Hybrid Bicycles - Is it possible to convert a road bike into a hybrid?

Could a road bike, specifically a Bianchi Veloce, become something more like a hybrid bike, if the drop handlebars were changed to upright bars?

I purchased the bike new, with the idea that I might like riding a speedy road bike with drop bars, but I find I greatly dislike it. The drop bars are exceedingly uncomfortable, and I would prefer a more upright riding posture, with my hands in the palms-down orientation to which I am accustomed from hybrid bikes. Is this change feasible?

Thank you.

1. Sell your bike and get a hybrid. They're 'generally' cheaper anyway.
2. Swap bars and likely shifters, derailleurs and brakes to 'hyrbridize' your road bike. Also hope it accepts wider tires as most hybrids come with something in the 32-38 area.

Seeing as #2 would likely be as much as a new hybrid, I'd probably go #1 :)

I looked into doing almost the same thing with my road bike. To make it more like FX.
I would need:
Stem
Longer head tube (uncut fork, if I want more upright riding position)
Riser handle bar
Shifters
New cables
Max tire size 25

Total cost without a new fork, approx $500 with a decent fork, approx $850

I think you can get a new FX for around that price.

Yeah, I think converting it would cost more than buying a new hybrid.

Thank you for your helpful advice. My road bike experiment was perhaps ill-considered, but chalk it up to experience. Now I just have to get rid of the damn bike.

Yeah, I think converting it would cost more than buying a new hybrid.

http://www.productwiki.com/upload/images/2006_bianchi_veloce.jpg

The Veloce is a 2k bike and if one was to sell it they'd take a pretty huge hit and if it is just a matter of bars one could sell the stock bars and brifters and have enough to fund the purchase of flat bars and new shifters... if a flat bar road bike was the desired outcome.

Nothing says you can't change out the stock stem for one with more rise and bring the bars up to a more comfortable position either.

You will be limited as to how wide a tyre you can run and 28's might be too much... if you are looking for a plush hybrid ride then selling the bike becomes an option but if it is just bar and hand position that can be addressed in a number of ways.

Selling or P/Xing the road bike might make more sense? Making a sows ear out of a silk purse, and all that. :-)

Dunno what I'd do if the Bianchi was mine. I'd probably sell. I had a road bike I didn't get on with, did the flat bar thing, but realised I'd still got an expensive bike I didn't like - now with flat bars. Put it back to stock and sold it on Ebay in two days. Bought a hybrid AND a folder with the change.

One other problem you will encounter with a roadbike converted to hybrid is that you will be completely unable to fit any pannier racks, since the road frame doesn't have the required gussets to attach them to.
Sell this bike and get a new hybrid ... it will be cheaper anyway.

Pannier racks are fitted to rear eyelets which the Bianchi Veloce has, and on that frame, a clamp bracket across the seat-stays.

Whether the hybridised bike needs luggage seems to be the least of the OP's worries. :-)

It depends on just what is bothering you. My bike a Vlope has an adjustable stem (added) and the bars are set with the ends pointing toward the rear hub (old way of doing it) It also has an 11 to 34 cassette. If that gets yo what you need then not too bad other than that keep this as a road bike and get something else for when you want the hybrid. I enjoy being able to choose which bike to ride,

Joe
:beer:

It depends on just what is bothering you. My bike a Vlope has an adjustable stem (added) and the bars are set with the ends pointing toward the rear hub (old way of doing it) It also has an 11 to 34 cassette. If that gets yo what you need then not too bad other than that keep this as a road bike and get something else for when you want the hybrid. I enjoy being able to choose which bike to ride,

Joe
:beer:

I've purchased a drop bar bike with the expressed intent to swap out the drops for flat bars. Granted, this was before hybrids as we know them were available, but the idea still makes sense.

My flat bar conversion had geometry tight enough to cause toe clip overlap. I don't think even the sportiest "flat-bar road bike" available today has that kind of geometry. A flat bar conversion of your Veloce would be awesome. Faster and quicker handling than anything the hybrid riders discouraging you are riding.

Go for it!

Thank you all for your helpful comments and suggestions. It sounds as though turning the bike into a hybrid is probably not reasonable. While it seems possible to convert it into a flat bar road bike, I suspect that would not really suit me. This experience has taught me that I am really more of a hybrid cyclist anyway. I had ridden a hybrid (a Specialized Crossroads A1 Pro) quite happily for years, until the fateful day when I was smitten by that svelte, glamorous Veloce with her curvaceous drop bars.

I have never been a terribly fast rider, though I do like riding long distances - centuries and randonneuring rides. A comfortable, stable ride matters, with a fairly upright riding posture and flat or flattish handlebars, a saddle with springs to ease the back, options for a rear rack bag and perhaps a small handlebar bag. I think this means I should stick with a hybrid bike.

Yes.

http://www.pashley.co.uk/products/guvnor.html

I made the buying mistake in the opposite direction - bought a hybrid and wound up converting it to a road bike and then bought a road bike! hahaha

lesson learned: the right machine for the job at hand

It only makes sense if the bike is high end.

If not, then you're better off buying a new flat bar road bike for the cash.

+1 What Sixty Fiver said. It's very easy to do and only as expensive as you make it. From your post it sounds as if you like your bike but want to go more upright. A new seat, stem (maybe), bars, brake levers (maybe), shifters (maybe) and you've got your hybrid. It also sounds as if you want to stay on the road so, no need to change the tires. Now you've got a unique machine that's comfortable, fast and a source of pride. Plus, you get to pick your seat, nyuck, nyuck. Old joke, sorry.
I speak from experience because that is what I ride every day; a 1981 Puch touring bike that I made those changes to. It is a pleasure to throw my big, heavy leg over it.

I did it to my Lemond Zurich: swapped stem and bars and shift and brake levers and got an offset seatpost to shorten the reach to the bars.

Its now a great townie bike.

On a high end bike like your Veloce and my Zurich, Schwalbe Marathon Racer 30 mm tires will fit. That's as large as one can go before running into brake interference issues. But its a great tire for a townie bike.

Offset post run backwards "to shorten the reach", Norman?

No... to shove the saddle forward to the bars. That allows for a more relaxed upright riding position and a Brooks Flyer saddle is just the ticket!

Offset seatposts are typically used to offset the saddle position to the rear. Turning it around ('backwards') to 'shorten the reach' is what I meant but maybe should have said forwards. :)

Lemond bikes are known for slack seat tube angles, so that makes sense to me. Hybrids tend to have slack angles too. My knees prefer a forward saddle position and I have changed saddles and seatposts on some of my bikes to get me more forward.

The Bianchi probably has a steeper seat tube angle, but that guy is long gone from here.