Originally Posted by
bkodres93
I inherited a 2003 Trek 7700 FX with a Deore XT groupset (with an SRAM 7.0 11-32, 9spd cassette, and a Deore 48/36/26 crank) last weekend from my grandfather-in-law, and I am trying to figure out whether I will be able to make a drop bar conversion with a set of brifters. Trouble is that I don't fully understand all of the info online about pull ratios and the difference between MTB and road shifters/derailleurs. Is the Deore XT an MTB groupset? Or is it road? (The bike, of course, is a hybrid.) Furthermore, I can't find the pull ratios for the Deore XT...
Would, for example, a set of Shimano Sora R3030 (3x9) brifters be compatible with Deore XT front and real derailleurs? If not—any suggestions for what set of brifters might work well? I would prefer to avoid having to get new derailleurs, a cassette, crankset, etc.
The Sora should work. An alternate is
MicroShift R9 which are pretty good and maybe a little cheaper. If you have a bicycle co-op near by or are willing to lurk on Fleabay, you might find a higher level shifter for just a little less.
The front derailer is going to be a problem. The XT is hard to get to play nice with STI. A road derailer works much better, although you will need to move the crank inboard because the road derailers don’t have the range of movement needed for the wider stance of a mountain crank. The crank may need a shorter spindle if it uses a square taper or Octalink or ISIS bottom bracket or you many need to move around some spacers if it uses an external bottom bracket.
Depending on the cable routing, there may be another issue that raises its ugly head. If the cables for the rear derailer are top tube routed, you’ll need a top pull front derailer which isn’t really something that is available for road bikes.