# drop bars on mtbs



## Licramite (27 Nov 2012)

Hi , been looking at Mountain Cross ? - seeing mtbs with drop bars , what do you think.
the bikes don,t seam to have suspension on them.

just wondering if anyone has experience of them, I need something to make my mtb more roadworthy as it goes like a wheelbarrow on the roads , better riding position might help I was thinking.


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## RecordAceFromNew (27 Nov 2012)

Licramite said:


> Hi , been looking at Mountain Cross ? - seeing mtbs with drop bars , what do you think.
> the bikes don,t seam to have suspension on them.
> 
> just wondering if anyone has experience of them, I need something to make my mtb more roadworthy as it goes like a wheelbarrow on the roads , better riding position might help I was thinking.


 
The two issues arising are incompatibility between a) drop bar sti indexed levers and mtb front mech if you have a Shimano triple system (since road and mtb front mech chainline and cable pull requirements are different), and b) brakes (since road and mtb brake cable pull requirements are different - unless your mtb has canti's). In other words if you have/want canti's and only want a double chainset then it is relatively easy.

Otherwise drop bar brake levers (not sti) do exist for V brakes. Similarly one can get thumb/bar-end shifters for the gears. But choice is limited in both cases, and you lose the convenience of having brifters.

Is the mtb feeling like a wheelbarrow because it hasn't got high pressure slicks? Or have you tried a) flipping the stem, b) longer stem, and/or c) bar-ends to give you a more aerodynamic posture?


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## lulubel (27 Nov 2012)

Do you mean cyclocross? I've never heard of mountain cross.


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## Cyclist33 (27 Nov 2012)

Presumably by "mtbs with drop bars" and no suspension, you mean cyclocross bikes?

Which are more in the spirit of road bikes with off-road tyres than mountain bikes with drop bars.

I strongly suspect the mtb sluggishness you describe is because full off-road tyres make riding on the road sluggish in almost every make and model of tyre. So put some of these on and have done with it... 

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-ci..._campaign=uk&gclid=CM2owueU8LMCFWbKtAodVWEAXw


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## Peter88 (27 Nov 2012)

+1 for the City Jets the 1.5's are faster but the 1.9's look better on a MTB. The 1.5's also run at a higher pressure 80psi compared to 65psi for the 1.9's. Have used then for 2 years now had 1 p******e and replaced the 1st set 2 weeks ago after wearing them out.


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## Drago (27 Nov 2012)

I used 1.9 Cityjets thinking that a 242+lb ruder and crisp country roads would make them a necessity but they're total overkill. I'll use the 1.5s next time.


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## zizou (27 Nov 2012)

I think you may mean monster cross rather than mountain cross. Basically these are mostly like cyclocross bikes with clearance for wider tyres and simply adding drop bars to a mountain bike (particularly a 26er - you might get away with it on a race orientated 29er) isnt going to make it a good ride as the geometry is going to be all wrong.

Try getting some slick tyres and a set of bar ends, that will help you with speed on the road.


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## Licramite (28 Nov 2012)

Monster cross - thats it. - what the hell is that?

yea I have knobbly tyres on the Mtb I should get a set of Off road/On road tyres
and fit the bar ends, I've fitted my clipless pedals and want to train on those , If I'm going to fall lets make it free from traffic and soft (if not spiky ) just waiting for the ground to dry out or its take the water wings with you.

last foray into the woods . I was carrying the bike past a swamp, slipped, ended up on my bum, the bike dropped and cracking me right on the nose, helmet saved me as I pushed it off it fell back so I head butted it out the way. nose bled like buggery.


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## oliver (28 Nov 2012)

My monster cross!!! - best non road bike I've ever owned! - not to many compatibility issues if you stick to shimano 9 speed


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## dan_bo (28 Nov 2012)

old news


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## Licramite (28 Nov 2012)

Hmmm maybe this is what I,m after , hazard a guess it has 27" wheels 48/42/34 chainring 18gears - or similar

allot of my longer routes pan out at 50/50 track-trail/road so the old Mtb is great for half the job and rubbish for the other half. At present I have to take my tourer/hybred which isn't ideal on the off road bits.

looking on the web it seams the classic monster cross has no suspention , which might be a bit bouncy.

cheers, shall have to check out my local bike shop.


