change drop bars to flat bars

[Woolcer]

Hello everyone,
I want to have a go at changing from drops to flats. I have this https://www.thebikelist.co.uk/scott/speedster-60-14--2013 a scott speedster with shimano Tourney 2x7.
What do I need to change to flats? I cant seem to find Shimano Tourney 2x7 for flat bars. Also do I need to do anything finickety to the brakes? Can I just do a straight swap?
Thanks for any info.
Woolco

 

[vickster]

I did it and the bike was too small even with another 3cm of stem. You may find the same or a stem may help.
You’ll need brake levers, shimano 7x2 shifters, bars, grips, gear and brake cables as a minimum, perhaps a new chain and cassette if worn. It’s not a cheap exercise, might be easier to sell the drop bar bike and buy a used flat bar.
You could get Sram 7 speed shifters, but you’d need new mechs potentially as well (in which case you could also go 8/9/10 speed).
Why do you want to change?

 

[Woolcer]

I did it and the bike was too small even with another 3cm of stem. You may find the same or a stem may help.
You’ll need brake levers, shimano 7x2 shifters, bars, grips, gear and brake cables as a minimum, perhaps a new chain and cassette if worn. It’s not a cheap exercise, might be easier to sell the drop bar bike and buy a used flat bar.
You could get Sram 7 speed shifters, but you’d need new mechs potentially as well (in which case you could also go 8/9/10 speed).
Why do you want to change?

thanks for the info. As for why change; I really dont get on with drops, hands facing the worng way, flappy paddle gear changes, narrow grip, dont like how the brakes are positioned, etc. I could go on. I need a bike to commute, Ive got a city style bike but its got all the kids stuff on it and its now like a bus, so i want a commuting bike that is light, fun, and quick when I dont have to take the kids.
Do you know what sort of shifters i would need? Do I need Tourney or can I use any shimano 7x2? And would i need to do anything fancy with the brakes or would a simple swap do?
Thanks

 

[C R]

thanks for the info. As for why change; I really dont get on with drops, hands facing the worng way, flappy paddle gear changes, narrow grip, dont like how the brakes are positioned, etc. I could go on. I need a bike to commute, Ive got a city style bike but its got all the kids stuff on it and its now like a bus, so i want a commuting bike that is light, fun, and quick when I dont have to take the kids.
Do you know what sort of shifters i would need? Do I need Tourney or can I use any shimano 7x2? And would i need to do anything fancy with the brakes or would a simple swap do?
Thanks

Shimano 2x7 shifters would do. For the brakes, that might need some thinking depending on what kinds of brakes are in the bike.

However, as @vickster says, by the time you are done you'll have spent a fair chunk of change, and the geometry may not be right with flats, so it may not quite work.

 

[Grant Fondo]

I swapped out my wife's road bike drops for flat bars, pretty straightforward but just wrong. If you want a twitchy hybrid go for it, but the result is too compromised.

 

[TheDoctor]

Tourney 7 speed Revoshifters are about £11 the pair on Ebay. Flat bar brake levers, from about £5 on Ebay. Make sure they're not for V brakes, you need ones for caliper/cantilever brakes. You might want a different stem, or maybe not.
It's not all that tricky a swap, and you'll almost certainly recoup most / all of the cost by selling your STI levers.
My main bike is a Ribble road frame with flat bars, 7 speed 12-32 cassette with a 34T chainring, and Tektro brakes. Been set up like that for a decade. I went with a riser stem a few years ago, as I'm not as supple as I used to be.

 

[DCBassman]

Did my Scott roadie (twice, but that's another story...), and it's fine. Certainly twitchier than a standard hybrid, but then it's going to be. Because the bike is on the large side for me, and I'm a strange shape, fit isn't a problem. The biggest downside on this particular frame is the inability to take tyres larger than 25mm.
The only problem I forsee is finding a 2-speed lh shifter.

 

[vickster]

thanks for the info. As for why change; I really dont get on with drops, hands facing the worng way, flappy paddle gear changes, narrow grip, dont like how the brakes are positioned, etc. I could go on. I need a bike to commute, Ive got a city style bike but its got all the kids stuff on it and its now like a bus, so i want a commuting bike that is light, fun, and quick when I dont have to take the kids.
Do you know what sort of shifters i would need? Do I need Tourney or can I use any shimano 7x2? And would i need to do anything fancy with the brakes or would a simple swap do?
Thanks

Have you tried simply adding crosslever brakes to the bars? Easy cheap fix, great for braking in traffic (I have on all my road bikes). Yes you still have drop bars, but those being narrow are an advantage in traffic imo.

 

[DCBassman]

A good point, don't fit wide mtb bars, keep 'em short.

 

[vickster]

Tourney 7 speed Revoshifters are about £11 the pair on Ebay. Flat bar brake levers, from about £5 on Ebay. Make sure they're not for V brakes, you need ones for caliper/cantilever brakes. You might want a different stem, or maybe not.
It's not all that tricky a swap, and you'll almost certainly recoup most / all of the cost by selling your STI levers.

i doubt you’ll get more than a few quid for 7 year old Shimano ST-A070 Dual control 14 Speed shifters as the spec (I only got £40 for perfect condition 10 speed Tiagra recently)