flats to drops?

[Kiwiavenger]

Hi Guys

ive got a ridgeback velocity at the moment and love the frame and gearset i have at the moment.

I was toying with the idea of upgrading parts and then thought i might see how easy/hard it would be to fit drop bar handle bars and changing the brake levers etc.

im quite happy to swap the front mech out and get rid of the 48/38/28 and go to a 50/38and keep the rear gearing.

how much work would be involved in swapping the bars out and chainging the gear? is it something i can do myself or shall i give up and get a drop bar and keep the velocity standard for the time being.

 

[amaferanga]

The likely issue you'll have is that the top tube length of your bike will be quite long since it's designed for flat bars. Put drops on it and you'll need a shorter stem. Might be ok if you can get away with something that's about 80mm or longer, but anything shorter will look daft and might lead to twitchy handling.

And unless you can get some used STIs then it'll be an expensive conversion....

 

[PpPete]

Technically it's entirely possible, but absolutely not worth doing on a bike at that price level. Save up and buy a proper road bike.

 

[PpPete]

The likely issue you'll have is that the top tube length of your bike will be quite long since it's designed for flat bars. Put drops on it and you'll need a shorter stem. Might be ok if you can get away with something that's about 80mm or longer, but anything shorter will look daft and might lead to twitchy handling.

And unless you can get some used STIs then it'll be an expensive conversion....

And STIs are not compatible with V-brakes
So you have a choice of changing to cantilevers - don't bother with mini-Vs, they are shite, proper wide cantis (CX style) are OK though if you spend out on expensive Koolstop pads.
or you can get some of those drop bar levers that are V brake compatible (Dia-compe 287V) and have a separate gear shifter - bar end ones like on some tourers maybe ?

 

[AideyM]

I changed from flats to drops on a boardman pro ltd and it really wasn't worth the effort
You firstly need the bars and the shifters, in my case being 2 x10 and already covered in carbon, this set me back @ £300
Then you will need inline adjusters for the gear cables, these are about £10 each and a pair or "travel agents" to deal with the mismatch in brake ratios and they are about £30 a pair.
By the time I had finished the job with handlebar tape and new cables I had parted with about £400.

 

[Kiwiavenger]

cheers for the advice guys. might just save up and get a roadie and keep this one for the "winter hack" lol.

 

[e-rider]

The top tube will be too long.



Flat bar bikes are designed with a longer top tube. Drop bar bikes have a shorter top tube.

 

[HLaB]

I converted my Sirrus a flat bar road bike into a dropped bar, the major issue for me was the break pull, solved partially with problem solver travel agents but braking isn't perfect. The cost actually didn't work out too bad (but these prices are few years old), iirc: £20 bars, £10 bar tape, £15 stem, £99sti's and two problem solvers £32 (£15.99 each), in line barrel adjusters £5 and I had spare cables inner and outer to hand (but that'd easily be £20). I own a ridgeback velocity and wouldn't dream of putting drops on it however its a different sort of beast.

 

[Kiwiavenger]

i'll just keep the ridgeback and get a roadie. will load up with panniers, mud guards etc for the muckier days and the nursery run and get a roadie for the rest. However i did manage 17.5 mph this morning over 22 miles on it so not too shabby! lol.

 

[PpPete]

i'll just keep the ridgeback and get a roadie. will load up with panniers, mud guards etc for the muckier days and the nursery run and get a roadie for the rest. However i did manage 17.5 mph this morning over 22 miles on it so not too shabby! lol.

That's good going. You'll really fly on on a pukka road bike.

 

[HLaB]

i'll just keep the ridgeback and get a roadie. will load up with panniers, mud guards etc for the muckier days and the nursery run and get a roadie for the rest. However i did manage 17.5 mph this morning over 22 miles on it so not too shabby! lol.

Wise choice IMO and you'll be flying when you get your roadie. On a hilly route if I ditch my panniers (keeping the mudguards and rack) I can only with a lot of work get my velocity to 15.5mph; on a road bike I'd be looking to do 16.5mph without trying. With work I'd be looking to get that up to around 18-19mph.