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Altering the flat bars on my hybrid.

by morphy_richards
Sun, Jul 05, 2015 11:48
6

I have a 2014 Specialized Sirrus Comp that I use for my daily commute.
This commute takes me through thick traffic and also into open road in the country. I have shortened my bars as much as possible (although I have kept the bar ends that add perhaps an extra half inch) but I am finding my bars are too wide to filter through traffic effectively.

The butt/bulge is too wide and I cannot push my shifters any further in towards the stem.

Additionally, parts of my route take me through some really nice stretches of open road with some great hills where I would really like to get down low.

I've noticed the upright position on a road bike with the STS brake / shifters is pretty similar to my position with my flat bars but the drops really make a difference.

The Sirrus Comp has Shimano 501 9 x 2 speed and hydraulic disk brakes which are really handy but makes swapping the handlebars for road drop bars and brake shifters tricky, I can only find 11 speed road bike shifters that are compatible with hydaraulic brakes and 501 and they are pricey.

I am also considering just getting a none oversized flat bar and fitting it to my stem with some shims, then I can narrow the bars much further and experiment with drop bar-ends like these http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/origin8-pro-pulsion-road-ends-drop-bar-bar-en...

Has anyone done anything like this or is there anything I haven’t considered?

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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6 comments

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MKultra | 8 years ago
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You can convert from drops to flats quite easily, a slightly longer stem and the right shifters and levers tends to be all that is needed.

Going the other way thought as in flats to drops I would not recommend it as the top tube on a flat bar bike is almost always longer than that found on a drop bar bike and you get stuck using a shorter stem which creates overly quick steering.

I would not faff about with shims, get an old non oversize stem of the same length and non oversized bars with a minimal centre bulge, you honestly will not tell the difference.

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morphy_richards replied to MKultra | 8 years ago
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Quote:

The Specialized Sirrus Comp Disc 2014 Hybrid provides road bike geometry with flat bar handling so you can ride fast on longer rides, but also be stable and quick in town.

It's this snippet that is making me hope it will be possible to do a good conversion.

Avatar
PhillBrown | 8 years ago
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I think a standard size bar and a stem with a standard size fitting? This would allow you to move your shifters in and chop the bar to length... Might be the best option rather than pay £400 for hydraulic road shifters!

Bar:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NITTO-B2520AA-ALL-ROUNDER-BARS-Sizes-52-x-25-4...

Stem:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Deda-Elementi-Logo-26-0-Black-Stem-80mm-/13155...

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Rod Marton | 8 years ago
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I've changed flat bars to drop bars and vice versa on a couple of bikes, so it can be done. But it isn't ideal and there are a couple of important things to note.

Firstly you will have to change the stem. The length you need for drop bars is shorter than for flat bars - exactly how much is personal choice but I find drop bars most comfortable with a stem ~30mm shorter. Secondly we have the problem of brake/gear compatibility. I think 9-speed is compatible for road/MTB (but check this). Disc brakes I don't know about, the bike I changed had V-brakes and for this Tektro do a road brake lever which is compatible. However it is a brake lever only and you will need to find an alternative gear shifter. I used bar-end shifters: you should be able to find both these and the Tektro levers from someone like SJS cycles.

Alternatively consider getting an additional road bike.

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morphy_richards replied to Rod Marton | 8 years ago
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Thanks for your reply.
Getting a new road bike is always an appealing option but the missus needs a new bike and that's higher on the list of priorities. Unless we win the lottery.

I'm starting to get a vague notion of a plan together. I'm going to fit drop bars with road lever/shifters.

One of the biggest hurdles is that my bike has hydraulic disk brakes. (This is good, I like these very much and they have saved my bacon many times, eg. that time the car in front of me in heavy rain slammed on his brakes for no apparent reason, the car behind me overtook and immediately turned left, the rubbish lorry driver stopped in the cycle lane suddenly opens his door and jumps out, and so on and so on...)

My bike uses 9x2 speed 105 groupset with SL-R440R shifters (which as far as I can work out are MTB style shifters but designed to work with road bike cassette and derailleur) I should be able to swap these for road/ drop bar shift levers and it should just work(?)

I'm not sure about something though, do I need to get 105 shifters or can I use any Shimano 9 speed shifters?

I've been looking at something called a Jtek shiftmate which apparently provides compatibility between 9, 10 and 11 speed systems and also between Campagnolo and Shimano equipment. Their compatibility chart suggests that all Shimano shifters should be compatible with all derailleurs and cassettes (105, Ultegra etc) irrespectively.

Keeping my disk brakes while changing the levers to road bike type is more challenging. This would involve changing my whole bike to an 11 speed and buying a RS685 Hydraulic STI Brake/Shifter Set. If I do that I may as well just buy a new bike anyway.

The other option is to swap to mechanical disk brakes. I've got an old set of Avid BB7 knocking around, (I remember thinking that these were the nuts) I can push those into service on my bike and then theoretically use any mechanical levers.

As a bonus I can then swap the Tektro Draco brakes from my Sirrus onto my 2010 Cube mountain bike (which has knackered old Hayes Rydr). (Does anyone know if it's okay to use rotors from different brake systems and calipers? EG. Can I keep the current rotors on my mtb and use them with the Draco brakes?)

Anyway, I think I will need to get:
1-Oversize drop bars (already got some)
1b - Perhaps a new stem as suggested by Rod, I will see how it goes with my current stem first.
2-Mechanical disk brake set (already got)
3- STI shifter levers (9, 10 or 11 speed, to be compatible with Shimano 105)
4-Possibly a Jtek shiftmate thingy (so I can wear out my current 9 speed cassette, but use higher shifters and mix and match manufacturers / shop around for deals etc.)
5-new cables.

If I can achieve all this for under a couple of hundred I will be a happy bike bodger. 7

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morphy_richards | 8 years ago
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I suppose what I am asking is, are there any compact oversize flat handlebars out there (I can't find any) or is a none oversize handlebar with shim my only option for making the handlebars less wide?

If I do use none oversize handlebars and a shim, then decide to experiment with bar ends that let me go into a drop position, will they be strong enough?

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