sloar 

How do you like them? I feel I have a perfect candidate for a drop bar conversion, just curious how everyone likes the feel of theirs. I'm not to crazy about the small straight bar, so I might make the switch. Thanks...

Chrome Molly

Turn on's:

• Just the perfect bike on ORV trails, or any soft terrain
• Works just about equally well on loose gravel as my dedicated gravel rig
• Very few places I can't go on it, and with the right tires easily keeps a very respectable road speed
• Makes a decent road rig to take out (and get a decent workout) with entry level road riders or the spouse
• Gets lots of admiring looks on the trails from people who ride full 'spen' bikes and have never seen anything like it
• Perfect for riding to the trail, riding the trail, riding home (I don't like driving a bike to a trail if I can avoid it)

Turn off's:

• The drop bar stretches me out too much on the truly rough stuff (the type of terrain where you need to worry about going over the bars). Then again, any rigid bike is challenged in that terrain
• Doesn't have the "bmx'y" feel that I like so much about my Kona on the harder trails.
• Riding the hoods in the rough stuff is hard on the wrists, riding the drops lacks a bit of control for me personally
• Mine has a top swing FD that makes working with a triple using brifters tenuous at best (slight knocks get it off track). Easily solved with a friction FD, which may be in the cards. Or it may be a double soon.

Overall, a great project and gets used a whole lot more than my straight bar MTB does.

Barrettscv 

Consider these as an alternative, they will accept Shimano MTB levers and shifters:

Lauterwasser Alloy Bar | SOMA Fabrications

Chrome Molly

And how could I waste an opportunity to add a few photos

Lascauxcaveman 

C'mon, Sloar. You've got enough bikes to at least try one of these. Go for it.

Velocivixen

Go for it. I've got a '95 Trek 820 & I'm waiting on parts. Bought the Soma Portola bars and I've heard good things about them from someone who's tried On One Midges and others.

What bars, levers and shifters are you thinking?

sloar 

You can never have enough bikes! I do have another mtb, so I'm not worried about that....

gomango

Awesome squishy!

I would try the drop bars Shawn. There is loads of good info on this site, actually in this thread.

I just rebuilt my Miyata with a Technomic and Nitto Moustache bars this evening.

Just look at CM's nice Croll. Get them high enough and you'll be super comfortable.

lasauge 

My own take on drop-bar mountain bikes is very similar to what Chrome Molly described in the first response to this thread. I've tried drops on four different mountain frames, and each case presented its own challenges - the closest I've gotten to a combination of road bars on a mtb frame that really works for me is my '84 Stumpjumper (but with mustache bars, not quite drops).

At the risk of being negative (because I do think MTB conversions can be workable, fun, enjoyable bikes) if you really want to ride as fast and efficiently as possible on both trails and pavement with the same bike, I would suggest starting with a proper cyclocross frame.

crank_addict

Dang.... looks like you can plow a field with that tractor!

Barrettscv 

I agree, but finding vintage bikes that allow a tire larger than 700x28 is not easy. Vintage Cyclocross bikes are very rare, few genuine Cyclocross bikes were made and many of these were raced hard and then discarded. Early Cyclocross bikes had sufficient mud clearance, but maximum tire size was in the 29 to 32mm range.

Vintage touring bikes are a good option. Those built for 27 inch wheels can usually take a 700x32. I had a Miyata 615 that could take most 700x35 tires, due to chainstays that were long and shaped for this tire size.

It was a combination of luck and patience that allowed me to find this frameset;

JReade

I built this guy up as a budget build, had the bars, and shifters, so I just made it work. Truth be told, I'm not a huge fan. It doesn't really serve a purpose in my lineup. I have a modern MTB, and modern Road bike. I have a touring bike, and I have a city bike. It's too heavy to ride cross on, and while it's cushy and smooth around town, it still feels fairly slow and dead. The new riding position on the hoods prevents me from really lifting the front end, so I'm not about to take it on the MTB trails. If I still had the original bars/shifters, I could swap them back, but alas they ended up in the co-op parts bin, never to be seen again. My roomate rides it, but he just rides on the tops, and never shifts so he doesn't care.

bikemig 

I had mixed feelings about my mtb drop bar conversion at first but it's grown on me. It makes a killer commuter bike:



Also a trekking bar on a mtb is an easy conversion and makes the bike a pretty good distance and mixed surfaces machine.

fietsbob

+1, on the Trekking bar MTB Conversion , But you gain a more comfortable foreward reach position the angle of the bars upside down rather than as shown in
13th post offers the *Mustache bar like set up (i've used those* Nitto bars and bar ends and pre aero road brake levers too .

Older now, I like sitting up more, so use a taller stem , Stem raiser, on my 26" wheel Trekking Bike, WB Bicycle Gallery: Robert Clark's Koga Miyata WTR

RaleighSport

Just one piece of input, do yourself a favor and skip old school brifters paired to mini v's.

crank_addict

sloar- For the conversion, perhaps you already have enough parts but something for a quick and easy is the Origin 8 road drop bar-ends. $20-25 is usually the going rate. I have a different brand that came out of Japan that has a traditional bend. Decided to trim an inch off each end of the straight bar and move the controls inward. Not for the paceline while in the drops but they're kind of neat.


Another consideration is the Origin 8 Tiki ($20).

wrk101

Really depends on your proportions. I have short legs and a long torso, so the "stretched out" nature of a drop bar conversion works well for me.

