fitting drop bars to a flat bar racer

[diabach]

has anyone converted from flatbars to drops on a giant frc or similar.

is it an expensive option or should i consider changing bikes.

i know at some time iv"e read a past thread on this subject, can anyone help ?.. cheers...........

 

[Sam Kennedy]

Depends on your groupset, if you have a road specific one, all you need to buy is bars and shifters, should set you back about £150+ depending on what sort of quality you want.

If you don't have a road specific groupset, then you are far better off buying a road bike, since it will end up costing nearly the same to convert.

 

[diabach]

hi sam, what do you mean by a road specific groupset..
/

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

Usually the tricky thing is the brake (because V brakes and road calipers don't have the same cable pull ratios). But I believe the FCR has road brakes? If so the main things are a) fit, i.e. ensuring the stem / new bar combination suits your size/posture, and the choice of brifters (which is likely to represent the lion's share of your new component cost) that are compatible with your specific drivetrain.

 

[Dave Elcome]

I converted a Specialized Sirrus LTD from flats to Drops. As the bike is a top end bike in the first place I decided not to skimp on upgrade. End result is that it cost me circa £500, which sounds like a lot of money, but for that I couldn't have got anywhere near the quality and spec if I'd bought a new bike for that amount.