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## Bodhbh (28 Nov 2012)

Singular do a drop barred MTB - the Gryphon. Also the Peregrine, which you can setup as a 'monster cross' bike with fat knobblies and drops.

http://www.singularcycles.com/shop/index.php/frames/singular-gryphon.html

I had a Peregrine with fat semi-slicks and drops for mixed surface riding, but it was far to big for me and had to get rid of it. Hrmm it's an expensive job sticking drops on a MTB on the off-chance it'll feel better, expecially (for me at least) it will stretch out the reach past what is comfortable. Just got into the LBS and ask for a fitting, or some free advice on the position?


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## oliver (28 Nov 2012)

If you're in the market for a fully built bike - http://salsacycles.com/bikes/2012_fargo


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## lulubel (28 Nov 2012)

oliver said:


> If you're in the market for a fully built bike - http://salsacycles.com/bikes/2012_fargo


 
Oooh, nice! Now I've discovered another bike I want for no other reason than because I just want it.


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## GrumpyGregry (28 Nov 2012)

surely a monster cross has 29-er / 700c wheels?

drop bars on 26-er mtbs - I quite like wtb mountain drops, and on-one have some good ones too. They make a lot of sense on paper on 29-er mtbs as they get the weight low on the front end. But they'll always be a bit of an eccentric('s) choice.


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## oliver (28 Nov 2012)

I have ridden on bikes with both the wtb mtb drops, and my bike with salsa woodchipper's - main comment is that the woodchippers feel a lot more natural to me for offroad (wider), and seemed to fit better with STIs (more defined section for riding on hoods) - my bike is a 26-er for reference - the frame isn't designed for suspension either, but i found the combination of suspension and the drops has made it ride much better than before installing the drops/forks - but have heard horror stories about people putting drops on some stock frames (I believe it was a rockhopper ) and the handling going to pot!


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## Drago (28 Nov 2012)

The whole drop cars on MTBs thing started in the 90's. a famous MTB racer signed a contract to switch from off road to road racing, so for the last part of the season he switched to drop bars on his MTB to get used to them. And that's it, no performance benefit or anything.

There's a bit of a minor resurgence of this among retro MTB fans at the monent.


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## ballyharpat (29 Nov 2012)

Don't think it will ever get big, but it has been around for a long time,


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## Licramite (29 Nov 2012)

lovely bikes, looks like new tyres (wheels possibly) and handlebars are in the offing, - have to balance it against the cost against a new bike but I definately can see the way to go. - does seam to be the sort of bike I need.
thanks for the knowledge.


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## oliver (29 Nov 2012)

Drago said:


> The whole drop cars on MTBs thing started in the 90's. a famous MTB racer signed a contract to switch from off road to road racing, so for the last part of the season he switched to drop bars on his MTB to get used to them. And that's it, no performance benefit or anything.
> 
> There's a bit of a minor resurgence of this among retro MTB fans at the monent.


 
I will admit there's no performance benefit (maybe even a loss due to added weight) - but i like the hand positions much much more than a flat bar, even with bar ends, as for the retro MTB side I had never thought of myself as one but I guess I am - it is a 1997 frame i'm using - steel is real!


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## GrumpyGregry (29 Nov 2012)

oliver said:


> I will admit there's no performance benefit (maybe even a loss due to added weight) - but i like the hand positions much much more than a flat bar, even with bar ends, as for the retro MTB side I had never thought of myself as one but I guess I am - it is a 1997 frame i'm using - steel is real!


drop barred mtbs have always been popular in the USA where 'adventure cyclists' (off road epic tourers) use them extensively. As a long time subscriber/member of Adventure Cycling I'd say it was a pretty rare copy of their magazine that didn't have adverts for them or copy/photo's of them in use out on some remote mountainside in the the Rockies or some such.

Pretty rare beasts in the UK as how many mtb-ers ride a loaded mtb all day every day for two weeks at a time off road? Horses for courses, etc..

Seems to me the average UK drop bar mtb is essentially a 26 wheeled CX bike with an off road group on it.


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## GrumpyGregry (29 Nov 2012)

Drago said:


> The whole drop cars on MTBs thing started in the 90's. a famous MTB racer signed a contract to switch from off road to road racing, so for the last part of the season he switched to drop bars on his MTB to get used to them. And that's it, no performance benefit or anything.
> 
> There's a bit of a minor resurgence of this among retro MTB fans at the monent.


Are you thinking of Tomac?

Jacquie Phelan rode dirt drops four years before Tomac's bizarre excursion into using road drops, CX-er style, off road, and still does iirc. Plenty of 80's ex-CX and road racers did when MTB'ing.


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## Drago (29 Nov 2012)

That's it, had a brain fart. Was Tomac that popularised it, though he wasn't the first. Just perhaps the most high profile.


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