Fitting Straight Bars to Road Bike

fury84

Hi,

I bought my girlfriend a 2010 Boardman FI as she fancied having a go at road riding but she's struggling with the whole handlebar setup. She finds it very difficult riding in the drops and her hands aren't big enough to brake properly. I've considered fitting interrupt levers but don't think this will help so thought about the possibility of fitting straight bars to ease her in.

I appreciate straight bars will involve buying shifters and levers but at least it gets her in the saddle. Could anyone advise on what bars and shifters I should get? Ideally the cheaper the better.

Thanks in advance

Andy

markhewitt1978

By the time you've bought everything, which will probably include cabling and mechs etc too, as well as the bars and shifters, then getting a cheap hybrid will probably be about the same price; then she still has the road bike.

fury84

I'll need new mechs too?

markhewitt1978

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19679637#p19679637]fury84[/url] wrote:

I'll need new mechs too?

I'm not too sure but whenever people have discussed this before (usually straight bar to drops conversion) it's said that the drop bar mechs are a different pull to the straight bars.

fury84

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19679638#p19679638]markhewitt1978[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19679637#p19679637]fury84[/url] wrote:

I'll need new mechs too?

I'm not too sure but whenever people have discussed this before (usually straight bar to drops conversion) it's said that the drop bar mechs are a different pull to the straight bars.

Bugger! I was hoping to pick up some cheap second hand shifts and levers and then see how she found it!

markhewitt1978

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19679648#p19679648]fury84[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19679638#p19679638]markhewitt1978[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19679637#p19679637]fury84[/url] wrote:

I'll need new mechs too?

I'm not too sure but whenever people have discussed this before (usually straight bar to drops conversion) it's said that the drop bar mechs are a different pull to the straight bars.

Bugger! I was hoping to pick up some cheap second hand shifts and levers and then see how she found it!

I'm not 100% sure, I'm just suggesting you check the tech documents or do some more googling to make sure before you run into problems.

fury84

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19679651#p19679651]markhewitt1978[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19679648#p19679648]fury84[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19679638#p19679638]markhewitt1978[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19679637#p19679637]fury84[/url] wrote:

I'll need new mechs too?

I'm not too sure but whenever people have discussed this before (usually straight bar to drops conversion) it's said that the drop bar mechs are a different pull to the straight bars.

Bugger! I was hoping to pick up some cheap second hand shifts and levers and then see how she found it!

I'm not 100% sure, I'm just suggesting you check the tech documents or do some more googling to make sure before you run into problems.

Of course and I very much appreciate the guidance.

keef66

Need to know what mechs you have. It can usually be done if you can find the appropriate flat bar shifters and brake levers, but it's a bit of a faff and it can get expensive.

And it will feel a bit sit up and beg, but if she's not taken to the drop bars anyway that might not be a bad thing.

fury84

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19679684#p19679684]keef66[/url] wrote:

Need to know what mechs you have. It can usually be done if you can find the appropriate flat bar shifters and brake levers, but it's a bit of a faff and it can get expensive.

And it will feel a bit sit up and beg, but if she's not taken to the drop bars anyway that might not be a bad thing.

That's great, thank you.

Will double check when home and report back.

slowbike

Don't do the interupt levers ... please just dont!
They're fine - if the rider is happy riding on the hoods - but if they're reliant on the interupt levers then they'll never get used to riding on the hoods ...

If she's really not happy with the whole drop bar thing then get a different bike - plenty of hybrids that you can put road tyres on.
If she can't brake from the hoods (small hands) then you could look at getting shims for the brake levers - these move the levers in a bit. New bikes I've bought are provided with them ...
If it's the arm reach she can't cope with then look at the setup - it may be that the bike is too big or she's just not ready for a road bike ...

Monty Dog

I would see if you can adjust the bar / lever position first i.e. shorter, riser stem, shim the levers and whether your GF can brake from the hoods rather than the bars - hands on the drops can feel more unsettling, particularly if the drop is too big. Depending on the gears, you can get flat bar shifters e.g. Shimano Tiagra that work with road mechs whereas Shimano 10 speed MTB shifters won't work with their 10 speed road mechs. If you get beyond needing to change the bars and shifters, then it starts getting prohibitively expensive.

keef66

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19679692#p19679692]fury84[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19679684#p19679684]keef66[/url] wrote:

Need to know what mechs you have. It can usually be done if you can find the appropriate flat bar shifters and brake levers, but it's a bit of a faff and it can get expensive.

