Inertianinja

i have a relatively new Jamis Allegro 2.0 (2009). it has a flat bar up front, which i'm kind of regretting right now.

took it to LBS, they said $350 to change to a drop bar with Tiagra shifters. (the bulk of the price being the new tiagra shifters, obvs). he recommended i sell my bike and get a new road bike. i'm not into that.

on ebay, i see this: '08 Tiagra shifters, 9 speed, $40 + shipping.
link:
https://cgi.ebay.com/New-08-Shimano-S...#ht_863wt_1064

what do you think? that would make the conversion significantly less expensive.
anything i should look out for?

roadflare16

well considering theres still 5 days left on that i'm assuming about 17 other people are going to join in before it's over and that's going to end somewhere around $200. If all you want is drop bars, you can A do it yourself, and B get something cheaper for the time being like sora shifters. nashbar.com has great deals but i've heard issues of identity theft coming from their lack in security. i'm sure if you look around you could do it yourself for $100 or less, especially if you do happen to find a good deal on ebay.

Ware

Dear OP,

Buy these: https://www.amazon.com/Origin-Bicycle.../dp/B0013G6PB8 ... and then wrap them with some bar tape.
I did on my Trek 7.2fx, and havn't used the flat bars since. Yes, shifting and braking can be a a little bit exciting, but you get used to it.
You will never make your hybrid into a road bike, but you can approximate the riding position.

halfspeed

This is almost never a cost-effective operation, and the geometry may still not be right when it's done.

Inertianinja

those bar ends are an interesting idea. im just looking for some more hand positions....though i'm thinking it'll look a little weird with the standard brakes.

MONGO!

Sell your bike and buy a road bike.

Bacciagalupe

If you're looking for extra hand positions, converting to drop bars is not a cost-effective method.

Just get a pair of good bar-ends (of any sort), and while you're at it get a set of Ergon grips -- or just get the Ergon GC3's or GR2's. The Ergons will help a lot in the standard position, and switching back and forth to the bar-ends will do the job.

Best of all, this will cost you much less than the conversion, and you can even do it yourself.

Ware

" those bar ends are an interesting idea. im just looking for some more hand positions....though i'm thinking it'll look a little weird with the standard brakes. "

Oh, it takes Fredly to a whole new level. However, it's functional, especially if you just want more hand positions. Its even possible to brake (to a full stop) from what would be the hoods.

Meh, works for me... for now. Heres a few pictures.

Tortuga!

Ditto. Sell your straight bar and buy a road bike from CL. Save the $50 here and $75 there for "trying out", "for now", and "band aid" fixes. Plus all of the headaches and missed great riding time screwing around with the whole mess.

thirdin77

This is a common topic.

I think a lot of us who buy these type of hybrid bikes buy them as our first bikes as adults- the first bikes we've had since we were kids- and we quickly develop a sentiment for these bikes. Then, after having ridden these bikes for several months, we test ride a few road bikes and like the speed, handling and responsiveness of those bikes and want to make our hybrids feel more like a road bike but even if you make changes to a hybrid, it'll still be a hybrid. It won't have the feel of a road bike.

Get some Drop Ends, they're made by Origin8, and try those but ultimately, a bike that comes with drop bars is best.

If you want a bike that is very similar to your hybrid in terms of ruggedness, steering stability, ability to run wide tires and fenders and maybe a rear rack, but you want it to have drop bars, then get a cyclocross or a touring bike. If you really like Jamis bikes, you can get an Aurora.

roshea

I followed that link, but this makes no sense to me:

nodachi

I have those origin 8 drop bar ends. I wanted the road bike conversion because I didn't have money for a new bike yet. $20 for the bar ends. A few months later I got tired of moving my hands to the brakes so I got a cheap set of $20 road brake levers, attached them to those bar ends, and now I have a "road-ish" bike. I don't mind moving my hands to the shifters because it is similar to someone who might have downtube or bar end shifters, but I wasn't willing to be attacking steep hills and stuff with hidden streets and driveways without having quick access to brakes anymore.

Morale of the story, no it's not a perfect road bike, but for $40, it sure feels like it to someone who doesn't know any better.

I considered changing the stem if it didn't fit well, but not everyone will have to do that. And some advantages are that for my commute, my hybrid has longer chainstays than road specific (non touring) bike so it helps with my panniers. It may not be a road bike, but it has some advantages that some road bikes don't.

cyccommute 

+1

2 days left and the price is already at $150. You can buy the same at Jenson for $115. Fleabay is so dumb

Inertianinja, $350 isn't that bad a price for a shop to do the work. You could save around $100 by doing it yourself. I encourage people to learn how to work on their bikes, however changing from flats to drops (or vice versa) isn't cheap. Sometimes it's just best to cut your losses and buy a new bike. Remeber, you always have 1 less bike then you need/want

n00bL35

:rollseyes:

Actually, that's $115 for one shifter, and $229 for a pair. Ebay: not as dumb as one guy thinks...

daven1986

I did it to my specialized globe sport disc, and I recommend selling your flat bar bike and getting a new bike. My hybrid conversion never felt like my road bike - yes it is a nice bike and I'd do the conversion again BUT if you have the choice then sell up.

roadiejorge 

+1

mattm3

Or instead of bar ends, look for a trekking bar. Use all your flat bar levers and such, get more hand positions than you would with bar ends and keep a more upright riding position. You can get them on eBay or Nashbar for around $20 and do the switch yourself.

Kenbone

+1

diziet

What kind of mileage are you looking at putting on that bike? Be ready to twiddle with your cable tension and derailers every 50 miles!

thirdin77

I actually had some trekking bars on my Marin Muirwoods and they gave extremely good leverage for pulling up when sprinting but I always found braking awkward since it was done at a hand position closer to the saddle.

Worth a try but.. still not a road bike.

Cycho

+2

+100 on the other posts that say the geometry won't work and it's better to either sell this bike and get a road bike, or keep this bike and get an additional road bike. That's what I ended up doing. Bought a Trek Hybrid (7200) last year as my first bike, used it as a commuter, did 75 miles of the NYC century on it. Added bar ends, a rack, clipless pedals and use it for riding around town. Bought a road bike this year.

citizenerased

I did this. Sold my hybrid/fitness bike for $510 and got my new-to-me used bike for $620 for much better components (centaur/record mix) than I could for a new bike.

It is a much better option. Buying a couple years used for 500-700 even and getting 200-300 for the Jamis (looks like you could get quite a bit more from the MSRP at the website) would offset the franken-conversion you'd get at the LBS.

PrestonNg

Here's what I did for my bike, it's an 05 Trek 7200fx bought in 2006, just converted the bars this year. I was using regular bar ends for about 2 years before this.


RL520's with Jagwire barcons fitted with some old shimano friction shifters. Total cost was about $100