Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - bullhorns on my mtb

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merztime
04-13-04, 08:34 AM
I recently picked up a Redline Monocog that I use for running around the city. I like it for its simple drivetrain, bombproof frame and cool looks. However two things keep it from being a really good city ride - the gearing and handlebars. The gearing is easy enough to change, but I'm looking for advice on the bars. I was going to just get the standard bars cut down and maybe throw on some bar ends. But then I began thinking that bullhorn bars might accomplish the same thing and look really slick. so...

Will I need a new stem since MTB and road bars are different diameters? Can I just use some kind of shim?

Will I need to get new brake levers? If so what do I need?

Is this just a bad idea?

I found a couple threads (see below) dealing talking about using drops with geared MTBs, but I couldn't find anything pertaining to what I'm trying to do.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=23905
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=1166

Thanks

familyman
04-13-04, 11:40 AM
Been there and done that. If I remember correctly the MTB bar is actually a little smaller than a standard road bar. I should have gotten a new stem but it worked fine, just a little bit tight. What you need to think about is brakes. The Shimano MTB levers I had wouldn't fit over the bends in the bulls I had. I tried a few things but never really did get it sorted to my satisfaction. The other thing is that bulls have a tendency to really stretch you out on the bike. I found that while my MTB fits me great, with bulls I couldn't really go all the way to the ends comfortably. I was using actual time trial bull bars though and cut down road bars could be much narrower depending on what you start with.
If I had to do it over agian I'd just get a set of $10 bar ends and call it good.