Just chewing the fat in my head…

Is it ridiculous to imagine a scenario where you could have a versatile (cable-disc setup) bike with sets of easily swappable bars/stems? For example a pair each of drops and straights?

I realise that such a thing would currently maybe limit to bar-end and thumb-shifter pairings (I like both) and MTB gearing, but in the Old Days of ATB you could more easily and quickly swap straights for risers etc simply by un-hitching the brakes straddle cables. Not so easy with control cables but was thinking of a split-link gubbins.

Probably guff but it’s something to sniff at? 🙂

Yea, but the geometry would be all wrong between uses. I can see the appeal of maybe being able to tweek a bike between CX racing and off road touring with flared drops, but I don’t think I’d want to ride the same bike with flat bars. That and STI’s are cripplingly expensive, even more so hydraulic ones, you could buy a second bike with Claris for less than a set of ultegra shifters.

Taking the idea and going one step further though, plenty of variations exist of hydraulic couples. SRAM do one for Avid brakes and Reverbs, and I think there’s a Hope one intended for tandems with S&S couple joints (or at least I’ve seen one fitted to hope brakes on a tandem).

The SRAM one comes with their OEM brakes so that factories don’t need to bleed their brakes when assembling bikes with internal routing, just feed the hose through and plug into the caliper.

They usually just consist of a pistons in a cylinder and the two ends clip/thread together so the pistons push on one another.

Is it ridiculous to imagine a scenario where you could have a versatile (cable-disc setup) bike with sets of easily swappable bars/stems? For example a pair each of drops and straights?

Adding anything into the brake or gear cable line is probably going to add friction and another point for water to get in. Plus it’s not something I have ever felt a need for. Solution for a problem that doesn’t exist.

these:

http://www.sandsmachine.com/ac_cable.htm

Just stick an inline adjuster on the bar side and you should just need to give the indexing a tweak when swapping.

who needs quick bar changes?

Solution for a problem that doesn’t exist.

Can’t afford/don’t want two bikes/don’t have storage for two bikes/prefer drops for roads/touring and wide flats for singletrack?

I suppose a desire for such versatility is not strictly a ‘problem’ depending upon definition of the word, but for me at least it’s something I might use. Remember, we used straddle cables for decades, and they worked in the rain.

who needs quick bar changes?

Me! Think of it like having two sets of wheels shod with different tyres and discs. One bike, two wheel sets.

Can’t afford/don’t want two bikes/don’t have storage for two bikes/prefer drops for roads/touring and wide flats for singletrack?

Yea, but my road bike has a 56cm top tube, but my XC bike has a 625mm top tube, both with 110mmm stems.

It’s not the bars or cables that make things difficult, it’s the 3″ of missing top tube. Flat bars on a CX bike off road would feel at best difficult, at worst horrible.

It’s not the bars or cables that make things difficult, it’s the 3″ of missing top tube. Flat bars on a CX bike off road would feel at best difficult, at worst horrible.

Yeah I’m talking more about a versatile frameset/switchable bar setup that excels not so much in any one area except at versatility. Trying to think of an example – I think I’ve seen some (Singular?) framesets specced with either flared drops or straight MTB bars?

I’m not a competetive rider with a discipline, but I do (ideally) cycle much more than I drive, so my Do It All bike has to cover a lot of bases, transport, commute, dicking about, touring, utility, expedition, social, etc.

An easier solution would be to make the bars out of a flexible material (perhaps playdoh) so they can be altered into the desired shape for each ride

http://www.tecbikepartsusa.com/Cafe_Racer_Ace_Bars_Rocker_Triton_JOTA_Clip_Ons_Ol_p/o-jota.htm
Invent a push bike version of these?

Yeah I’m talking more about a versatile frameset/switchable bar setup that excels not so much in any one area except at versatility. Trying to think of an example – I think I’ve seen some (Singular?) framesets specced with either flared drops or straight MTB bars?

I think what you’re looking for is probably more along the lines of Jones bars which give you almost the same wrist position as a flared drop, but keeps it inline with where a normal bar would be, so it fits with a normal stem on an XC bike.

To illustrate the point, just look at how much shorter (and higher) the gryphon is despite being to all intents a drop bar version of the swift.

