Drop bars, flat bars and butterfly bars

I’m sure in principle you can put a set of butterfly bars on a tcr, but how will you mount your brifters though?

Well, that needs other work arounds, like down-tube mounted fiction shifters (lolz), bar end shifters, etc. There’s more than one way to change gears…

Didn’t feel like making a post in the temp forum or bothering anyone in PM. I really don’t have much cash flow right now, but my hands/wrists really can’t handle straight bars anymore. I’m a little concerned in regards to the brakes and shifters going from straight bars to anything else.

Has anyone here done it themselves before? The video tutorials seem pretty straightforward, but the online discussions seem to say it’s a little more complex (and expensive) in regards to switching the shifters and brakes.

It should help if you informed us what bike you have now, with what equipment (level).

I rebuilt a Giant OCR road bike to straight handle bars some years ago, yours will be the opposite.
In your case you will have to change the rapid-fire shifters to roadbike brake/shifters.
In itself not difficult, just be sure you got the right ones for brand, qty of gears and brake type, plus some new inner and outer cables for shifters and brakes.

Pricing for parts might be the problem, it really depends on the brand, and level of equipment you have.

And may be the shifting ratios could be a problem. Shimano has some compatibility tables though. You could also ask in a shop, but TBH, people at shops don’t know shit many times…

Yeah sorry about that, I’m currently using a bike that was a gift from the wife. Can’t find any information about the bike itself (generic branding, website with no information), but I’ll scope out the bike tomorrow and look for branding on the parts and measurements. Middle of the road equipment, standard aluminum frame, etc.

Is buying used parts an option here in Taiwan? I’m right near Taipei but still having difficulty finding anything used, let alone something as specific as this.

Yeah that’s my biggest concern, if I don’t get the answer or some decent suggestions I’ll be scoping out my local parts/accessories shop. That’s my last option though since most of their inventory is just overpriced accessories.

I’m planning on upgrading down the road when money isn’t so tight. For now I’m just trying to switch out the bars.

With the bike and equipment you describe, it does not look like a problem at all.
I presume you got a Shimano, or Shimano based drivetrain, which is probably the easiest to get parts for.
Just sort out the qty of gears you have in the back, and if you have a double or triple in the front.

I upgraded my 20 year old Deore level ATX840 from 7 to 9-speed a year ago.

I checked and compared as well, but at the end did not bother for 2nd hand parts as up till mid level parts are rather cheap.
I bought most parts in a shop in Sanchong, probably not too far from where you are, by far the cheapest in Taiwanese bike-land.

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It’s a 7x3 configuration

Actually yeah, I’m right near Jiangzicui. That’s right across the bridge from me. Do you recall the address or general location? I’ll scope them out tomorrow

Velo House in Sanchong.
It is bit of a messy shop, but they have a lot in their warehouse behind the shop.

The easiest dealing with them is to sort the parts on their internet shop, get their numbers, then pick up if you know what you want.

Depending gear spacing on the rear (for the index shifting) I think you need the below. The advertising is for 2x7, but if you scroll down, you will see the 3x7 mentioned (SHIMANO TOURNEY ST-A073-L 3*7).

https://tw.bid.yahoo.com/item/【飛輪單車】-SHIMANO-TOURNEY-ST-A070-2-7速雙控變把-100278982258?u=Y3115883780&actsrch=srp3

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Thanks! That’s just about everything I need, even found their address. I’ll be checking it out during my ride tomorrow

it’s not only about the number of speeds… look for the tables i said, or send an email to shimano. Also drop by some shop.

You are right, nothing worse than spending money, only to find out that it is not working.

However, IF (!) it is a Shimano system, I am rather sure all horizontal spacing for 7 gear cassettes is the same, even for various brands.
That means that any Shimano 7 speed shifter will provide the necessary indexing.

The tables you refer to is more important to match the derailleurs with different sizes of cassettes and chain rings and different brands.
However, in this case the whole drivetrain remains the same (or so I understand), so the required indexing from derailleurs and shifters is the only one to watch.

