Converting flat bar road bike back to drops questions.
- gregmacc
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Converting flat bar road bike back to drops questions.
Postby gregmacc » Mon Nov 10, 2014 9:22 pm
Are women's specific bars (usually narrower) always neccessary? Are they different in other ways? Different shaped drops for smaller hands maybe? Is there a prefered brand/model of ergo levers that suit the average women's smaller hand reach and power? Any other factors to consider?
I will be doing the changeover work. In terms of bike fit I want to set up the new configuration as close to the existing flat bar arrangment as possible. She is very comfortable and balanced with the current flat bar setup. I want to try and maintain some significant bar width (more for her sense of security than anything else), and make sure her posture on the bike does not change. I know I'll need a shorter stem but other than that I'm not really sure about what bar and levers to go with. Any suggestions or storys of experiences would be gratefully accepted.
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Re: Converting flat bar road bike back to drops questions.
Postby Cheesewheel » Mon Nov 10, 2014 10:30 pm
Problems with moving between a flat and drop bar discussed here.
in short, there is a good chance you will have to change the entire groupset ...
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Re: Converting flat bar road bike back to drops questions.
Postby gregmacc » Tue Nov 11, 2014 11:26 am
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Re: Converting flat bar road bike back to drops questions.
Postby KGB » Tue Nov 11, 2014 6:35 pm
An old, general rule is to match you bars to shoulder width - feel free to ignore that one though. I wouldn't go too wide though either. The different hand position makes a real difference to leverage and feel when out of the seat.
If you aim to have the brake hoods in the flat bar position I think it will end up too short. You may need to use some trial and error there.
Older shimano sti levers used to come with shims to adjust the reach to the brake levers, not sure if that's still the case.
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Re: Converting flat bar road bike back to drops questions.
Postby mick243 » Tue Nov 11, 2014 7:36 pm
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Re: Converting flat bar road bike back to drops questions.
Postby piledhigher » Tue Nov 11, 2014 11:25 pm
This, after many years 99% on the road I really struggle to steer when off road, I really just want to think my way around a corner (which is really just a weighting of the bars).mick243 wrote:It's a road bike, you don't need "leverage" as such with the bars
- gregmacc
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Re: Converting flat bar road bike back to drops questions.
Postby gregmacc » Wed Nov 12, 2014 9:24 am
mick245:
... Exactly, but I think it's a mindset thing. All of Wendy's other bikes (pannier tourer, MTB, previous commuters) have had wide(ish) flat bars. It's what she's been comfortable with for a long time. There is no way I would be happy with her new drops to be as wide as her flats ... but I see a lot of women riding around with very narrow bars which probably do nothing practical other than offering 1 or 2% less weight and wind resistance.mick243 wrote:It's a road bike, you don't need "leverage" as such with the bars
piledhigher:
piledhigher wrote:This, after many years 99% on the road I really struggle to steer when off road, I really just want to think my way around a corner (which is really just a weighting of the bars).
... totally ...
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Re: Converting flat bar road bike back to drops questions.
Postby outnabike » Wed Nov 12, 2014 10:23 am
This may be of no help to you but I went from touring loop butterfly type bars to drops due to width etc in traffic. I found no difference in steering leverage etc.
My bike is Shimano equipped click changers and the flat bars going to drops presented some problems.
I was advised by an LBS to get two new shifters for the drops as well as to change the front dérailleur set up to suite. It was going to be around the $400-00 mark to do it.
I found a strong old set of Drop bars for $10-00 and my mate ( a skilled aluminium Tig welder) installed a couple of curved ends of another set of bars I had to create the double set up shown here.
The old drop bars actually are the same diameter as the loop butterfly bars I had but the existing shifters can only be installed on a bar end and not on the bare centre. They are not designed to slide along.
so I came up with this as a trial. I did show a proposed sketch, on the subject a while back and it was received with a pretty much negative response, but it is thinking out side the box and I do experiment a bit. this is certainly not conventional. the thing is this all up cost me $30-00 and just the assemble and re installation which I did myself. The bits added on, I had to carefully sculpt to the curves of the existing bars prior to welding, so careful work required there. Realise that you have two obtuse compound mitres to get very close to a perfect fit here.
For the on coming knockers please don't criticise the mirrors as I am just trying out a set of motor cycle mirrors for later streamlining with a new style of clamp, and maybe even a neat welded bracket.
Most criticism comes from folks that never try anything new themselves. This is just experimental but works and I retain the changers that work very well.
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Re: Converting flat bar road bike back to drops questions.
Postby gregmacc » Wed Nov 12, 2014 11:33 am
Think flying down Old Willunga Hill at 65km/hr with that sort of mass sitting over the front wheel of a light weight carbon roadster ... it's tough enough just dodging the koalas ...
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Re: Converting flat bar road bike back to drops questions.
Postby MattyK » Thu Nov 13, 2014 12:25 pm
a) the whole point of going to drop bars is to change your body position. So unless you fitted a longer stem when the flat bars were installed, I would not "compensate" by fitting a shorter stem. Unless you know she will have reach issues.
b) the brake lever takes some getting used to if you're used to powerful flat bar levers. If she has small hands she might struggle to get a good grip around the hoods. But you can compensate by dialling in the reach adjustment (with shims if you've got a 10 speed setup), and also consider some good sticky pads or even the Shimano 5800/6800 brakes - this upgrade really worked for my wife.
I don't know anything about her, but compact drop bars are probably a good place to start.
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Re: Converting flat bar road bike back to drops questions.
Postby outnabike » Fri Nov 14, 2014 6:39 pm
Yes it is sort of like a bullbar for a bike, but may have its advantages in a head on prang. I thought it may help some one or get alternatives out there.gregmacc wrote:Hi outnabike ... Thanks for responding ... 10/10 for design and engineering ingenuity! ... I love this. It suits your needs and is budget friendly. But yes, you are correct, no help whatsoever
Think flying down Old Willunga Hill at 65km/hr with that sort of mass sitting over the front wheel of a light weight carbon roadster ... it's tough enough just dodging the koalas ...
- gregmacc
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Re: Converting flat bar road bike back to drops questions.
Postby gregmacc » Fri Nov 14, 2014 11:59 pm
It is a ten speed set up so I'm pretty sure shims will help.
What do you mean by "compact drop bars"? ... examples?
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Re: Converting flat bar road bike back to drops questions.
Postby gregmacc » Sat Nov 15, 2014 12:05 am
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Re: Converting flat bar road bike back to drops questions.
Postby marinmomma » Sat Nov 15, 2014 2:56 pm
I've had these on my road bike for 2-3 years now, love them and would get the same fitted to the next bike
Hth
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Re: Converting flat bar road bike back to drops questions.
Postby MattyK » Tue Nov 18, 2014 9:23 pm
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Re: Converting flat bar road bike back to drops questions.
Postby Eleri » Thu Nov 20, 2014 9:04 pm
I ride very narrow bars and that's because I've got narrow shoulders not at all about being a weight weenie. They should be approximately as wide as her shoulders.gregmacc wrote: but I see a lot of women riding around with very narrow bars which probably do nothing practical other than offering 1 or 2% less weight and wind resistance.
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