Flat bar into a drop bar??

[Young Un]

hi, my dad went into a giant dealer today and picked up a catalogue for me. i was looking through the bikes drooling as you do, when i looked at both the scr4 and the fcr3. my dad looked at the bikes in person and was chatting to the lady, he also seemed to realise the fcr3 looked better spec/more sensable than the scr4. he asked the lady in the shop wheather you could make a flat bar bike into a drop bar bike with bar end shifters., and she said that it was imposible because the two use differnt mechanisms

1. would fitting drop bars to the fcr3 make it have the same geomerty as the scr4?
2. can it be done?

 

[RedBike]

Yes it can be done. Are you sure you mean bar end shifters?

I belive the two bikes use exactly the same frame, so yes the geometry will be the same. - (not 100% sure about that; but it used to be case on earlier models.)

BTW, the SCR has a really upright / high ride compared to most racers.

 

[Young Un]

your right redbike well spotted i mean the gear levers that are the same as the brake levers, cant remeber what there called

the reason for it mainly is for the triple chainset,

how much do you think the lbs would charge to do the conversion??

 

[Young Un]

doh, so it would be cheaper to buy the scr4 and then if i need to upgrade to a triple chain set instead of a conversion?

 

[bonj2]

Yes course it's possible, I've done it to my bike. But only 'cos I originally wanted flat bars, but then as I progressed I decided I wanted drop bars. If you know you want drop bars to start off with, then just buy a bike with drop bars to start with, it'll undoubtedly be cheaper.
I'd personally recommend STI shifters if you're having drop bars. But I got a very good deal on mine, got some unboxed OEM 105s for £40, then also need handlebars, bar tape, and I also needed new cables 'cos my old ones were ready for replacing anyway and a new cassette 'cos i was upgrading from 8 to 9 speed.

Don't necessarily limit your choice to just a Giant (although Giants are good).
You'll find some bike shops are stockists for one type of bike mainly, but you can hunt around different bike shops who will have affiliations with different manufacturers.

 

[RedBike]

Shifters (sora) £60
Front Mech £12
New brake cables £10
New Gear cables £10
bar tape = £10
Labour? - Could be upwards of £50 for a bike build

I would say £100 minimum, probably quite a bit more.

 

[bonj2]

this is the modern version of my bike:
http://www.evanscycles.com/product....oogle&utm_medium=froogle&utm_campaign=froogle
it's drop bars, with triple - but it would annoy me 'cos it's only got sora and they have a weird thumb lever rather than a finger lever inline with the brake lever.
But you might not mind it...

 

[Young Un]

thinks i might stick to the scr4 then, how much would it cost to upgrade to a triple chainset if i found that a double wasnt enough for the hilly town where i live,

also could someone tell me the order of the ranges of shimano and campagnolo

 

[Joe24]

No need to upgrade to a triple IMO. Go for the SCR4 and run it as double for abit. There is always the option of walking up a hill if it is really big.
the STI shifters are expensive. The Sora one i think are about £100. If you were going to use STI's i would use Tigra shifters so you can change both ways while on the drops.
But if you got the SCR4 then the Sora is fine and you will get used to it.

 

[Young Un]

yh i need to go and look at the bikes, cus i am getting confused about this thumb lever trigger thingy's.

 

[bonj2]

I personally wouldn't touch any road bike with a barge pole that hasn't got all the following on it to start with:
a) Drop bars
Tiagra or above shifters
c) Triple chainset

I wouldn't set about butchering it or 'making do' with a double or compact chainset or faffing about with silly sora levers. But that's just me

 

[Joe24]

Bonj you fool. Real men dont need triples
Sora shifters are fine. They are made and put on for the aim of riding on the hoods more then the drops. If you are going to use the drops more then having Tigra is good, but if your going to use the hoods more(like beginners do) then they are good at keeping the cost down.

 

[bonj2]

thinks i might stick to the scr4 then, how much would it cost to upgrade to a triple chainset if i found that a double wasnt enough for the hilly town where i live,

also could someone tell me the order of the ranges of shimano and campagnolo

Shimano is:
Dura-ace <-- high end
Ultegra
105
Tiagra
Sora
'numbers' e.g. 2200 <-- entry level

although 105 is being deprecated.
don't know about campag, someone else will fill you in on that

 

[Steve Austin]

105 isn't being 'deprecated' at all. it will be going longer than you or i Bonjella

I would go for the bike you want.
If you want a triple, get a triple. if you want a flatbar, get a flatbar.
Any upgrading you do will cost money, and that money would be better spent initially.

its ok to upgrade parts for better parts, but its expensive to upgrade chainsets and shifters, and its really isn't worth it.

Save your money till you have enough for the bike you want would be the best advice

 

[RedBike]

You've missed one

Dura-ace
Ultegra SL
Ultegra
105
Tiagra
Sora
2200

Super Record
Record
Chorus
Centaur
Veloce 10
Veloce 9
Xenon

I think Chorus is about Dura-ace standard
Xenon is about matched to Tiagra.