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Flat bar road bike conversion

13 posts & 11 voices | Started 8 months ago by Kwacker9 | Latest reply from Singlespeed_Shep

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Kwacker9 - Member

HI,

After opinions/advice on converting my Planet X Carbon Road bike, I mainly do mountain (29er, don't hold that against me), but I bought the planet X to do some road mile too, but since getting the bike I don't find it comfortable or find myself wanting to ride it.

Now I'm thinking of putting flat bars on it to see it that would make it more appealing/nicer to ride.

Has anyone else been through this too ?

I have drop bars with a compact chainset with SRAM Rival at the rear - what shifters/bars etc would I need to get to do this & make it work....??

many thanks

Posted 8 months ago #
ir_bandito - Member

Just built my missus a flat-bar road bike

DSC_0842 by ir_bandito, on Flickr

You'll need specific brake levers and shifters. Shimano flat bar shifters are really expensive, but Microshift are much cheaper and just as good.
Brake levers were cheap though, can't remember where from.

Posted 8 months ago #
Taff - Member

My brother in law has kind of done this on his cross bike but had some spare shifters. He quite like it as he rides a 29er too

Posted 8 months ago #
Kwacker9 - Member

What shifters work with the SRAM Rival on flat bars any ideas ??

Posted 8 months ago #
ir_bandito - Member

Microshift TS83-10

Edit - they might be Shimano only, different cable pull...

Posted 8 months ago #
jam bo - Member

I'd stick with the drops. Hated them when I first got a road bike but quite happy on them now after a few hundred miles.

Posted 8 months ago #
clubber - Member

IME it's pretty horrible unless the frame is particularly long - road bikes are obviously designed to be ridden with drop bars which put your hands a fair bit further forward than flat bars - result is it'll be horribly short - unless of course you like that sort of position (vicar!) in which case you'll be fine.

I'd suggest though that you should try and work out what's wrong with your current position as a road bike shouldn't inherently be uncomfortable. Some pics of your current setup ideally with you sat on it might help with some suggestions.

Posted 8 months ago #
RealMan - Member

Drops take a little while to get used to, and the conversion will be proper pricey. Also flat bars suck on road, and won't really be any different from being on the tops. Also, if they're a fair bit wider, which they will be, you'll be even more further forward then on the tops, somewhat more closer to being on the hoods.

I think you might need to learn to relax a bit more. Also riding on your own is boring, find a club if you haven't already.

Posted 8 months ago #
benfeh - Member

I built up a flat bar Kaffenback with spare mtb and road bits. I had a SRAM X9 rear derailleur and ultegra front. A cheap pair of ebay X0 Gripshifts sorted out the compatibility issues but it's not ideal - fairly clunky. I use it for commuting and child carrying so I need the stability of flats.

I looked into proper shimano flat bar set up but would have required inexplicably expensive flatbar road shifters and a new front derailleur (road flatbar FDs are not the same as normal road FDs it would seem).

I've had drops in the past and found them very comfy - I fitted those extra CX brake levers to the top of the bars just for extra peace of mind. You may just need to go to a bike shop end get yourself more comfortably set up on the bike.

For long spins drop bars offer more hand and body positions and you can get lower when cycling into the wind.

Posted 8 months ago #
Herman Shake - Member

I went from flat bar to drops. Wouldn't go back!

Try out different bars first and maybe stem length. I liked that it felt like a very fast mtb, but then when my body adapted I wanted more positions to play with. I'm mainly on the hoods for general, flats for steep and drops for fast. I like having the option and it makes long rides more comfortable.

Your motivation to ride it is a completely separate issue. Road is nowhere near as fun, but it does help your fitness/gets you places quickly/ makes walking about in lycra almost forgiveable.

If you give us some details on what's not comfortable, we can feedback some adjustments. I find subtle adjustments make a big difference on the road bike.

Posted 8 months ago #
simondbarnes - Member

Sounds like you'd be best off selling it and buying a hybrid.

Posted 8 months ago #
Vortexracing - Member

If you want to try some flat bars I have a set of EA30 and a 100mm stem complete with the Shimano levers that are designed specifically for road brakes (R550's)

The bars and levers ahve only done 50 miles at the most.

eamila me if your interested.

Ta

mail eastham8 at aol dot com

Posted 8 months ago #
Singlespeed_Shep - Member

You can get these thumbies and some sram bar end shifters. then some avid levers I think the Fd-5 work with caliper brakes.

Posted 8 months ago #

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