Fastfingaz

Want to turn road bike to hybrid,my question is after I change handle bar can I use the same brake and shifters by just laying them on the flatbar even if I have to extend the cables,has anyone done that , ,any insight appreciated,,,

CafeVelo

Nothing about any of this is a good idea. A road bike is not and cannot be a hybrid.

Bezalel

The bar diameters are different, the levers will be awkwardly located and the brake levers will probably hit the bar before stopping. What is your current setup? You'll need new shifters, brake levers and possibly a front derailleur.

Fastfingaz

I just want a more upright position I put a stem riser on it I want to know if it will shift as normal being in that position,,,

CafeVelo

Short answer: no it's a bad idea and you won't get what you want and you will spend a lot doing it.

Long answer: simply getting a flat bar won't make you more upright. You would change so much of your fit that the bike will be unpleasant to ride, plus parts won't swap natively, so you'd spend hundreds doing a hack conversion.

It never ceases to amaze me the way people try to mod their bikes into something they definitely are not. If you don't want a road bike, you can't make your road bike into something else, you have to buy the something else.

Fastfingaz

OK that's what I wanted to know ,hadn't considered the brake lever hitting the bar,I was going to look for a bar to match the diameter that's on there now so I can use the same stem,it's a adjustable,

NormanF

The cheapest conversion is to swap your drop bar for a moustache bar. You can keep your current road bike levers and shifters and they will now be in a more familiar position - you can install a stem riser and an adjustable stem to provide a more upright riding position.

Gresp15C

My spouse and I both own old road bikes, that were hanging on hooks in the garage. I can simply no longer ride a bike with drop bars. I put a swept bar on mine, and my spouse now has a MTB style bar on hers. Now the bikes are comfortable for us, and fun to ride. We ride them.

As others mentioned, the conversions involved pretty much the entire cockpit, including longer cables. Yet the parts were not hideously expensive.

In addition to the brake levers, there are some other pitfalls. The geometry might not be to your liking, but you can predict what to expect based on the dimensions of the old and new bars. A "real" hybrid is likely to accommodate wider tires, plus fenders.

ThermionicScott 

Just "convert" your road bike to dollars, and use those dollars to buy something that agrees with you.

zeeway

I have gone the other direction...converting a hybrid to a kinda road bike. Before I did this I compared basic frame dimensions, angles, etc. My conclusion was that there are only subtle differences (at least in Trek) from an fx hybrid to a basic Trek road bike. The main difference I saw was that the head tube/cockpit length was about an inch longer on the hybrid. So if you compared bare frames, it would be difficult to see the difference.

I changed the stem to make up for that difference. While the purists would not agree, I am happy with my conversion. My guess is as others have said, you may have to replace cables. By the way, you can replace the steerer tube on most hikes to raise the bars.

Fastfingaz

That's pretty much the intention, I may have through in confusion by using the word conversion. I just don't want drop bars and want the brakes on top ,,thank you all for your opinions

habilis

What's in a name? One person's definition of a hybrid may not agree with another person's.

My wife's old Dunelt 3-speed was all steel and weighed 28 lbs. The original Wright's "mattress" seat was uncomfortable, and most of the chrome was ugly. I installed an alloy touring bar with a longer stem, ergo grips, and straight alloy brake levers. The wheels are now alloy with Nexus 3-speed IGH and 1-5/8" knobby-tread tires. The bike weighs several pounds less and will shed more weight when I change the cottered steel crank to cotterless alloy. The most expensive upgrade was a Brooks saddle, but there are cheaper options.

By some standards, this bike isn't a hybrid, but it's much more comfortable to ride now, on or off the road (it can handle most gravel paths and rail-trails).

wrk101

+1,000,000 A quality used road bike in ready to ride condition will typically bring double what a similar hybrid goes for. Sell yours, pocket half the cash and use the rest to buy a hybrid.

I have done mustache bar conversions, the bars are available at a low cost. Depending on the shifters on your road bike, a mustache bar conversion can be the cheapest option.

Cost depends on the design of your road bike and your resourcefulness.

FastJake

I hear stuff like this all the time.

"Drop bars are uncomfortable, and hurt my back/neck/wrists/etc."
"I want flat bars so I won't be bent over so much."
"I'm too old to ride drop bars."
"I never use the bottom of the drops."

