Hybrid Bicycles - Parts for flat to road bar conversion - have I missed anything?

I want to switch from flat bars to road bars on my Trek 7500 hybrid bike.

My 7500 has 3 x 9 Shimano Deore derailleurs, and the rapidfire (pushbutton) shifters. The brakes are direct-pull front and rear. The headset is a threadless 1 1/8 unit.

To keep the seat-to-bar dimension approximately the same, I think a fairly short stem would be smart - maybe 70mm? Perhaps 10 degree up/down too. Obviously will need road bars too.

I'd like to go with bar-end shifters and it looks like the Dura-Ace 9sp bar-end shifters will work fine with my Deore derailleurs.

The levers will probably be Cane Creek as they have a model that works with the direct-pull brakes.

Have I missed anything? Suggestions welcome. Thanks in advance.

Seems like you got it all, bartape is good, but you probably knew that. I think that Tektro levers may be cheaper than the Cane Creek ones, and are pretty much the same. The bar-end shifters should work with any derailleur, so those are fine. The stem is not necessary, unless you want the same position, not a more aggressive position. One important thisng is the brake cables. When I converted my hybrid, I needed to buy new brake cables because the shape of road cables is different that that of mountain/hybrid cables. I used my old shifters, so i don't know about shifter cables, but you may want to look into that. A new set of cables is as cheap as $10 for Dura-Ace.

If you are going as far as to buy DA bar end shifters and CC brakes, you may want to consider integrated shifters. Nashbar has a pair that is about $130 (http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_168995_-1_202311_10000_202436), but you would need new brakes (http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_175336_-1_201521_10000_202421), which would be about $30. The rear derailleur should work fine with any shifter, but the front one may be different, but they are cheap to find (http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_167463_-1_201521_10000_202434) . I don't know how much the bar-end shifters and CC brake levers are, but i think it would be almost the same, if not cheaper to buy the integrated shifters.
Bar-end is fine, but you will probably prefer integrated since braking and shifting is in the same place.

Good luck with your conversion. I think you will be happier with drops, I know I am.

If you are going as far as to buy DA bar end shifters and CC brakes, you may want to consider integrated shifters.

One of the reasons I was planning to go with bar-end shifters is that the Cane Creek brake levers will work with the direct-pull brakes. I don't see any way to mount dual-pivot calipers on this bike, so I need to use levers that will work with direct-pull brakes.

I see some people have used travel agents to replace the noodle and allow standard brake levers to work properly with direct-pull brakes. That would let me use brifters and have the brakes work normally. Maybe that's a good choice. I've done a lot of searching and reading, but in the long run it boils down to personal preference. I've not used bar-end shifters or brifters before, my old bike had downtube shifters and my Trek has the rapidfire buttom shifters.

The nashbar microshift derailleurs and shifters seem to work well for most - perhaps that's a good cost-effective choice.

Cables will definitely be an issue, but I have zero experience with selecting cables so I will definitely need some advice on that topic.

Cables will definitely be an issue, but I have zero experience with selecting cables so I will definitely need some advice on that topic.

Those bar-end shifters may come with cables, but maybe not. When I converted mine with Tiagra "brifters" (integrated brake-shifters), they came with cables -- and housing, and ferrules, and crimp ends -- in the box. Just get Shimano shift cables and you're fine.

One of the reasons I was planning to go with bar-end shifters is that the Cane Creek brake levers will work with the direct-pull brakes. I don't see any way to mount dual-pivot calipers on this bike, so I need to use levers that will work with direct-pull brakes.


Yep, in that case, you are probably better off going with bar ends.

I've not used brifters before...

If you have the funds, brifters are the way to go. I'm borrowing a friend's cx bike with brifters, and OH MY GOD they are amazing. So if you have the money to do so, brifters would be the way to go. Brifters would cost you just a little bit more than those cane creek levers and da barends.

OK, ordered the parts (except for the bar tape). Simplicity (bar-end shifters) won, just because of the lack of issues with direct-pull brakes going that way. I went with (from harris cyclery):

1. Dura Ace 9sp bar end shifters (with cables and housings)
2. Cave Creek SCR-5V brake levers
3. Nitto road bar 115
4. Dimension 110mm threadless stem

Probably will go with Lizardskins tape.

I'll order the bar tape later, no real hurry on it. This changeover will be a winter project.

I'll take some before and after photos. For all of you experienced bike mechanics, this may be entertaining. Stay tuned.

Thanks to everyone for the comments and suggestions.

