cormacf

Fantastic. Grippy, super-comfortable, and I've gone as far as 44 miles in a stretch with a ton of stuff in the panniers (plus, with the lights, bell, a tube and patch kit, and a lock, that bike is already 32 pounds with the bags otherwise empty except). It was supposed to be a 20-miler, but I was having a lot of fun bouncing over cracks in the San Gabriel Bike Trail that made all the guys on 23s and 25s wince, so I just kept riding. I only rode over glass once, though, so i can't speak to puncture-resistance, but it's so much more comfortable than a true commuting tire, so for now, I'm more than happy with the trade-off.

Plus, it matches the saddle and bar tape!

P.S. Just did 60 much faster miles on the same tires in 700x28 on my roadie. Not nearly as cushy, but much nicer than the old Continentals I had on there.

cormacf

Sorry -- I missed this. The headbadge was from a great guy down in San Diego. Here's his etsy shop:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/InsigniaWorks

robl110

Any recommendations on a new stem that has 31.8 bar clamp?

Stock info:
Stem Sameness MS-141S-8 AheadSet, Sameness alloy, Aluminum
Headset 1 1/8" threadless Tange-Seiki STE, 1 1/8" Tange-Seiki ST-E, 1 1/8" threadless Tange-Seiki RBC-2

Bicycle Addict

Hi Rob, check my post above talking to Hank, the one on my bike is a BBB but you can also get similar from Origin 8 etc. Amazon is a good place, I think looking at you set up you will need 100-120mm

robl110

Walked out in the garage and look what I found from my fat bike. Bontrager RL 120mm plus 7 degree. Looks like I will need a spacer.

robl110

hankaye

robl110, Howdy;

Looks like it fits nicely, and I'm betting you feel lucky you had the right part on hand.
But my question is, is it going to be tall enough that you won't feel like you're going
down hill on an incline when you elect to ride in the drops? That's my main concern
and why I'm having the LBS wait till I see for myself how much tube is needed for me
before we cut it. Can always make it shorter later a lot more expensive to try to make it longer ...
I'm interested in your thoughts and what you experience with this conversion.

hank

robl110

Hi,
I have no idea. I have the same concern. I may end up needing more rise and a longer stem. Going to give this stem a try since I had it hanging around.

Bicycle Addict

I have 2 of these one at 90mm and the other at 110mm for this exact reason, the height of your bars ergonamically will have your neck shoulder spine area feeling quite fatigued and sore on long rides.
Going with what you have is the way I do things as well and then after some rides take some notes and hit the Internet for the correct parts.

Build coming along nicely Rob.

robl110

Thanks! Making a note to try a bbb. Did you see they have an adjustable, tempting.

Barchettaman

This an interesting article about a shifter pod ´hack´ to get trigger shifters on modern oversized (31.8mm) drop bars. The guy uses seat post clamps to mount them:

Installed trigger shifters on a 31.8 drop-bar today- Mtbr.com

hankaye

robl110, Howdy;

Sittin' here sippin' on my coffee and contemplateing the lint in my navel ...
I see an arm (stem), holding a set of bars at 'X' distance from the Head set.
As the arm is raised the distance from the head set to the bars (horizontal
fixed point), decreases. That length is made up by the reach of the drop bars
to the outside of the drops curve where the 'Hoods' are. My brain is using a
draw bridge as it's example ... (?), so, I'm thinking that the reach of the dirt drops
should (?), make-up what is lost by raising the bridge **********? Coffee can only
help but so much , . I'm sure there's a math formula out there somewhere
that covers this I'm just not that mathematically inclined ...

hank

Pompiere

Like this: Stem Comparison Tool | yojimg.net

hankaye

Pompiere, Howdy;

Yea, exactly like that, except one also needs to figure in the amount of drop in the
bars being installed to keep the hand height where it was before (status quo), when
in the drops and that can be seen when moving the Blue arm in and out and up an
down and watching the caption beneath the chart... Brilliant!
Thanks for the link, apparently someone thought of this and had the wherewithal to
write a program for it.

hank

Bikedued

I know, completely off topic now, but for the record. No more drops. Picking up some locking grips and inner brake cables on Saturday, to ride it Sunday. The adjustable leverage speed dial levers should help dial in the brakes a little closer to what I want. These bars are wider than the bench seat in my 50 Ford truck, hehe. Yeah I will fix the backwards stem cap. This stem is nicer than most I've had, and should handle my riding since it is an all mountain model.,,,,BD

35mm

I've read through most of this epic thread. Awesome bikes! I have a question I haven't seen answered here. If it was addressed and I missed it, I apologize.

As your hand position moves forward, as it might on the hoods, for example, what effect does that have on steering or handling?

I'm all fired up now to rethink my '88 Hardrock.

Pompiere

Most people end up using a taller stem with less extension to get their hands in about the same position that they had with flat bars. If they are looking for a bike to do the conversion, they might get a larger frame than they would normally ride, in order to use a shorter stem. Some MTBs have a more aggressive position and don't work as well for drop bar conversions.

35mm

Okay, that makes sense. My Hardrock is just a smidge smaller than I'd like, so a little longer reach would be good (I think). I bought it on a whim, and, well...you know. Thanks for the info.

Bicycle Addict

A thing to remember too is that the more high end the frame the more work in stem height is needed, anything post 90 they went shorter in seat post tubes and more often than not head tubes as well this was in an effort to lower the top tube as you were flying over bumpy terrain, from what I have seen it is middle of the line up back that is more easy to do a drop bar conversion with.
With a lower Head tube in other config's you can go for a greater angle in stem and then go to a riser bar, with the drop bar config you are limited to your stem alone.

BigSung

Finally started to work on 2nd drop bar conversion. The exact year is unknown; however, it's pointing to either 90 or 91 Specialized RockHopper Sport. I am still waiting on few parts, but initial mock up in progress.

I temporarily put on Salsa Cowchipper 2 handlebar that I bought for my Salsa Vaya. I will be using the Salsa Cowbell from my Vaya once I swap them out.

As for brakes, I am debating if I should go with Cantis or mini-Vs (tektro RX5).

robl110

Looking good!

robl110

I got a XLC high rise stem 120mm +40 for $25 on Amazon.

ksryder

Cowchippers finally in stock? Those things have been like hens teeth.

BigSung

Yup, just got it from my LBS. I got the 46cm width one since I am pretty wide. On a hindsight 44cm width my have been a better choice. The wider width changed the geometry a bit to a point that I might have to go with a shorter stem.

Bicycle Addict

Sounds great, be interesting to see how much bar lift you get with that on, should be good.