Giant Doofus 

Short version: Will Nitto North Road bars work on a Giant Cypress DX? The bike currently has a quill stem, flat bars, and grip shifters.

Longer explanation: My husband is slowly getting back into cycling, but is having some wrist discomfort on his Giant Cypress DX bike. He uses the bike for fairly short (15-30 mile) recreational rides and, except for the handlebars, likes his bike a lot. I'd like to swap out his handlebars for something more swept back to help with his wrist issues (he also wants to sit more upright).

What we've already tried: I put on a pair of bar ends and pointed them straight back toward the saddle just to find out if he really would like the more upright position and wrist position of swept back bars. He likes it a lot but wants his shifters and brakes where his hands rest. North road bars look like they fit the bill.

I've only recently begun working on my own bike. Is this a good project for a relative newbie? Anything a novice like myself is likely not to have thought of? Will I be able to use his existing shifters and brake levers?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or advice.

FBinNY 

No problem with making the swap, it's a fairly straightforward job and hard to mess up.

The key things to consider are related to the purchase. Bars have 2 important diameters.

1- the diameter of the raised section within the stem. This is probably 25.4" on your bars, but loosen the stem pinch bolt, move the bar over slightly and measure to confirm.
2- the diameter of the rest of the bar, which is important because it has to match all your brake and shift lever clamps, and things like clamp on bar ends. Steel bars are 22.2mm (7/8") , as are some aluminum bars, but others may be 23.8mm, matching the diameter of aluminum drop bars.

Installing the bar is easy, but the wrong diameters will mean difficulty, or needing new levers or clamps, so to paraphrase the Yankee carpenter "MEASURE TWICE, BUY ONCE"

Giant Doofus 

Thanks! Do you think I'll need to re-cable to brakes and shifters to accommodate the longer distance to the end of the bars?

FBinNY 

Impossible to say from here in NY, but maybe you can sort of eyeball where the levers will end up and decide. Consider buying the cable kit just in case. If you don't need it now, you'll use it later on because cables and housings are wearing parts.

Giant Doofus 

Thanks again. I'm going to place the order in the next day or two with the hope that everything will arrive by the time we get home from vacation. I'll be sure to measure twice so I only have to order once!

fietsbob

probably..