And it will feel a bit sit up and beg, but if she's not taken to the drop bars anyway that might not be a bad thing.

That's great, thank you.

Will double check when home and report back.

Is it a carbon or an alloy frame? The former had Rival 20 and the latter a mix of 105 / Tiagra.

If it's the Shimano version CRC have Tiagra 10 speed flat bar shifters but they are £65 for the pair

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-tiagra-4600-double-10sp-flatbar-shifter/rp-prod69502

(Slightly cheaper from some of the German online retailers due to the good £:€ rate at the mo).

Then you'd need the matching brake levers http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-tiagra-r550-flat-bar-brake-levers/rp-prod34695

Bargain at £13.50!

You should get gear cables with the shifters. The existing brake inners / outers can be reused with the new brake levers (with a bit of trimming; good cable cutters and a Dremel with a grinding wheel to get the cut ends nicely flat / square)

trailflow

You can do the conversion alot cheaper than the cost of a new bike. Swapping the other way - flat bar to drops is generally more expensive because of the price of STI's. Drop bar to flat bar is alot cheaper.

If the bike has Sram Apex 10 speed derailleurs then you need to buy 'SRAM SL-700' 10-Speed Flat Bar Trigger Shifters

Currently £40 a set here
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sram-Apex-SL700-Double-Tap-Flat-Bar-Gear-Levers-10-speed-/311395279128?hash=item48809ae118

If the derailleurs are Shimano. You want to find Shimano trigger shifters that match the same speed and model of the derailleurs.

For brake levers. Almost any mtb/commuter style brake lever will work OK. Tons of options on ebay. Along with cable kits if they are not included with the shifters.

You can get flat handlbars for around £10 to £20.

Also you'll need some lock on grips or similar and also consider some bar ends attachments to give more hand positions.

fury84

Thanks guys, loads of great info. Thank you so much.

It's the alloy version.

Looks like I've got some thinking to do. Really keen to sort the issue so we can get out on the bikes together.

fenix

If she's never ridden with drop bars before they will feel odd. I remember my first time - I thought I'd never get used to them and I made sure my first road bike had those crappy levers under the bars.

Must have worked for me as the next bike didnt need them so I weaned my way onto them.

Maybe get her on a turbo for a bit and get her used to it ?

Hand size shouldnt be an issue really - i only wrap my fingers around the brakes on properly steep descents.

Other than that its from the hoods ?

fallenagain

The brake pull ratio is different between MTB and road setups. So you can't use any brake lever with it. On SRAM I believe that the gears are the same up to 10 speed. Of course you could get 10 speed MTB changers and a matching RD.

Fissul

Hi reference the above I'm going to convert my partners road bike to flat bars. It's a Pinnacle Dolomite 4, with Tiagra 10 speed cassette and gear mechs. So is I should buy Tiagra 10 shifters then ?
Also for flat bars are they the same as drops ie what size will fit the stem is it 31.8mm ?

arlowood

Fissul wrote:

Hi reference the above I'm going to convert my partners road bike to flat bars. It's a Pinnacle Dolomite 4, with Tiagra 10 speed cassette and gear mechs. So is I should buy Tiagra 10 shifters then ?
Also for flat bars are they the same as drops ie what size will fit the stem is it 31.8mm ?

Yes the 10-speed Tiagra flat bar shifters will be fine with your existing front and rear mechs

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shim ... lsrc=aw.ds

they're designed to be used with road mechs so no problems with your existing mechs (I'm assuming they are 4600 rather than the new 4700). If they are 4700 then Shimano do a 4700 compatible set of flat bar shifters

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shim ... lsrc=aw.ds

However for a few quid more you could get the Ultegra SL R780 shifters. I used these on a flat bar build for my grandson and they are super quality and work fantastically.

http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/shim ... Ak938P8HAQ

The majority of flat bars available will fit a standard 31.8mm stem. You just have to choose what style and length will suit her best. I used a Ritchey WCS alloy bar for my grandson's bike build

http://www.totalcycling.com/en/gb/Ritch ... 18587.aspx

but there are loads of others out there

Fissul

Hi reference the above I'm going to convert my partners road bike to flat bars. It's a Pinnacle Dolomite 4, with Tiagra 10 speed cassette and gear mechs. So is I should buy Tiagra 10 shifters then ?
Also for flat bars are they the same as drops ie what sizle will fit the stem is it 31.8mm ?


Many thank and very useful information...
Regards

Matthewfalle

Tiagra shifters to match the mechs will work and match, so why not?

Yup re stem/bar interface.