Flat bar to drop bar conversion Help please
 

Hi I have a giant fastroad advanced 1, love the bike but I think the time has come to move to drop bar,
in not a serious cyclist and I'd hate an aggressive set up.

But think I'd appreciate the narrower grip plus my hands are often uncomfortable despite having ergon gp5 grips, I find the additional hand positions the ergon offers put my wrists at an uncomfortable angle .

I know I'd need new shifters handle bar redo cables etc which is fine, and I think the geometry would work out reasonably OK.

But I've read that I may also have issues with the brakes??
having never had a drop bar I've no understanding of compatibility issues, could anyone please tell me if these brakes would be compatible with drop bar shifters
I will include picture, thanks in advance
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f65ada3108.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6366a0131d.jpg

Do you have hydraulic brakes? Drop bar brifters (combined shifters + brake levers) only exist for 10 or more speed drivetrain. In principle there are no 9 or 8 speed hydraulic brifters. If you are going this route, brifters will cost more than the brake calipers anyway.

You may be able to use something like TRP Hylex levers with your brakes + bar end shifters.

If you use levers for cable actuated brakes you will need to get new calipers.

Edit: you may also ask moderators to move this thread to the mechanics section, it has more views.

Focus first on your drivetrain, then brakes. What integrated shifters w hydraulic brakes are available for your derailleurs? Then start researching if the shifters will operate your brakes.

handlebars, shifters, derailleurs, hydraulic lines...likely you will need longer lines...handlebar tape and that should do it.
If you feel you are a bit lower than you prefer you can either flip the stem if that raises it or replace with one that angles up to give a more comfortable position.
While you're at it you should replace the hydraulic fluid...just to give it a good flush and have new fluid in the lines...may as well considering the work you will be doing.
May as well replace the shifter cables and housings as well...
Cross compatibility of the drive train may be a problem but since you give no details on the system no info is offered thus full replacement.
The brake calipers should work with any hydraulic brifter.

Surly make the Corner Bar that lets you put your drop bar levers and shifters on a drop-style bar. That may be a good thing to experiment with to see if you prefer the drop position.

https://surlybikes.com/uploads/parts...-1000x1000.jpg


https://surlybikes.com/parts/corner_bar

Either try the Corner Bar or get yourself a drop bar bike. Going from Drop to flat is cheap enough generally so it isn't a bad thing but going from flat to drop is expensive and not really exceptionally worth it when you can keep the current bike and get a new one as well. Plenty of awesome drop bar bikes that are not aggressive.

Adjust your Ergon grips and that might help your situation as well. It could be the angle of the paddles is wrong for you and you need to move it up or down to make it more comfortable.

My EG5 grips are pointed closer to 45 degrees and I find it comfortable. I would try this small adjustment first rather than going through costly bar swap.

Thanks everyone for all the replies and info, the bike set up is shimano 105 2x11, hydraulic brakes.

so i assumed a 105 drop shifter would be compatible with dérailleurs brakes etc ? But was doubting myself when I read that break calipers may also be an issue as I had no idea why that would be so.

I have that bike which I upgraded from its aluminium carbon forked ancestor the fastroad sl1.
Which I also still have plus I've a run around trek fx 2

So I don't really want to buy another bike and I feel if lose to much selling the carbon advanced and would end up with an inferior bike.

Hard to sell anything at the moment, i had the sl1 up for sale but didn't even get an offer at half price on a 1 year old bike in pristine condition.

The issue with my ergon gp5 is they make the handle bar wider than if like even after taking 10mm off each end, and I find if I use the side grips my hands are angled left and right slightly from my wrists and I can't shorten the bar and further .

so if it was just a case of handlebar, shifters, brake lines, bar tape , adjustable stem I'd probably consider it worth it , but if I had to change dérailleurs and calipers as well if say , too much

Technically do-able, but dayum, just checked the cost of 105 2x11 sti hydraulic shifters and it's crazy. Like $450. Ultegra are, of course, even more.

it’s so nice to have 2 bikes tho

You could save yourself a lot of time, money, and effort by just installing a set of clamp-on aero bars. Without them on my utility bike, I'm good for maybe an hour of riding at most before my hands start to quit. With them, I'm happy to do 4 or 5 hours, and have done so often. In fact, that's now the bike I use for training in cold weather and on rainy days. Average speed is higher, too.

I tried those. they were interesting & useful. but the angle of straight bars makes the bolt-on drops unusual. wound up getting a drop bar bike for when I wanted that position

I did a flat to drop conversion back in the days of mechanical discs. Those were the days. Honestly, the posters suggesting a drop bar bike purchase are not wrong. There is, however, another way if the o.p. is willing to 'downgrade' the braking to mechanical disc. They are perfectly fine. Brifters to suit a set of TRP dual puck disc (Spyre) should be reasonable as, of course, are the Spyres themselves. Drivetrain will not need to be touched. The last couple of projects I've done have involved used parts. I never considered used components before Covid. Now I buy all kinds of things used and I'm saving a ton of money.

What do you mean by "bolt-on drops"? Aero bars don't incorporate drops.

Hi BT. , these should be compatible, yes ??
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...50ae6712ab.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c1db89f55a.jpg

rumrumrun I've 3 at moment 🙈

But would you not be constantly moving hands back and forth to change gear brake etc

:thumb: excellent

oh whoops, my bad, I read 1 thing & thought of something very different
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d60d11040a.jpg


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...201644cb0e.jpg

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6db4f0372e.jpg

That's the beauty of the combination of flat bars and aero bars. In traffic or approaching intersections, you'd use the flat bar, with all the controls in their familiar places. Once you're away from traffic, you use the aero bars.

Come to think of it, in areas where I want the security of having a hand near a brake lever, I spend a good proportion of ride time with one forearm and hand on the aero bar and the other (usually the right) on the grip of the flat bar. That way, I can brake and shift while still supporting most of my upper body weight on the forearm pad. (Sounds complicated, maybe, but very easy to get used to.)

I handy addition on my drop bars 😁

I looked to see if those are hydraulic and I don't *think* they are.

Back in the 1900s, a threw a pair of 1", 100psi tires on my Gary Fisher mountain bike, added a rear rack, a handlebar bag, and a pair of Cinelli Spinacci bars on the flat bars and rode from Oakland to LAX on the PCH. With the Spinacci and the bar ends, I had plenty of hand positions. So maybe a set of short aerobars is all that the OP needs to find multiple hand positions. As with all aerobars, not great to use in traffic or busy situations, but sometimes all that you need for comfort is a little break from time to time from the same position.

One thing I've also noticed about Ergon grips is that proper adjustment is key. I try to set mine up so that my wrist is nearly straight; I see many setups where the wrist is bent pretty radically.

If I got these shifters and a 10 speed cassette, would that do the trick?
or I could get the full set ??
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f9203c189a.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4269a78534.jpg

I think 4700 are also cable actuated. Hydraulic levers are 4720 or 4725: https://productinfo.shimano.com/#/spec