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I'm currently building a monster cross esque dealy out of some parts I have in the garage getting myself a cheap gravel eater for as cheap as possible.
the idea is basically a rigid carbon 29er, skinny tubeless gravel tires, a 2x10 xt group and drop bars.
offering the brakes up to the bars yesterday I think I can file/dremel/machine the lever clamps to fit the drops.
has anyone done this successfully or am I about to ruin a set of brakes?
cheers!
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I've seen it a few times. It's gonna suck. The main position on a drop bar is holding the brake lever. If you have a regular brake lever there without rubber hoods it's going to be horrible.
If your main position would be holding the tops, you might as well be on a flat bar.
You won't spend long periods in the drops.
Also something to consider is that MTBs have much longer top tubes, that's why drop bar conversions usually suck (even when the owners won't admit it to themselves).
I have a gravel bike and I love it, but you don't need a special bike or drop bars to go in a forward direction on gravel... Just ride the thing with flat bars, especially if it's a budget build.
Don't forget that you will have to put the shifters somewhere too...
Those Nitto gravel bars at PX are made for 22.2mm clamps, which I now believe is the mountain bike standard.
If I was converting a hardtail I'd go with alt bars rather than drop bars anyway to work around the toptube length issue. I've had fleegles on my bike for a couple of years and they're fantastic for long where my palms would normally go numb, and no disadvantage on shorter technical rides either. In fact I probably use my commuter for what most people would describe as gravel (50miles a day, roads, backroads and unmade tracks).
The other option is to modify the brake levers and mount them like you would cross tops on one of those bar extensions usually used for garmins etc. Fit a cable stop to the bar part, and have it pull on the lever. Then fit normal cane creek or tektro cable levers which are dirt cheap. I'd be inclined to go with cable disks (or juin tec, hy-rd, parabox or v-twin's) and those levers rather than bodge hydraulics.
Thanks Hollyboni I understand all that you said but I probably should have said this is more of a because i can/shits and giggles build and that I have plenty of bikes with flat bars that will go in a forward direction on gravel, I just wanted to build this one.
the shifters concerned me at first too but when i offered up some standard shifters mounted to the lever with i spec I think it should work.
And if all else fails I'll make a pair of shims and go back to flats, it'll be fun finding out.
Dremelling 22.2mm out to 23.8...in aluminium...I'd be v surprised it you didn't make a * of it. And it'll be * even if you manage it as above.
Dremelling 22.2mm out to 23.8…in aluminium…I’d be v surprised it you didn’t make a * of it. And it’ll be * even if you manage it as above.
He could make some hoods out of spoons and carbon fibre.
Thanks Spoony,
the same thing has crossed my mind but drops were much much cheaper and I already have the hydraulic discs also you're left with the shifter problem again which just leave you with bar end shifters. All this moves it further away from the parts bin build I have in mind and at the end of the day isn't bodging half the fun?
Dremelling 22.2mm out to 23.8…in aluminium…I’d be v surprised it you didn’t make a * of it. And it’ll be * even if you manage it as above.
He could make some hoods out of spoons and carbon fibre.
I should also point out that I'm a machinist so removing 0.8mm from each clamping face won't be a problem.
I had flipped Mary bars taped up for a while to use mtb brakes and shifters was actually very comfy. Or look at something like SOMA sparrow.
Now have Midge bars and road levers as I really like cruising on the hoods.
Either way having a decent length of fork steerer is half the battle to getting it set up to be ridable.
Fleegles are £10 (and wont need new shifters).
If you do do it, where are you going to hold the bars? A naked aluminium straight bar lever with a hose or cable sticking out the top is not going to be comfortable for anything more than 5-10 seconds, and you won't have a flat transition from the lever to the bar like with a proper drop bar lever and compact handlebars.
Bar end shifters suck, and you will have to find one that's compatible with MTB derailleurs if you have 10 or 11spd MTB stuff. I think Microshift makes one tho.
Tinkering and building bikes is fun, but to me this just sounds like a dumb idea, waste of time and money. No offense. 😀 I just can't see any advantages at all, only disadvantages.
