I’ve had enough of pretending that I can get along with drop bars, so i thought I would convert my Croix de Fer to straight bars and at the same time, 1×11. I was thinking 11-42 and a 40T chainring (on my existing Sram Apex chainset and Hope Pro 2 Evo hub). I think SLX level will be good enough. Does anyone have any opinion on this set up? Also, I’d like to get some flat carbon bars and fit stubby bar ends. Will I lose my teeth?
As the CdF is designed for the drops you may find that with the flat bars it's too short in terms of reach. You may have to fit a longer stem, move the saddle back etc.
Is it the hand position that you're not happy with or generally more stretched out position? Have you tried it with shorter and stubbier stem perhaps?
I think that a layback seatpost will suffice - I think the stem is long enough, I've got little shortie T Rex arms!
I've (partly) done this; 560mm flat carbon bar, stubby ends and a slightly longer stem on my size L CdeF with Genesis carbon fork.
The slight layback in the Thompson seatpost means that the saddle is centred on the rails for me.
I've still got a 3x setup though, 11-32 cassette & 105 road chainset with 50-39-30. I'm not the strongest climber in the world but managed up the Bealach na Ba in the middle ring, so your gear selection seems fine to me.
I've Hope discs too and as a road downhiller on 32mm slicks, it's a total demon. Yet it's also comfortable for very long days, in the 150-200 mile range.
Stick on some larger semi-slicks and it has done things like the Speyside Way and the Corrieyairick pass.
Enjoy...
Oh aye, beware the cassette quality when combined with a Pro2 hub; unless you've already upgraded to a steel freehub body, the SLX level cassette may chew lumps out of an alloy freehub and may then jam on. I'd be checking that the cassette you plan to buy has an alloy carrier for as many of the rings as possible, to try to avoid this issue.
just don't expect it to ride like a mountain bike as it will have a much shorter wheelbase
I'm not expecting that; 95% of it's life is spent on the road. I've got a proper mountain bike, too.
Thanks for the reminder about the Pro2! I'd forgotten about the Hope freehub issue. I'll get an XT ......
Has anyone tried those Alivio level discs that are everywhere for less than £50 for both ends?
18 Bikes set my CDF up with flat bars when I bought it new and I ran it like that for months, I also converted to 1x11 with a narrow wide front.
I just used the original stem flipped so it had a few degrees rise amd it was perfect for me but I eventually succumbed and switched to the original drops.
as said, a slightly longer stem may sort the reach issues.
ti bars with a central shim will be a better choice than carbon when it comes to bar ends. Bontrager/Titec used to do them back in the day but there are other modern versions too. I have some spares if you struggle to find some, including shims that take it to 31.8mm so you can run modern stems. SJS cycles also do an alloy bar with a narrow central bulge that enables you to run a relatively narrow cockpit, say down to 46cm with enough space to slide the levers/pods on.
11spd Shimano cassettes have slightly odd ratios. Look at Sunrace for a alternative (MX8 and MS8 I think).