I converted my 1997 Nishiki Blazer 3x7 straight-bar MTB commuter to drop-bars today.

In my mid 40's I began developing "crampy hands". Back then this was my only bike and I added inboard bar ends and then aero bars to give me multiple hand positions. Ten years ago I acquired a 1984 Nishiki International 12-speed with drop bars and they were much better on my hands. Four years ago I bought a new Charge Plug 2x8 drop-bar road bike to be my new main commuter. With foam pipe insulation for padding I found I could ride both those drop bar bikes for hours and hours with no hand issues.

Because the Blazer is old, not worth much, and functions as my studded-tire snow and ice bike in the winter, I wanted to spend as little money as possible. There is a now a bike co-op in Colorado Springs and I found a compatible stem and drop bars for $15. I had my LBS add V-brakes a few years ago and I really like them. Ideally I would have used V-brake compatible brifters, but new, those would be worth more than the bike, and used...well, I couldn;t find 'em locally. So I bought new Tektro V-Brake drop-bar brake levers for $29.95. A dive into the parts bin at the co-op netted me a pair of thumb shifters for $3 each, including a Shimano 7-speed indexed thumbie. New cables and and least a short length of shifter and brake cable guides were necessary. (The Blazer had a three-speed indexed rapid/crossfire front shifter that never worked right, so I just used a simple friction shifter for the front.)

The downtube on the Blazer is too fat for downtube shifters, I had bar-stem shifters in high-school and college and didn;tlike them, so decided I wanted bar-end shifters; but even used, they were too expensive for my build, so I mounted the thumb shifters at the bar-ends and they function like out-board bar-end shifters; although they can catch a finger between the bar and shifter if not careful.

I haven't done any mechanical project this ambitious on a bike in 25-years and it took me 6 hours from when I startrd to remove the old handle bars to putting the bell and horn on the new bars.

To my utter surprise the 7-speed indexed shifter worked on the first try! The friction up front shifter seems to have been a good idea as is is less troublesome fthan the indexed one it replaced.

The brakes feel just as slack-free and powerful as with the original levers.

I am thrilled with how this turned out, especially given my fairly basic mechanical skills.

Before:

After:


I cannot wait to ride to work Tuesday, and I especially can't wait for snow and ice!