Hub gear drops to flat bar conversion geometry

[scotsbikester]

I have a fairly unusual "touring" bike. One of these:

Ridgeback World Journey review (that isn't me, by the way).

As you can see, it's got drop bars, an Alfine hub, and cantilever brakes. Unusual.

My actual real bike is a 9x3 tourer. I don't tour. Yet.

But I do commute a bit, short distances (4 miles each way). So I was thinking of converting the Ridgeback to a flat bar, but keeping the hub gear and cantis, on this reasoning:

1. The frame is a bit "long", and flat bars would make it shorter, and get me a bit more upright, for city cycling. Other people have said the same about Ridgeback tourers (that they're long)
2. The cantis aren't bad, but even after fitting Koolstop Salmon (I think) they aren't brilliant, especially for city cycling, where sometimes you need to stop in a hurry (dozy pedestrians, usually). I think that it's always easier to get power from flat bar levers compared to drop levers.
3. The shifters aren't reliable.
4. It's already got a chainguard. With a hub gear I could fit a complete chain case, and so commute in more "normal" clothes.
5. I could do the conversion relatively cheaply. I've already got a spare flat bar (somewhere) and also shifter. Though I do know I'd have to buy specific levers for cantis.

If any of you have any comments on the mechanics of the conversion, they are welcome. But my main question is, are there any geometry issues I might have overlooked?

Thanks

 

[Paulus]

Could you not fit a shorter stem, that would shorten the reach and do away with changing the shifters and brake levers.

 

[scotsbikester]

Could you not fit a shorter stem, that would shorten the reach and do away with changing the shifters and brake levers.

Thanks for the reply. I've already fitted a shorter stem (but kept the old one). Well, one of those adjustable Richey ones. This was years ago, in an attempt to make the bike comfortable.

The list above isn't ordered by priority, I'm sorry if I gave the impression it is. So although the first on the list is about reach, that doesn't mean it is the most important aspect. Although flat bars do usually result in a more upright position than riding on the hoods. It probably would be impossible to get the same reach with drop bars as with flats, given that the place where one (usually) places ones hands on drops is always further away than flats, for the same stem length.

As I said in my original post, I already have a dropbar "touring" type road bike, with a far more useful gearing range than the World Journey. I also have doubts about the reliability of the Alfine (due to its history), and wouldn't like it to fail on me out in the wilds, whereas if it failed on my local commute it wouldn't be so much of a problem. Therefore the the World Journey as it is currently set up makes it a little redundant, hence my investigation of ways to make it a different type of bike, so suited to different situations compared to my derailleur bike.

 

[All uphill]

I've converted bikes from drops to flat and from flat to drops.

I can't see any reason why your plan shouldn't work, but you need to expect it to take a while to get used to what will feel like a different bike. Because of the change of posture you may find your saddle suddenly feels uncomfortable, for example.

Good luck if you decide to experiment.

Nice bike, BTW.

 

[T4tomo]

The cantis aren't bad, but even after fitting Koolstop Salmon (I think) they aren't brilliant, especially for city cycling, where sometimes you need to stop in a hurry (dozy pedestrians, usually). I think that it's always easier to get power from flat bar levers compared to drop levers.
3. The shifters aren't reliable.

these two statements are troubling.
your limit of braking is tyre contact with road, lever will make no difference whether flat bar or drop bar style, its a similar length / pivoting lever. You may have your canti's set up badly - straddle wire length is very important, see sheldon brown articles on such. An up hanger might also help rather that that long length of wire at front.

re shifters, that is probably an alfine set up issue, no suggestions on that, as I've never had one.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

It's a simple conversion. 8-Speed Shimano clickers will get the Alfine going. Standard V-brake levers will do the trick, you9 can tune the brake's travel rate vis a vie the lever's travel by altering the straddle wire. But, since you already have bosses on there that are V-brake compatible, fit a V-brake set. Look for old Shimano 7XXX sseries XT with stay-parallel Vs and adjustable bite and travel.

 

[scotsbikester]

I've converted bikes from drops to flat and from flat to drops.

I can't see any reason why your plan shouldn't work, but you need to expect it to take a while to get used to what will feel like a different bike. Because of the change of posture you may find your saddle suddenly feels uncomfortable, for example.

Good luck if you decide to experiment.

Nice bike, BTW.

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I'm anticipating a change of feel. I'll leave my Brooks B17 on my "proper" bike, as it's moulded to my, er, "shape", for the posture I have on that bike. I'll probably just leave the saddle the bike came with on this one, as I'm not intending long mileages.

Yes, it is a nice bike, and a good idea, just not that well exectuted. It seems that most people who have hub gears on tourers use Rohloff - wider gear range, more reliable. And the shifters on this (can't remember the name offhand) have a poor reputation.

 

[scotsbikester]

these two statements are troubling.
your limit of braking is tyre contact with road, lever will make no difference whether flat bar or drop bar style, its a similar length / pivoting lever. You may have your canti's set up badly - straddle wire length is very important, see sheldon brown articles on such. An up hanger might also help rather that that long length of wire at front.

I disagree. Braking on drop bar levers, from the hoods, is a lot harder than braking on flat bar levers, at least for me, with small hands and not particularly strong grip (though not that weak either). I have spent a considerable amount of time fine tuning those cantilever brakes, and yes, I have read, several times, the Sheldon article that is referred to repeatedly in discussions about cantilever brakes. Tinkering with the calipers might help, but the grip on the levers is very different - it's a question of how much purchase you can get on the lever.

re shifters, that is probably an alfine set up issue, no suggestions on that, as I've never had one.

Those shifters are known for being poor. I have had several bikes with Shimano 8 speed hubs, 3 Nexuses (Nexi?) and this Alfine 8. They are essentially the same hub (they certainly use the same cassette joint). The three with Nexus and rotary shifters work perfectly. The Alfine with this Versa shifter (there, I've remembered the name now), is unreliable. It might just need a service or blast of lube, but what feedback there is on them on the interwebs is that they are unreliable.

Thanks for your input.

 

[scotsbikester]

It's a simple conversion. 8-Speed Shimano clickers will get the Alfine going. Standard V-brake levers will do the trick, you9 can tune the brake's travel rate vis a vie the lever's travel by altering the straddle wire. But, since you already have bosses on there that are V-brake compatible, fit a V-brake set. Look for old Shimano 7XXX sseries XT with stay-parallel Vs and adjustable bite and travel.

Thanks. I've got bikes with spare twist grip shifters I can use.

Yes, I thought about fitting V brakes. I'll look at the price of canti specific levers vs V brake levers. Though I've got a feeling that there are some available that can do both. Also, and this is a bit silly maybe, I like the look of cantis. I have a very vague idea they might make the bike look less appealing to thieves - "let's not nick that mate, it looks well old" - type of thing. Also I think cantis will take stupid wide tyres, which I might like.

I've spent a bit too much on my other bike over the last couple of years, so keen to keep this conversion cheapish and use existing components, if possible. At least initially.