Good luck and have fun :)

Got the parts today, and I will likely need some inline barrel adjusters. The ones with the shifters are made for the downtube and the cable stops on my 7500 are on the top of the top tube. No clearance for adjusters there. I will probably put them just forward of the headset, unless there's a better place for them. Suggestions?

The bar-end shifters came with cables, but I may need cables for the brakes. Anyway, the job doesn't look to difficult, maybe a Saturday morning. Maybe a little more since I've never adjusted indexed shifters before. I've also not worked with threadless headsets either. OK, maybe a whole Saturday. :) But it's a learning experience.

Sounds fun. Good luck with the conversion. It may take a little trial and error the first time through, but you will have some valuable experience afterwards.
Post some pics when you are done :)

Tyler

Got the parts today, and I will likely need some inline barrel adjusters. The ones with the shifters are made for the downtube and the cable stops on my 7500 are on the top of the top tube. No clearance for adjusters there. I will probably put them just forward of the headset, unless there's a better place for them. Suggestions?

The bar-end shifters came with cables, but I may need cables for the brakes. Anyway, the job doesn't look to difficult, maybe a Saturday morning. Maybe a little more since I've never adjusted indexed shifters before. I've also not worked with threadless headsets either. OK, maybe a whole Saturday. :) But it's a learning experience.
For the rear, use the barrel adjuster on the derailer itself to adjust indexing. For the front, don't bother. The front is friction. Just get the slack out of the cable. You won't ever need to adjust the tension on the front.

Good luck. Im doing the same project on my bike over the winter. Sounds like you have a good start

Definitely post lots of pictures!

For the rear, use the barrel adjuster on the derailer itself to adjust indexing. For the front, don't bother. The front is friction. Just get the slack out of the cable. You won't ever need to adjust the tension on the front.

Thanks. That's good info for an inexperienced wrench like me. Also saves a few $$ along the way - hard to complain about that.

On the cable side of things, is the Parks cable cutter and crimper worth the $$ ? Or can I cut and crimp with the dykes and crimpers in my electrical tool drawer and save those $$ too?

Thanks in advance.

On the cable side of things, is the Parks cable cutter and crimper worth the $$ ? Or can I cut and crimp with the dykes and crimpers in my electrical tool drawer and save those $$ too?

I'd get one (or at least borrow it). Well, unless your cutters grab like a claw instead of a beefy pair of scissors like most wire cutters I've seen. It helps with the housing to keep from mashing it into a messy shape.

Would it be useful to add the interrupter-style brake levers to the flats? I plan on a headlight (flashlight) and a garmin 705 on the bars, maybe there isn't room anyway. In town, I would probably be on the hoods or the flats, and having brake levers closer would be a plus.

But maybe in the overall picture, I should complete the conversion and then decide on additional levers later after I've racked up a few miles on the new setup.

It looks like the brakes can be added fairly easily, just a cut in the housing and a rethreading of the cable.

Suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Interrupter levers are great to have, IMO, especially if you need to spend time noodling around where there are walkers, people hanging around, etc. I got one after a ride where I ended up on the boardwalk at the beach and got tired of being on the hoods at 5 mph.

Some things you should know, though --

When you cut the housing, realize that any future adjustment of the shifters' placement will probably mean that you'll also have to move the interrupter levers OR cut the shifter-to-interruper section of housing again.

If you get bars with flattened tops, the available space for interrupter levers is VERY small. I'm lucky that my Shimano Flight Deck computer mount fits between one of the interrupter clamps and the stem. If I add anything else, it would need an extension thing (FSA makes one) to create mounting space. I'd see about mounting your 705 on the stem instead of the bars.

You could also use just one lever. When I got my first one, I had it set for the front brake; I could just as easily used it for the rear brake since I was never going fast when I needed the lever anyway. This also means that you can equip two bikes with one pair of levers.

Here's the bike with the Flight Deck computer, but before I added interrupter levers. Notice the space to the right of the computer mount, between the mount clamp and where the begins to flatten out. The interrupter lever clamp barely fit in there.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/BarracksSi/Bike/IMG_3930.jpg

The Nitto bars I bought don't have a flat top, they have a round cross-section throughout. That will help. Using a single brake is a great idea - I guess I've fallen into the mindset that I always need two brakes to stop when the interrupter would most likely be used only at slow speeds.

I'm using bar-end shifters, so my brakes are just brakes.  I have direct-pull brakes so that choice seems to simplify things a lot.

I do plan to mount the 705 on the stem, so I guess the headlight could go on one side and a brake on the other.

Thanks for the one-brake suggestion, that's a good one.