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10-17-07, 09:51 AM
There have been various threads and posts over the past couple of years about converting a flat bar bike to drop bars, so here goes my experiment with this process.
Not long ago I had to sell my Bianchi Giro and moved back to riding my Sirrus hybrid with the flat bar setup. The Sirrus came stock with 8 speed cassette, rapid fire shifters, 48/38/28 crankset, aluminum frame, cro-moly fork, linear pull brakes, and 28mm tires. It just so happens I still really enjoy this bike but would prefer the drop bar set up that I've become accustomed to. As luck would have it, I managed to salvage some very good parts from a bike that belonged to another family member. That bike had had a nasty accident. I ended up with a 105 50/30/39 crankset, a 105 front derailler, and a set of drop bars with the 10 speed 105 brifters.
I have installed the 105 crankset and it works pretty well with the existing 8 speed cassette, the Deore rear derailler and the nexave front derailler. It will be much better with the 10 speed cassette and 10 speed chain. I will probably add a 105 rear derailler to the upgrade so that all the components match.
The linear pull v brakes are going to require installation of little thing called a "travel agent" to make the brakes work with the new brake/shifter system. I managed to find them at bikemannetwork.com for a good price.
Before I get too far ahead, I'd like to thank Jerry in Lodi, who converted his 03 Sirrus to a touring set up for advice and ideas on this project. You can see what he did at http://www.touringonbikes.us/jerry's%20bike.htm
Here's what my bike looked like before any changes.
http://www.pacfit.com/sirrus05a.jpg
Here's a shot of the current rear derailler and 8 speed cassette.
http://www.pacfit.com/deore.jpg
The first thing I did was change the 28mm tires for a 23mm set that I had. You can also see the 105 crankset in this photo.
http://www.pacfit.com/rearwheel.jpg
Here's a closer shot of the crankset.
http://www.pacfit.com/105crank.jpg
I'll post some more photos when I get the bars/brifters and other parts installed. This is quite a learning process for someone like me who is really not very mechanical. Anyway, thanks for viewing!
Not long ago I had to sell my Bianchi Giro and moved back to riding my Sirrus hybrid with the flat bar setup. The Sirrus came stock with 8 speed cassette, rapid fire shifters, 48/38/28 crankset, aluminum frame, cro-moly fork, linear pull brakes, and 28mm tires. It just so happens I still really enjoy this bike but would prefer the drop bar set up that I've become accustomed to. As luck would have it, I managed to salvage some very good parts from a bike that belonged to another family member. That bike had had a nasty accident. I ended up with a 105 50/30/39 crankset, a 105 front derailler, and a set of drop bars with the 10 speed 105 brifters.
I have installed the 105 crankset and it works pretty well with the existing 8 speed cassette, the Deore rear derailler and the nexave front derailler. It will be much better with the 10 speed cassette and 10 speed chain. I will probably add a 105 rear derailler to the upgrade so that all the components match.
The linear pull v brakes are going to require installation of little thing called a "travel agent" to make the brakes work with the new brake/shifter system. I managed to find them at bikemannetwork.com for a good price.
Before I get too far ahead, I'd like to thank Jerry in Lodi, who converted his 03 Sirrus to a touring set up for advice and ideas on this project. You can see what he did at http://www.touringonbikes.us/jerry's%20bike.htm
Here's what my bike looked like before any changes.
http://www.pacfit.com/sirrus05a.jpg
Here's a shot of the current rear derailler and 8 speed cassette.
http://www.pacfit.com/deore.jpg
The first thing I did was change the 28mm tires for a 23mm set that I had. You can also see the 105 crankset in this photo.
http://www.pacfit.com/rearwheel.jpg
Here's a closer shot of the crankset.
http://www.pacfit.com/105crank.jpg
I'll post some more photos when I get the bars/brifters and other parts installed. This is quite a learning process for someone like me who is really not very mechanical. Anyway, thanks for viewing!