Originally Posted by
staehpj1
It can, but doesn't have to be that big of an issue. In most cases you could just swap bars, brake levers, and shifters. I can't think of a combination where you have to change derailleurs or crank because of drop bar conversion swap as long as you pick the levers and shifters with that in mind. Personally I'd probably not want to spring ($$$) for brifters and would likely go with down tube shifters. That is what I am running on my two lightweight touring bikes and the setup worked out well on my fairly recent southern tier ride.
True enough! If you're willing to use friction shifters and pick your brake levers carefully, you can get away without needing to worry about derailleurs, cranks, brakes, etc. That's not a compromise I'd be willing to make, but if you're on a budget and not wedded to indexed shifting, it could definitely work.