Get a room guys. There's an OP here that wants advice on converting to drops. Not petty bickering and point scoring over pros and cons of drops or flat bars.

[strike]I'm siding with qmsdc15.[/strike] I'm siding with fairmuff. If you want to fight this out, take it to PM chat.

I have given Georgel my advice. Have you? Do you have something to offer the OP?

Welcome to the hybrid forum, Georgel Excellent question.

That Raleigh is a sweet looking ride, and has some road stuff already. In going drops, probably the first question you need to answer is:

How do you want to shift? Friction or Index? Friction is easy, as you will prolly be stem mount or bar end, and then all of your current components will work swimmingly. Indexed will mean that you need to get integrated shifter / brake levers (sometimes referred to as brifters), which can be a pricey item, and you will need to get 9 speed ones. Friction cares not for number of speeds on your cassette, but indexed shifters must match.

Now everyone can correct me if I am wrong, but I think Sora and Tiagra have nine speed versions, and I know that Microshift does as well. I have played with the Microshift, and they are not bad. No experience with the others. You will want to get a left shifter set for triple to cover the current crank.

You will need a new front derailleur. The R4403 is road bike crank with mtb throw, designed for flat bar shifters. Anyone's triple road front will work, including SRAM, Shimano, and again Microshift.

Brakes are another potential issue. You definitely need different cables (barrell end vs. round end). Once you have the cables switched, your new levers (be they brake only or shifter / brake / brifter) may have the wrong throw for your brakes (shorter throw than MTB levers). I have heard conflicting stories, and have no experience with this. I do know that ProblemSolvers makes a little cable dohickey to adjust for this if needed.

Good luck. The Bike Mechanics forum may have also been a good spot to post this.

No I haven't, and no I don't. However, I'd be surprised if the OP (on his/her very first post) was expecting or is helped very much by the responses given. Generally, they haven't been very constructive have they?

Yeah, I'm the only one who gave good advice, but the others tried.

You are right. I should have started another thread to begin this discussion. My reaction to a remark sent this thread off the rails. Apologies to the OP.

IMHO, there is some sage advice here, and some sarcasm. It is the discerning eye that can separate the two.

Although I put it in a humorous (sarcastic?) way, I do believe Georgel should get the road bike he or she wants rather than try to make one out of the hybrid.

And I'm siding with AlphaDogg.

Those who are fighting, stop. This is unfair to the OP. Take it to TH.

Back on topic -

While I am pretty new here - and my knowledge and experience are limited -

I think the original poster should also consider geometry and whether that lends itself to such a conversion.

FWIW, I bought a hybrid to get into biking and roughly 30 days later bought a road bike. For me, the road bike is a lot more comfortable to ride. I'm 65 and while not in bad shape for my age, I do have some quite minor issues. In my case, I do a whole lot better with hand issues, arm issues, other issues on the road bike. Not to mention it handles better and I am far more stable on it.

Granted, the road bike I went to has a MSRP about 4 times that of the hybrid - but I believe a good bit of my preference is due to my personal physical attributes and the geometry of the road bike.

As for "riding in the drops" I don't believe that is nearly as large an issue as the multiple hand positions and different shifting geometry of "drop bars"

You know, you seem far to prone to throwing out the "hater" epithet at even the tiniest provocation. You did it to me (did not appreciate it one bit) and you are doing it again. Once again, one has to wonder where the heck that came from.

Since I´Ve been handing out my point of view in a friendly way, I dont feel guilty in any way. I´ve said it before, I see no point in these comparison between road and hybrid. But many posters have been engaged in that same question before as I recall it.

Just to side with anyone is offering NO RESPONS to OP. Is there experience behind the siding? Thats just scoring another post!

It has come to my attention that flat bars are not allowed in UCI sanctioned cyclocross races. So you are wrong again.

qmsdc15~ you've been hostile from your first response to this post...it's silly to say otherwise. i know you're not always so, as i've seen other posts. cool it, this isn't politics or religion.


+1 for drop bars in the wind (i have flat bars)
+1 for flat bars along a scenic ride (nice to look around)

Also, to the OP...I'm working on a drop bar conversion now...do your research, my shifters led to deraleurs led to a cassette led to a crank which came with a chain and ultimately led to tools cuz i have no more money for a mechanic!

Don't fling your poo at me monkey boy.

You don't know what you're talking about. Cool it.

You can set drop bars above saddle height (well you can't without help but someone with a modicum of knowledge and mechanical skill could) and one can set up flat bars 5 inches below saddle height.

Handlebar shape is unrelated to handlebar position, a rider's aerodynamics or his ability to view scenery!

My first response to your post was indeed hostile, but I think you were trying to say that my first response in this thread was hostile. I've quoted my first post in this thread here and I believe it is completely free of hostility and to suggest otherwise would be silly, not to mention deceitful and slanderous. Shame on you. Bad monkey!

the hybrid forum is usually so friendly. it sucks that you're trying to mess that up.

I just looked the bike up and it appears you already have 10 speed equipment, so all you have to do is buy whatever shimano road brifters are within your budget. As for the bars, that's up to you. I personally use ergonomic bars as opposed to the traditional bars, but that's up to your preference (note your stem / bar size is 31.8) . You don't have to change anything else because your bike has complete road components. To be honest your bike doesn't look anything like a hybrid so I can't work out why Raleigh would classify it as a "Performance Hybrid". There are no MTB parts visible to me, so I'd suggest it's a flat-bar road bike before a hybrid. Anyway, that makes it all the more easier to convert.
Happy shopping.

edit...Nice bike BTW

Agreed. This thread will now be closed.