Singular Swift

Singular gryphon

[url=https://flic.kr/p/79Gy7p]Singular Gryphon[/url] by Singular Cycles, on Flickr

these:

http://www.sandsmachine.com/ac_cable.htm

Yeah, those! 🙂

Was aware of S and S frame couplers but not the cable ones, cheers

Have the disk brakes attached to the bars complete with full length cables. 4 bolts and just swap the callipers over with bars.

Surely the reach issue can be somewhat overcome by having a shorter, higher stem attached to the drop bars than the flat ones and just changing stems & bars at once? I have done this in the past on my old cindercone, had a 120 flat stem with flat bars, and a 80mm, 30 degree rise stem with drops. It was running singlespeed or a downtube shifter though, which avoided the big issue!

^^ a full brake + shifter set per bar? ££££

Which brings me back to my existing plan before started this head-malarkey – which was to have a set of inline/cross top levers on some wider flared drops. No switcheroos necessary. That could be the answer and most likely will be*.

What got me started on all this was musing over the epic versatility of my old Retro-ish steel rigid MTB. I bought it an inch too big in size so could theoretically cover both hybrid/road/touring and MTB use.

I achieved this by using thumbshifters and switching from narrow flat bars (road/hybrid) to swept risers for MTB use. With longer cabling it worked like a charm.

As time went by I also acquired a set of wide, high-sweep ‘North Roader’ style comfort/touring bars. Not so comfy now on the Spoon (because sitting upright) so then dug out my sprung Brooks saddle. This new combo served another function of short-medium distance comfort-touring, bimbling and easy urban head-up utility.

I then acquired a set of long lightweight trekking bar-ends.

So essentially by then I had at last three riding configurations all via a really simple and quick setup consisting of:

Longer cabling/thumbshifters/Vs
3 x sets of tyres (1.5 slicks, 1.75 hybrids, 2.1 MTB)
2x sets of bar-ends (1x short light, 1x extra-long, angled comfort trekking)
3 types of bars (1 x wide-ish MTB bars, 1 x Ti straight and narrow, 1 x wide- sweep comfort risers)
1 x pair of lock-on grips
2 x saddles (Charge Spoon, Brooks B67)

The only other switchable components used were accessories – ie a set of mudguards and a set of Freeload/Thule cargo racks. Either fitted or not. And front lights either for offroad or urban. Rack pack and/or panniers completed.

My ‘Tracey Island Thunderbird Are Go!’ was by then almost complete and took up very little shed space. All really missing were discs, 29er wheels (this is a big one) and drops for a ‘full house’. Mso I ditched it an replaced with a Vagabond.

Maybe it’s just the geek in me but I really got a lot from having the ability to quickly transform the bike to whichever type of riding I would be doing that day/week/month etc.

Would be nice to similarly have my new franken-type bike transforming between rigid MTB or Tarmac Tourer with a simple switch of ready-equipped bars/levers/stem combo + tyre change.

*Waiting to see how dickyboy gets on with his Vagabond + flat bar build over on thhe other thread.

I have pics of a few configurations mentioned above but not all:

Cruiser/comfort/utility
Fast tarmac (winter/pre-thumbies)
MTB/expedition (last pic isn’t mine but similar except I used wide MTB riser bars)

How about a pair of these super wide drop bars and just swap the stem.

https://www.crustbikes.com/products/wide-load-bar?variant=28423107981

Get a flat bar frame thats “too small” for you.

run a 1990 style 140mm stem and ride the flats with crosstop brakes
run a direct mount stem and ride the drops

no cable swap necessary

wzzzz those look like an idea. Maybe a bit too wide. I already have a bike tho. Upon purchase had stern words with self that this is The Bike. So no more looking about, just want to make it better in The Woods, so inline levers and some of them there wide bars or similar may be just the ticket. But

Why is anything remotely utilitarian and Made In The USA also relentlessly pursued by cycle-hipsters!!? I wore plaid quilted shirt in 1990 and enjoyed it because it was warm. Actually a thick, brushed cotton shirt is a very nice thing, so I can still justify that. But do I need a cycle cap and handlebar whiskers to match the bars? Baffling. As are the dress shoes.

Those Crust bars have been sold out a while. Why not Woodchippers or Jones bars. Ive ridden off road a lot using woodchippers and they are the best off road drop bar I have used. Have recently started using Jones bars and they arent far from the wood chippers especially if you angle them downwards a bit in “Road” mode?

a full brake + shifter set per bar? ££££

Sorry, was thinking about my Vaya which runs down tube shifters. Or you could SS it as well!