It's gonna be horrible, but it sounds like you are still going to do it no matter what we say.
Get a set of bars that will take mtb levers.
I use bars like these* which take mtb levers:
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But if you do manage to dremel/ream out your brake levers to fit, do let us know. I looked at doing that and thought uh uh. 🙂
Instead of skinny tyres consider using wide slicks like Big Apples. Much more comfortable and surprisingly useful on gravel and offroad in everything but mud.
*Basically an old style North Road bar, which were used either up or down. PlanetX has something similar https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/HBNIB483/nitto-b483-commuter-handlebar
hollyboni..
I am, yeah.
All i wanted to know was if anyone had done it though.
Epicylco
that thing looks awesome, I had considered inverting a bar like that, looks like it would work pretty great.
I should also point out that I’m a machinist so removing 0.8mm from each clamping face won’t be a problem.
Ah, the other end of the spectrum from dremelling then. (I still wouldn't tho! ...and as TINAS alludes to, I've done some top-grade construction in the past.)
slugrider
that thing looks awesome, I had considered inverting a bar like that, looks like it would work pretty great.
It works pretty well. It's a type of bar I have used on many bikes. The Great North Road bar has a long and well proven history for comfort and versatility.
eg, standard equipment on 1932 Sunbeam Road Racer
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or on my TD-1 for gravel riding (Corrieyairack Pass)
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Bars are just a curly bit of metal to get your hands where they need to be. On a gravel/offroad bike you don't want them as low as a road bike so you don't need a big drop, so for that sort of use those bars are close to ideal IMO.
Different bars sound like your answer, but then you don't get the different hand positions, so you'd better hope that they are comfy in that one position.
You could of course sell your 10 speed stuff, get 9 speed and then use a cheap set of STIs - it would mean cable discs though... :S
Out of interest, those Nitto North Road bars, do all the hand positions end up roughly in a line with the stem? i.e. do they work like a drop bar but with a normal MTB geometry and stem? I'm thinking of 'graveling' my commuter a bit more to get a out of the wind as the temperature drops.
drop bar conversions usually suck
… Just ride the thing with flat bars, especially if it’s a budget build.
This is my experience. It was fun trying, I did learn a lot, but if I wanted a drop bar bike, I'd just buy one.
Mrs Wachowchow rides pretty much what Epicyclo has illustrated.
She wanted to use a 49cm Kona PhD that was in the shed for restoration for a Triathlon event. The bike had flat bars originally and brake levers to suit. Fitting drops would have been over budget. I used some OnOne Mary's and flipped them upside down.
Looks really good, like a classic Board racer style. Also, very comfortable so I'm told.
Jef Wachowchow
...Also, very comfortable so I’m told.
They are. I did the WEMBO 2014 World Solo 24 hour on that bike at Ft William.
The only minus point is the bars aren't as wide as usual mtb bars, so technical stuff can be more demanding, but they have no problems in gravel bike use.
I've just fitted a set of Nittos using Ultegra flat bar levers. Mostly out of boredom and curiosity I'll admit!
Don't find the position as comfy as sitting on the hoods of a road bike, and worry I'll miss the width of my chopped down 560mm flat bars, plus now I think about it this setup is heavier than the drop bar setup, but at least the bike might blend in a tiny bit better on the start line of the next CX race...
My deore levers are fitted to inverted soma sparrow bars that give a small drop with flare. I needed a new stem too. You won’t fit to classic drops.
Bar end shifters suck
Not my experience at all i love mine!
I've opened up the clamps on Magura Hydro levers fairly tidily using an adjustable / expanding hand reamer. Those went on cow horn style bars so no issue with lack of hoods.
Obviously need to have a bolt and packer washers to hold the clamp solid / circular.
mick R
thanks mate finally an answer! haha
I had planned on clamping to a standard bar to get the normal clamping gap and turning up a little spacer.
Unfortunately i don't have access to an expanding reamer so i was thinking about finding a way to interpolate them on the mill. only issie will ne holding the ****ers!