Originally Posted by
Pompiere
The cheapest, easy route to flat bars would be to swap in a flat bar and a pair of brake levers. The current levers won't work with straight flat bars, since the curved levers will hit the bar before applying any significant braking force. If she also wants the shifting to be on the bars, then you would need a cable stop on the down tube and appropriate shift levers. Cable stops for mounting on that type of boss are hard to come by, but you could get a down tube clamp-on cable stop.
You can get a Schrader to Presta adapter that fills the space around the valve hole for a few dollars.
This was so helpful thank you!
Originally Posted by
The Golden Boy
Why do people dislike Schrader valves?
I don't care about Schrader vs. Presta- neither seems better or worse- if anything the Presta valves are more of a pain in the ass because you have to close them up after you're finished pumping, heck- they probably weigh more. I've read that people don't like the "larger hole" required for Schrader- but then are perfectly fine putting in Presta adapters... Is it that the "professionals" use Presta? or that boom bikes came with Schrader?
I just don't like having to switch my pump head over on my Leszyne pump.
Originally Posted by
TenGrainBread
What's wrong with Schrader valves?
You're going to have to spend money to make the bike rideable and safe, so I would just accept that and not try to get away with kludges like drop bar brake levers on a flat bar. The bike will need new tires and brake pads at the least. New cables and housing to get the best function from the shifters and brakes. So might as well plop down a little money for some decent short pull flat bar levers.
If you search "Dia Compe flat bar levers" on eBay you'll get quite a few $20 options. I'm assuming that's a 26mm stem clamp so find a swept back flat bar with that clamp diameter. Velo Orange makes some good ones that are cheap.
If you got a 60 or 70mm long stem and compact drop bars like the Soma Highway 1, and swapped the brake levers for Tektro or Cane Creek ones, that would drastically reduce the reach and drop and make the brake hoods a viable hand position, allowing you to keep it a drop bar bike.
I dislike Schrader valves because they're incredibly hard to use with my pump. It could just be a bad valve/pump combo but it's literally almost impossible to air up the tires.
I have a pair of crosstop levers, the kind that run inline for cyclocross bikes, would those be appropriate by themselves on a flat bar for this bike? Not sure if the cable pull is correct for cantis..