converting a road bike to flat bar

danedan679
danedan679 Posts: 65
edited March 2013 in Workshop
well, kind of.

i have a flat bar bianchi camaleonte 4, and have ridden the sora groupset it came with down to the ground so have recently bought a sram force groupset with flat bar double tap and avid v-brakes. got some rs80 wheels and new cables too. i'm having some maintenence lessons in 3 weeks to learn how to put it all together.

at least i had a bike that is, until someone decided to steal it last night. so i now have loads of bits for a bike and no
bike to fit it to. i loved my bike.

it's insured, and i was thinking about replacing it with a second hand frame/forks. if i got a road bike frame, would it be compatible with flat handlebars? would the geometry, as a general rule and not specific to any particular frame, make it uncomfortable or weird? i much prefer flat handlebars. also, i have v-brake levers, if the road bike frame came with caliper brakes, would the v-brake levers be ok to use?

cheers

daniel

Comments

  • danedan679
    danedan679 Posts: 65
    http://www.bikeshopgloucester.com/img/p ... ickbox.jpg

    this is the bike that's gone.
  • maddog 2
    maddog 2 Posts: 8,114
    as a flat bar user, you can use a std road frame with a FB but you need to run the bars narrow (<48cm) or it'll be twitchy. Any frame with a relatively slack head angle will help too (eg, Giants).

    If you run dual pivot roadie brakes then you need cantilever brake levers, not V brake levers. V brakes levers pull too much cable so you'll end up with a hard lever and little power. Shimano do dedicated flat bar levers that are essentially cantilever levers, and they are okay but there are nicer levers out there.
    Facts are meaningless, you can use facts to prove anything that's remotely true! - Homer
  • danedan679
    danedan679 Posts: 65
    what do you mean by slack head angle? i was planning on getting a frame from the classifieds on this site
  • lackofgrip
    lackofgrip Posts: 851
    danedan679 wrote:
    what do you mean by slack head angle? i was planning on getting a frame from the classifieds on this site

    Slack headtube angle genreally means a bike with relaxed geometry rather than a race hard setup, as stated Giants have this also the Cube I ride is really relaxed.
  • danedan679
    danedan679 Posts: 65
    Does that mean all giants and cubes, or particular models?

    Thanks for any advice
  • lackofgrip
    lackofgrip Posts: 851
    Particular models, but it all depends on your riding style
  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    If your levers incorporate the double tap units then you need to go for a frame with posts for Cantis / Vs. You need to get some V brakes for it. As Md2 said they use a different pull ratio and do not mix well. Most frames with these will have suitable angles etc. Try to get a frame with a similar top tube length as your old one.
    My Fleet.
  • Yossie
    Yossie Posts: 2,600
    A friend is running a Planet X carbon jobby as a flat bar and loves it - the frames are dirt cheap new and they look well cool. One of these in fact:

    http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/CBP ... _road_bike

    I have one of their aluminium team superlight jobs (the blue ones) frames rigged with Ritchey WCS, Dura Ace and a few other nice bits as a summer commuter/fast trainer and I reckon it would be fantastic as a flat bar - almost giving them away.

Categories