Finally, all shops I initially contacted told me I could not upgrade my bike to 9 speed, and some even refused to sell me parts.
Well, I am a bit stubborn, and did it anyway, even using the original rear wheel + hub, just moving the hub on the axle, and re-dishing the wheel.
Moral of the story: ~~~~ :slight_smile:

That people at shops don’t know shit :stuck_out_tongue:

Are you sure you need to go to the extreme of switching to a drop bar config? Drop bars aren’t necessarily going to fix your problems. There are a wide variety of bars out there that offer different angles/widths/rises/etc that might make things comfy for you again. And if you still need to add more positions, some bar ends can definitely add variety.

If you have typical flat bars, they probably have a sweep of approx 5-6° and either zero or mild rise. If you switch out to some mustache style bars with a more aggressive sweep 20-40°, you can keep your stem length the same but completely change the feel of your riding.

Exactly what I was thinking. When @ericinformosa said it was a parts store with a huge warehouse behind it, that caught my interest. I’m not exactly sold on drop bars, when being given the option of anything I want. ideally I’d like to try out as many options possible until settling on one that feels best.

I’ll post up an update if I decide on something. My plans just got pushed to another day.

Well, you’re gonna have issues in the future. I am not sure WHERE you got a 9 speed freewheel from and was not sure they made any. that’s the reason they switched from the spin-on freewheel system (pictured) to the cassette system (all modern 9-10-11 speed sets use cassette system due to the added external bearing at the end of the much longer gear set).

I guess you found a Sunrace or similar. have a read along of this thread in Bike Forums:
http://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/1005876-9-speed-freewheel-good-solution-terrible-idea.html

While it IS technically possible, it’s not recommended, especially if you climb hills at low cadence in the smaller cogs at the back(more power further from the freewheel thread on the hub). You eventually will bust either an axle or a hub.

i have been refused parts to convert a geared bicycle into a single speed. Completely the reverse situation! Some bike shop owners (hey Alan, remember me?) are a bit weird.

Well, you know your stuff, good… :slight_smile: .
It is indeed a Sunrace, I think the only spin-on 9 speed (13-32T) still available.

Technically you got a point, but remember this is a 20 year old bike, and although not the cheapest that time, it shows.
Parts are over engineered, heavy and strong.

This bike once was my only bike in Taiwan, has seen it’s fair share of riding, and only let go once with a bent rear rim (which was entirely my fault BTW).
I dare to say that a whole lot of things are going to break before that 9 speed is coming off that hub, or the hub coming off the axle, it is simply not going to happen.

Besides, the bike’s status is reduced to my ‘bread & butter’ bike, used to ride to the bakery shop or for a ride to the beach with the wife.

It is just that I can’t sit still …it is always nice to tinker a bit, even if it does not really make sense … :slight_smile: .

A Giant ATX with Spinergy wheels? OMG, that is an oddball.

OK, as long as you only ride to the shops you’ll be fine. But in that case i have no idea why you modified it at all…

Anyone actually curious about an update for whatever reason, I decided against just upgrading the bars. For the price of upgrading the handlebars and corresponding components, on a mid-range bike, the economics didn’t add up. Since then I’ve joined a few different relevant buy/sell groups and seen better (albeit second hand) bikes with the handlebars I want, one even as cheap as NT$2500. Just waiting for someone that’s comfortable selling their beloved bike to a dirty foreigner. I’ll make a post in the proper topic when I land a new bike.

I actually found one of the groups through this forum, so, thanks everyone.

Adding to the collection, definitely more fun than upgrading to said collection.

Which FB second hand groups did you join?

There’s two major second hand bike/bike stuff groups that are hard to get into, but you’ll see that there’s stuff in there that people actually want to buy…for cheap. Friend just sold a slightly used Ultegra 6800 group set for around 9500NT. Gone in 30 minutes after posting.