike when all said and done.

Thanks again for your input though.

Cheers.

paul_mck

mate Ive done exactly what you want to do. boardman hybrid to road bike.

The biggest problem is the frame is just too big. Its designed for flat bars so even with a short stem the hoods are too far away to be comfortable.

Mine is still a bit of a basket case tho, I replaced the wheels and fitted mavic kysriums. 105 road brake calipers but Avid MTB brake levers. You do have to pull a bit harder than with road levers but I find them acceptable.

To use road brakes I needed to swap forks (hybrid forks are too far from the wheel for the brake to reach). Also had to make a small adapter for the rear brakes to drop the caliper around 10mm. No big deal but more hassle.

Then I upgraded the shifters to SRAM X0 stuff (WELL worth it). And the cranks to SRAM Red.

Basically Ive nothing left from the original bike bar the frame lol.

If you want to soup the bike up a little upgrade the shifters and mechs. Really worthwhile. My plan may sound like madness but Im saving the bits up for a frame upgrade later in the year. Then the X0 stuff is going on my MTB which still has the crappy X5 stuff on it.

ineedalager

I converted my Boardman comp Hyvird to drops it doesn't have to cost the earth. I spent £50 using parts bought on Ebay. I bought a pair of Shimano Sora 8 speed gear/brake levers. Not realising the cable pull would not work my Hybrids Sram X7 rear mech. I had a spare Shimano sora mech and cassette from my Spesh that I used solved that problem.

The disc brakes worked with the levers although the rear brake was not as good as the flat bar set up but was acceptable. I had a large frame 2008 model 54cm compact frame so it did have a long reach. I had the model with an adjustable stem so I could shorten the reach by moving the stem up.

I put road bike brakes on so I could use my spare wheels Mavic CXP22 from my Spesh for another £15. I then added mudgaurds and used it as my winter hack. I have now sold the hybrid after putting it back to stock parts.

Here is a pic when I first put on the drops.


Here is a pic with road brakes and mudguards.

paul_mck

nice work mate, problem I had with the brakes was I had the hydraulic ones. so no chance of integrating with the road bike levers. I also had real problems getting a brake caliper that would reach from the fork mount to the wheel. It needed something crazy like 110mm reach, vs 50-60mm of most brake calipers.

ineedalager

Thanks I got some long reach brakes and lengthened the slots on the rears the brake blocks just cleared the tyre. I miss my hybird but I am building a carbon frame bike next so that will ease the pain.

paul_mck

I went from my hybrid to a carbon road bike then back to the hybrid again lol.

I love my flat bars just dont get on with a "proper" bike.

ineedalager

Nice, these Boardman hybrids are cracking bikes I had mine 4 years and 7,000 miles and only broke one rear spoke and replaced my BB because it creaked on the hills. Here is a pic back as a hybrid just before it sold so only 4 days between the pics.