Bianchigirll 

Great looking Schwinn

Velocivixen

@Squeeze - glad you like the bars. Your bike looks really nice! Excellent conversion.

tricky 

Lookin good @Squeeze ! How do you like the new riding position? I am taking my time to find the correct stem so that my in-the-drops position (the primary riding position for these conversions, if I understand correctly) is comfortable. Any more input from you (or anybody) about how these should be setup?

badger_biker 

I just love the profile of the High Sierra with those relaxed angles. Nice job imabeliever1!

exmechanic89

Wow, I love this one, really nice conversion. It's inspiring me to my own. I have lot's of mtbs but not a single road bike/

cookandcycle

Yep! When I built my Surly I had considered going 1x but figured Id be doing some touring and the like so I thought better of it. So this time I figured it would be fun! I still have the smallest chainring on there, have to wait to take off the cranks to get that little bugger off.

Thanks for the tip! I was wondering what the best way to clean that up would be. I have so many ideas for the bike but I need to get it riding first in order to prioritize. Thanks for the kind words!

Squeeze

It took me a minute to find the shifters on that $5.00 Schwinn High Sierra. I saw the cables, but no shifters at first!

Well, I'm a newbie at drop bar MTBs, but I just took a chance and ordered a stem that I had seen others in this thread use. I needed a 1-1/8" quill stem, so that limited my choices. At it turned out, I got lucky and it fits well.

The tops are now a bit higher than the flat bar was. That's nice to sit up and relax, such as when spinning up a long hill. The drops are a little lower than the flat bar was, and the hoods are just about perfect for comfortable cruising. I haven't taken it offroad on anything more challenging than fine gravel paths, but from jumping some curbs and sidewalks in the neighborhood to simulate single-track, I think I would be in the drops to ride anything "fun". I haven't yet taken it to the local BMX track with my kids. I think that will be the real test, but I've seen guys (Dads) riding cyclocross bikes on that track without killing themselves, so I'll give it a try when time allows.

I just sort of eyeballed the bar and brake position at first, and then sat on the bike a few times while adjusting the bars and brakes to see what felt right, and then I took a ride around the neighborhood with those Gear Ties on the bars just to make sure it felt okay before taping the bars, and it feels great. Much better than flat bars, I think, but maybe I'm in the honeymoon period and the novelty will wear off.

I angled the ramps down just a bit lower than level, and the drops at slightly less of an angle than the downtube. I've read this entire thread a couple of times and agree with the consensus that you want a taller stem with less reach than you would use on the same bike with flat bars.

Good luck!

And thanks all for the kind words. It's kind of like the saying about "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence", though, because I think everyone else's bike looks better than mine. Later this week I'll re-intstall the rear rack and ride it to work on a day I don't need my car for outside appointments.

cs1

I really like that bike.

imabeliever1

Here is my other drop bar mtb ride. It is a Miyata set up with a Sturmey Archer hub. Its nice to ride most anywhere. It was once setup with a 21 speed drivetrain. I like it worlds better as it is now. Low maintenance because there is almost not drivetrain to clean, adjust , etc.

Commando

I like your style. Is that a modern SA hub or the trusty old school AW? I love the idea of an SA hub on an old mountain bike with relaxed geometry. I've got a few frames to choose from for that project.

Commando

No nonsense bike, and great looking. That thing makes stem shifters look cool

cookandcycle

Sure am mountaindave! When I built my Surly I had considered going 1x but figured Id be doing some touring and the like so I thought better of it. So this time I figured it would be fun! I still have the smallest chainring on there, have to wait to take off the cranks to get that little bugger off.

Thanks for the tip! I was wondering what the best way to clean that up would be. I have so many ideas for the bike but I need to get it riding first in order to prioritize. Thanks for the kind words!

imabeliever1

Yes, it's a good old AW hub. I have several saved from old junker wheels. With the AW's, you would be better served by using spoke washers on the spokes. The flanges are thin and spoke failure is a real possibility if you ride a lot. Gearing is easy. For me, the way to go is to set direct, 2nd gear, to about 65 gear inches. This is my standard. Then you have "1st" for climbing hills and "3d" for running down the hill.

JRSly

Pretty excited about finding this thread. I've been considering doing this same conversion for a little while now and decided to search it out, this popped up. Anyway, I've read through the entire thread, and I've been looking for the right frame for some time now, and I think I finally found one. A 1994 Specialized Stumpjumper FS, I'm planning on getting rid of the suspension fork, any suggestions on a rigid fork to look for? Does anyone know if the 1994 Stumpjumper FS frame is the same as the 1994 Stumpjumper rigid frame? I can't find geometry on either one. If they are I think I might just look for a older Direct Drive fork.

I don't have the bike in hand yet, gonna check it out later today, but if it's in good shape I feel $150 is a pretty fair price. I think the fork has a 1-1/8 steerer tube, and I'm pretty sure it's threadless, but not 100% sure, I should know this later tonight.

Hopefully it will fit!

Choke 

I purchased this around 1996 but never rode it much - it was a bit large for me for any kind of MTBing. This model was made in 1991/92 and was Scapin's top of the line MTB at the time. It is lugged Cromor OR tubing and has a full Campy Euclid group. I swapped the bars/stem for an On One Midge and a Kalloy dirt drop, changed the shifters to Triomphe with Rivendell bar end adapters and the brake levers are gutted Athena 11.

hopwheels

Great thread! Some very inspiring builds, keep 'em coming!

himespau 

Wow, that is just awesome. That color scheme definitely reminds me of a very specific point in my life.

Soody

This is the coolest rigid MTB i've ever seen

Italuminium

Stunner. Love that Campy MTB stuff.

wrk101

Off the charts gorgeous!!!!

Well done!!

Be sure to keep it well locked!! This is one of those that would be very hard to find if some a**hole stole it.


Nice thing about drop bar sizing, I went from an 18 inch traditional MTB size to a 20 inch drop bar size. For reference, I usually ride a 22 inch road bike. Of course, lots of variation in top tube length, some of them can get VERY long.

I kind of regret not learning about this earlier, as I let a beautiful Trek mtb go that I wanted to keep really bad, but it was a 19.5 inch frame. As a mtb, I could not make it fit. As a drop bar conversion it would have been great.

Oh well..

Henry III

Judging by the photo and he's in Wyoming...I don't think he has too much to worrying about someone stealing it.

This is a seriously awesome bike. Not a single thing I would change with this build. It's Italian, it's lugged, it's a rigid mtb, it's got a Campy mtb group, it's got dropbars and a wickedly awesome paint job. I'm completely speechless. Lock this thread because I've now seen the top of the mountain...and it is good...very good.

mountaindave 

Totally rad! And neon colors are back in again!! That bike looks NOS, I'd be afraid to ride it around! It even has a shark fin chainstay protector!! Pink and yellow toeclips and straps, matching brake and shift cables - wow!!! This bike is the true home for Cinelli splash bar tape! (Did I use enough exclamation points?!)

superstring

Stunning!

romperrr 

I was under the impression that one should size down when converting to drop bar mtbs. E.g. Ifone rides 20" regular MTB, they should go down to 18" if converting to a drop bar. Mainly because the TT are long. Am I understanding you right? Thanks!

Chris Chicago

Hey all right! I've been waiting 2 and a half years to see another one like mine

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...l#post15197181