Touring - Drop bars on a hardtail mtn?

Has anyone tried to fit drops to a mtn bike? Right now im running a fairly long stem and some 31.8 bars with 25 degrees of rise. It seems like I could swap these with some really wide CX bars, in conjunction with a higher angle stem, and still be okay on off road handling. tried this?

also you would have to change brake levers and shifters

yep. Just wanted to know geometry wise if this feels good.

I've had drop bars on Lucy since I got her in 1989 - 100,000+ miles.
Since most people "mountain" geometry is shorter and "touring" geometry is more stretched out - the shift to drops is no problem - plus I have a Flexistem which is pretty long. My Trek 8000 may have been the last with brazons for for drop shifters. You can still put shifters on the drop bar with clamps or at the bar ends. Drop shifts are simpler to install and replace cables on - although anyone under 40 may be freaked out by the location and motions required. I use friction, not index, and can do a double shift with one motion.

yep. Just wanted to know geometry wise if this feels good.Yes, it's doable.....a little funky looking but the short while I had this setup, it was quite comfortable.

Seems like you'd have to use a very short stem to compensate for the increased reach you would have riding on top of hoods or down on drops (compared to the normal mtb flat bar).

The Fixer's pic above illustrates this well.

This would work better for a person with short legs / long torso and arms.

Why not? This is one sweet bike from a guy in a different Forum.

http://forums.mtbr.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=143296&stc=1&d=1140668821

Yeah, feels good, you've got more hand positions, too. You won't die in a strong headwind. I put some drops on my single speed mtb. It helps me navigate traffic and looks really odd to most bikers. I'm running CX levers on my mtb.

Yeah, feels good, you've got more hand positions, too. You won't die in a strong headwind. I put some drops on my single speed mtb. It helps me navigate traffic and looks really odd to most bikers. I'm running CX levers on my mtb.


I kind of forget what CX levers are like. Can you run them without the cable being anchored to STI's? These would be kind of nice.

Cross levers "interrupt" the cable as it goes from the regular lever to the brake. It doesn't matter whether you use STI levers or not, they will still work (although STI levers will not work with V-brakes unless you get a "travel agent" or other device). WTB used to make flared drop bars for mountain bikes, now a British company called On One makes a bar called Midge. Some people actually prefer this type of bar rather than a flat bar for off road use.

I have to make do with Mtn bike until my niece returns from the US. Then I hope to have her bring an LHT for my ultimate touring bike. I cannot ride all day with flat bars. My hands will go numb in just one day. Incidentally, my bike has Mtn front chain wheels and rear 11-34t, yet STI works perfectly.

How about this :

Airnimal Rhino frame only - and built it up with :

Morphe drop bars with Ritchey riser stem
Campagnolo Centaur
Salsa cross levers
20" wheels
Full suspension
BB7 road brakes

Works great : cross levers on steep downhill bits and pull on the drop hoods on the way up and flats.
Braking is equally good on both drops and cross levers. But I don't think I would have gone down this ( off road use ) route without having the cross levers.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=5035
http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=5036

My 26" touring bike also has BB7s and centaur levers - it used to be a Marin Point Reyes - I like it so much, but I want off road hence the Airnimal.

Didn't John Tomac ride drop bars around 1989 or 1990 back when he was kicking butt in mountain biking?

Tomac was riding for 7-11 then and wanted to keep his road position. The drop bars didn't work very well for him and after he dropped the road racing he went back to flat bars.

I met him out in the middle of the Slick Rock Trail. He was one super climber I'll tell you that. He didn't just go on the trails which were over 45 degrees up in places, but he would ride on the SIDES of the trails where the really steep stuff was.

Wow!

BTW, he looked like a 13 year old with a 5 o'clock shadow.