Sure, a vintage touring bike makes a nice alternative, but the cost of a nicer one is 3X what a nice MTB will cost.

To me, the drop bar conversion makes the perfect touring bike for less than ideal surfaces (think rail to trail, tow path, mix of gravel/dirt/whatever).

+10 Great workout/recreational/commuter/foul weather/whatever bike where speed is not critical.

John E

I still run a flat bar on my Schwinn, but I would not do that without the straight extensions on the end of the bar, which give me the neutral rotation handshake wrist orientation one gets with drop bars. I spend far more time with my hands on the extensions than on the main grips, although I like having both options and the ability to switch back and forth.

With my 4-finger motorcycle-style Shimano brake levers, I can even slow, but not panic-stop, without moving my hands from the extensions.

As for the 700Cx32 accommodation on a road frame, it depends on the brand of the tire. 32mm Specialized tires tend to match their callout size, but Continentals and several other brands run small. I run 700Cx28 Contis on the Bianchi, which could not handle 700Cx28 Specialized. Likewise, my son's Peugeot PKN-10 can take either 700Cx28 Specialized or 700Cx32 Vittorias or Contis for commuting.

Caliper

I threw Woodchippers on my 29er MTB. Love it. The bike is full modern though: went from a 3x9 drivetrain with hydro discs to 2x10 with cable discs. Overall, the sense of control off road is much improved (but I grew up on drop bars and never really liked the flat bar). Use the drops for descending and general riding or quick hills. Move to the hoods for longer climbs. The Woodchippers are supremely comfortable. I'm still making small tweaks to the brake lever position as I dial in the bar reach but in the mean time have been riding it without bar tape and have no comfort problems. Overall, one of the most positive changes I've made on any bike so far.

crank_addict

Have to agree and a very good summary. Have had great satisfaction with a '10 Giant Rapid 1, full rigid. Its sub 20 lbs. fully dressed. In reality, I don't need anything more. Have two sets of identical wheels but different tires and cog sets (knobby 700-34c and slicks 28c). I use it both on or off-road. Used in century rides to B-group roadies. Ridiculous simple, low end 105 with thumb shifters only added the road drop clamp ends. Often think of going with dual control but its senseless, works perfect without ever needing adjustments. No triple needed for off-road either.

Oddball bike, so generic named but performs quite well in most applications and far more lively than an old ATB conversion. But since we're all retro heads, what fun is it without having a beloved old ATB?

The Golden Boy 

It's interesting- I LOVE the idea of it, my 87 Schwinn High Sierra has cool to spare- all the nifty parts, all the braze ons, the black chrome... It's a cool bike- but it just doesn't work as a drop bar bike for me. I think I want to get a good wheelset for it- I think the front is fine with they Joytech / Araya, I had to replace the rear with a ??hub / Alex rimmed wheel. I'm also running 26 x 1.75 Paselas on it- I think the 1.5" would suit my riding a little better.

poke em

I just built one up yesterday. 1991 Trek 930 from craigslist. This is revision 1.0. I need a lighter set of tires, brifters, new brake shoes, cross levers and rebuild the rear wheel with a 8/9/10 speed cassette hub to set it up the way i want. I had to improvise a temporary rear shifter but it all works well.

lotekmod

I just took my Trek 750 (700c hybrid) drop bar conversion out yesterday for a first ride. I love the idea of this bike as a do everything machine, from road to mild singletrack, put full fenders on for sloppy weather, full racks for touring, etc. I too have a dedicated road bike and a fully modern 29er hardtail mountain bike, but sometimes the 29er seems like overkill and the road bike is too limiting for what I want to ride.

Unfortunately the ride yesterday showed the traditional drop bar just doesn't work for me. It worked fine on the road but as soon as I hit gravel I really wanted wider bars. I almost wiped out on the first gravel turn because I didn't have enough leverage to control the steering. I never noticed before how much less power you have when gripping traditional drop bars which orient your hands vertically. It's like- imagine doing a bench press with a lot of weight. You have your hands out wider than your shoulders and they are holding the bar horizontally relative to your body. Now imagine trying to lift the same weight with your hands 40cm apart and held vertically. That's how I felt on the Trek yesterday. Maybe it's also because I've moved to a 700mm wide bar on the MTB which give me lots of leverage. I think I also originally imagined this being more of a second road bike, but the mountain biker in me wanted to push it hard the second I left the asphalt.

I'll be ordering the On One Midge bar soon and I have high hopes that will make the bike feel perfect. The combination of multiple hand positions, short reach, and wide angled drops seems perfect. We'll see.

wrk101

In part, it comes down to what you want to do with it. Myself, I have set up my drop bar MTBs to mimic the geometry of my road bikes. I use them as road bikes/light trail bikes. I just like them.

Earlier on, I modified a mtb with trekking bars. That turned out very nice as well, the Nashbar trekking bars are cheap and well designed (do they still sell them?) Trekking bars can address some of the shortcomings of drop bars mentioned above.

Bikedued

You have to use a much shorter stem on some mtb's, to get rid of the stretched out feeling. On my drop bar 29er, the factory stem was 100 or 110mm. I am running a 60cm stem now, and it's perfect or close. If you use the same length as factory stem, then the forward extension on the drops, plus the hoods being even further out, then you are really out there.,,,,BD

Yes I know this is C&V. Posting this just to make a point.