JGSnCA

As biking goes I'm a relative novice so please go easy on me. I bought a hybrid bike about a year ago not truly understanding how I'd like to ride. Turns out I'm more partial to road biking versus casual rides on the hybrid. My question is can I convert this bike to a road bike by replacing the handlebars and would the bike function okay as a road bike. I'd rather not go through the expense of a whole new bike.

Here's the bike......

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...ury_pro_xi.htm

Again, go easy on this newbie. Thanks in advance for your help and advice.

koolerb

You can, but you may be better off just buying a bike with drop bars. The shifters are expensive.

Dunbar

Considering the bike already has mostly 10sp road components I'd say convert it. All you need is any new or used set of 10sp Shimano STI road shifters (Tiagra, 105, Ultegra for a triple crank) and mini-v brakes or a travel agents to work with your cantilever brakes. I would suggest replacing the brakes since travel agents aren't supposed to work very well (and cantilever brakes kind of suck to begin with.) You may need a shorter stem to get the right position once that frame has drop bars on it.

One more option for the brake conversion are the new "road V" brakes Shimano released for 2013. I would go that route if you can afford it since the braking performance will be the best:

BR-R573 - 105 V-Brake
BR-R463 - Tiagra V-Brake
BR-R353 - Sora V-Brake

merlinextraligh

Problem is the cost. If you go with 105 brifters to stay with the same grade components, you're looking at around $250 on line. Then $100 for handlebars and a stem (assuming he needs a different size stem) Cables, bar tape another $30-50.

That's without changing the brakes, which would add another expense. So, we're looking at an easy $300, and if you swap brakes, and spend a bit on the bars and stems, this could approach $500.

Also, the OP is a novice, and may not have the wrench skills or confidence to do the conversion himself, and the cost of buying all this plus labor from the LBS would be higher.

And you don't end up with an ideal road bike. That frame is basically a CX frame. If you compare the spec's to a comparable BD road frame, the most notable differences are that the Op's frame has significantly less drop, and a longer wheelbase.

Thus, you can spend a good percentage of what the bike originally cost, and still endup with a compromise.

Or you can sell the bike, and buy a comparable road bike. My bet is that the hit you take on depreciation on the old bike will be not much more than the cost of the conversion, and you'll end up with a bike that is spec'd to be a road bike.

rumrunn6

pretty expensive buyers remorse. flip it, get what your want, turn your head and spit. lesson learned. don't feel bad, you're not alone.

merlinextraligh

Another cheaper option if you don't want to go the sell and replace route would be to put handlebar extensions on this bike, and clipon aerobars. That could be done for under $100, and would give you multiple hand positions, and an aerodynamic position.

Biggest problem with that approach would be that you can't brake from those positions, and thus it wouldn't help if you want to do grop rides.

Another option is Cane Creek Speed bars, bolted onto your existing bars:



Although, you still have the braking issue, and they are no longer being made, so finding a pair in the right size could be an issue.

ericcc65

Yes, might be better off buying a new bike. It's more than handlebars you need. First of all, you probably have linear pull brakes instead of the road type calipers. So normal road shifters/brake levers won't work without an adapter. Or you could buy special brake levers that work with those brakes and run bar end shifters, which is the cheapest option. In any case you're looking at handlebar, cables, shifters, brake levers at the least.

generalkdi

You save a lot of trouble juste buying a new one.

Elduderino2412

you could spend around $400 converting it, and you still probably won't end up w/ the ideal geometry. I say just cut you loses, you probably spend about the same selling that one and getting a new one.

Dunbar

I normally wouldn't recommend it but the OP already owns a $1400 carbon fiber hybrid. It looks like the OP can pick up a set of 5600 105 shifters for around $200 on ebay. Bars and stems can be purchased for about $30/ea and the brake upgrade would only add about $50-60. Figure $80 in labor for a shop to install it and you're right around $400. The removed SL-770 flat-bar shifters can be sold on ebay for $70-80 to recoup some of the money. Selling the bike and buying something else is realistically going to cost the OP more than that. Although it really comes down to how much of a depreciation hit the OP would take selling the bike.

tagaproject6

Do the math. Look at all the components that need to be changed out during the conversion and price them out. Look at the labor involved and the skill you have.
Handlebars - Shallow drop, ergo, carbon vs aluminum, etc.
STI Levers - Shimano vs SRAM vs Campagnolo
Bar tape
Stem (you can probably keep the stock)
Cables
Brakes
Crankset - do you want compact, triple, double etc. (you can probably keep these as well)
Front Derailleur - You will need one that will be compatible with your STI Shifters
Rear Derailleur - This you can keep if you are going with Shimano or SRAM
Cassette - You can keep this
Chain - you can probably keep this as well.

Do you have the tools to make the conversion? Factor that in if you plan on buying the tools. Do you have the patience to seek out the parts to make it economical?

Johnny Alien

That has thumbie still shifters on it. It would be very easy to mount those on the top of the drop bars and get basic brake levers vs. brifters. It would be much cheaper and work fine. I have seen that done a bunch of times. And if that wasn't preferable you could do bar end shifters easier and cheaper too.

MattFoley

Wow, $1400 carbon hybrid from BD, I didn't realize there was such a thing...anyway, if it was a $500 steel hybrid, I'd say sell and replace. But in this case, I think conversion is the most cost effective option, especially since it seems that the geometry of this particular bike seems, at a glance, fairly close to a normal road bike.

RollCNY

Bar end shifters are the easiest, and you can get brake levers that have long pull for your current brakes.

The FD-773 uses MTB cable pull, so you either need a friction front shifter, or a new FD with STI shifters.

Nashbar Microshift 10 speed shifters routinely go on sale for $120, and include cables, but would require new FD as above and would require travel agents or new brakes.

I would bet you will need a shorter stem. Usually hybrids start with long ones to push you farther forward.

As a general comment, you can slam and flip your stem, get bar ends, and get much more aggressive on the current bike with little expense.

JGSnCA

I sincerely appreciate all the advice and good ideas. I don't have the technical know how to accomplish these conversions on my own, but I will take your ideas to a bike guy I know in town and see what I can do. I'll report back with what I've been able to accomplish (with pics of course). Thanks again everyone.

merlinextraligh

The higher dollar price of the bike does make the conversion start sounding more attractive. But the road bike version of his bike is available now on BD for $1199 ( although the specs are bit lower for components) so he needs to get about $700-900 to make it a wash compared to converting. And he would end up with a better geometry for a road bike.

Icculus21

I had a nice hybrid (Giant Rapid) and after about a year/year and half decided to convert it to drop bars. I only spent about $200-$250 doing it, but in hindsight I would have sold the hybrid as-is and put the money towards a new bike. At this point I just ended up buying a new road bike anyway and now selling my drop-bar hybrid, but the money put into the conversion is a loss.

The Rapids are pretty road-ready (actually considerred more of a flat-bar road bike) so I only needed the bar, tape, shifters, and cables. All other mechanical components like brakes, derailleurs, even the gearing is road. I wanted a 'real' road bike after riding a couple and felt there was actually a big difference in ride, handling, geometry, etc.

Check out the thread here: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...bar+conversion

There are actually a bunch of threads on conversions if you search around. But IMHO, just go for a new road bike.