All of this is wrong! There is no problem with drop bars, they are the most comfortable style for long distance riding. The problem is the POSITION that they're usually in. Too low and too far away. Get them higher and closer and they'll be infinitely more comfortable. Flat bars only give you one hand position, drops give several.

Fastfingaz

Jake you're right on all that, the bike is full carbon,, and I did use it as intended or designed when I used to do duatholons in competition ,,, but I don't do that any more for some of the reasons you stated ,,I just want to get the brakes on top, shifters are dura ace diliurllers and brake calipers are 105's,,, I guess now thinking about it , maybe just putting interrupter brakes on the bar and be done ,,,,but the shifters would still be on the drop bar...

fietsbob

Posh Europeans like them as Fitness Bikes *, Here they are built around Hybrids wider 'cross' Tires .

*Campagnolo even made some special flat bar controls for that market segment.


Google Mustache bars

FastJake

If you're only using the tops of the bars that proves my point that they're too low and/or too far away.

Leave everything alone and just get a stem extender. Then you'll be able to correctly use the drop bars as they're meant to be used.

CliffordK

I think of Hybrids of heavy bikes with fat tires. Hard to make a road bike into that.

But, there are possibilities to make a flat bar road bike. And, it may be a better result than buying a clunky hybrid.

My father decided to put flat bars on his old Torpado. Of course, that had downtube shifters, so it just meant changing the bars and brakes. He enjoyed the outcome. I've seen classic Mixtes with both flat bars and drops.

Anyway, there are MTB parts that mirror the road parts. When did the STI compatibility change? Perhaps with 10 speed, but even then, it would mean more parts to change over.

eastbay71

I'm kind of surprised at the negative responses to this project. I wouldn't use the existing shifters and brake levers because I don't think they would work well with a flat bar but you can get an Altus groupset for around $150 that would include everything you need to do the flatbar conversion minus the flatbar.

I converted my brothers Cross Pro to 105 flatbar this summer and he loved it



And I've converted 3 mountain bikes to drop bar commuter bikes and have learned something from each project. The drop bar mountain bike thread is probably one of the most active and long lasting threads in C&V

cale

Sure you can convert a road bike to a flat bar bike. For most folks, it may be as simple as changing the handlebars and stem. That seems pretty easy. If you're on a 10 speed bike, you can pick up Tiagra flat bar shifters and a set of Tektro brakes with dual-pull capability. We're talking about a budget of $150 or less for the conversion.

Scan Craigslist for used mountain bike parts. Handlebars, stems, and shifters are all traded with great regularity.

Don't listen to those that tell you it can't or shouldn't be done. Life's too short to live by other people's "rules".

1983

Better let Diamondback know - the Haanjo can be had with upright flat bars as a hybrid (Metro) or with drops as a gravel road bike (Comp and Trail).

OP, do what you want with your bike.

Fastfingaz

Hey 1983,,, like I said before I may have thrown in some confusion when I wrote( convert) what I was thinking ,, change handle bars fit the shifter/brakes onto a flat bar and I already have an adjustable stem on the bike that gives me about 2.5 inches of height ,,and add some 700/28 tires and I'd be happy,,, my question was ,would the brakes/shifters still work being on a flat bar ,, well I just pulled on them and they do have a lot of travel before they grab, as someone pointed out , but I may be able to adjust them tighter so they'll grab before going all the way down,,,,thank you for your answer,,,,

Fastfingaz

eastbay I can consider 150.00 for the shifters if I have to go that way,,, I guess I didn't consider everything to what I had done in my head, I'm going to look for a mustache handlebar as someone suggested, we'll see how everything works out ,,, thanks ,,,

eastbay71

$150 is for the entire group. Shimano Acera M390 V-Brake Group Set

You could get the EF-51 shifter/brake combo levers for about $20. You may be able to get away with just them if they are compatible with your front derailleur and brakes. But I'm not sure what you're starting out with.

Shimano St EF51 7 Speed Disc V Brake Lever Shifter Combo for Bicycle Durable | eBay

1983

It depends on what brake/lever combo you're using. Cable pull is different for different styles and manufacturers. Eg, traditional road brake levers will not work with long-arm v-brakes because those brakes require higher mechanical advantage at the levers ie more cable pull.

Try to re-run the cables through the brakes and adjust the slack out at the barrel adjusters. If this doesn't help then I would suggest looking into the compatibility of your brakes and levers.