Can I put drop-bar handles on a comfort bike?

September 16, 2006 2:57 AM

I have a comfort bike from Schwinn and it rides in a quite upright position. I would really like to buy a road bike even a very old one, mainly because I like the riding posture. But there is none that I can find. In desperation, I am thinking about changing the handlebar to like those in a drop bike. Would it work? Would it look stupid? Should I even think about doing it?
posted by raheel to sports, hobbies, & recreation (14 comments total)

Short answer: no, you can't put drop bars on that bike.

Long answer: you would have to not only put new bars on it, but an entire new component group (shifters, et cetera), and even then the geometry (riding position) would be horrible.

Why can't you find a road bike? Where do you live? There *must* be somewhere you can get one. If you're in the states, try Craigslist, and definitely your local bike shop. Otherwise, maybe someone else will have a suggestion.
posted by The Michael The at 4:36 AM on September 16, 2006

I'm not understanding the question -- drop bar road bikes are all over. You won't find them at a department store, but your local bike shop will have dozens, ranging from cheap but adequate to multi-thousand dollar race vehicles.

You can put drop bars on that bike, but you'll need new brake levers, and probably shifters. (I've seen guys rig twist shifters to drops, when it comes to odd hacks like this, Sheldon Brown is the guy to ask.

You don't have bosses on the downtube for the old style frame shifters, so you'd have to get strap on shifters, or go with brake-shifters. Brifters rock, but they're not very cheap. I think even the Sora 7s are $150.

Normally, this means you might need to change brakes and derailers as well, but there are components that either work across the various shift spacings (Campy/Shimano being the big one) or little cam devices to fix the problem. IIRC, the SRAM ESP series shifts Shimano Road spacing, so they would work out-of-the box with Shimano brifters -- but I'd really want to check that before I bought them.

What you'd need, looking at that bike. It appears to be a threaded fork, so you would need bars, a new stem that fits your fork and the bars, brake levers and shifters. You'd also need to be able to shorten the current shift and brake cables correctly.

If you really want to convert this bike, I'd take it to a local bike shop and talk to them -- but they'll probably tell you that it would be better if you get a real road bike, then point you at the dozens they have.

Caveat: Your profile doesn't say where you live. You may live in a country that road bikes aren't common, in which case, I'm wrong. But in Europe as a whole and North America, either the Local Bike Shop has them, or is a mountain specialist and will tell you where the nearest LBS that has them is.
posted by eriko at 6:25 AM on September 16, 2006

I'm not sure where the guy lives, but those who think he might be able to just drop in at the local bike shop must have not grown up in a rural area.

For me, the "local" bike shop is about 200 miles away. You could order one off the internet fairly easily, however. ( how much is shipping on a bike?)

I posted a question about seeing a Schwinn Varsity roadbike at WalMart last spring, and got lots of "don't buy it! It's crap! It's from Walmart, so it's evil!" postings. Never one to listen to the advice of others, I bought it.

Nothing but good times. If you do live in rural America, check to see if the nearest WalMart has one in stock. When I take it out, I hear a lot of "what kind of bike is that?" comments, and I also get the occasional bike snob.

"You bought it at WalMart? Jesus, you're lucky it's still in one piece - what a piece of crap," they say - as they walk away mumbling about the need to get their own bike to the shop for repairs.
posted by bradth27 at 7:13 AM on September 16, 2006

I was in the same situation. I really wanted an old school road bike. (We used to call them "English Racers.") I couldn't afford ANY in our local bike shops, so I looked at garage sales. Still none to be found. I finally found one at, of all places, Toys R Us, while shopping for a bike for my daughter. It was $200, but since it was the floor model, and the last one, they clearanced it for $49.

No, it's not a racing-grade high quality bike, but it's perfect for my casual riding on bike paths around town.
posted by The Deej at 7:26 AM on September 16, 2006

I posted a question about seeing a Schwinn Varsity roadbike at WalMart last spring, and got lots of "don't buy it! It's crap! It's from Walmart, so it's evil!" postings. Never one to listen to the advice of others, I bought it.

Then why the heck did you bother asking?

Back to OP - I see road bike of vintage variety at garage/rummage sales all the time. Even at Good Will. Check those out if you're not in a mildly urban area. But if you are in an urban area, Craigslist or a bike shop for sure.
posted by FlamingBore at 7:38 AM on September 16, 2006

Then why the heck did you bother asking?

Because I wanted to know if anyone was familiar with the specific bike - not with WalMart's stock of Schwinns.

There are lots of cheap road bikes out there - I saw one at a Target recently on clearance for 50 bucks. Also - you might check pawn shops... every once in a while, I see an old one out front.
posted by bradth27 at 8:26 AM on September 16, 2006

I put drop bars on my last 2 (18" or 21" frame, I can't remember, Bianchi & Peugeot) mountain bikes - I like the riding position better, and the choice of positions(ok, I think it looks cool too).
For shifting I just attached the old school, index or friction levers in reverse - on the inside next to the brake levers - and ithey work very well -perhaps not race-condition opitimal- with theShimano LX/DX components. Though you can buy proper combo units, they cost a fortune.
That said, both of those bikes had pretty 'conventional' geometry- not a sloping top tube like this Schwinn - so I'm not sure drop bars would work, riding position-wise, for you.
posted by Flashman at 8:27 AM on September 16, 2006

I think moustache bars might be a good compromise.
posted by atom128 at 8:29 AM on September 16, 2006

The Michael The said it in the first post but it bears repeating: the way to get a road-bike position is not so much road-bike bars, but a road-bike frame. It's the frame geometry (the relationship between the head tube, seat, and pedals) that lets you stretch out to drop bars in the first place. Even if you went out and bought everything you needed to put drop bars on that bike, it would not be comfortable to ride.

The other side is steering geometry -- the angle of the head tube and the rake of the fork and so forth. You can replace the fork, obviously, but that's expensive, and even then you won't get a bike that's designed to have the sort of light handling that you need with drop bars, since their maneuverability is a lot lower than a set of flat bars.

Putting flat bars on a road bike often works ok, but the other way around is bound to be somewhere between disappointing and painfully uncomfortable.
posted by mendel at 9:10 AM on September 16, 2006

Yeah, didn't think it was a good idea.

And yes, I am in a place called Carbondale, southern IL. I have been looking for an old road bike for the last 4 - 5 months - none to be found. And the cheapest one at the two bike shops is still 450 - 550 bucks. A little out of my range right now.
eBay is no help although I guess I could loook at St. Louis' craigslist (about 100 miles from here).
Any other suggestions for where I could look for a used road bike for 200 bucks?
posted by raheel at 9:44 AM on September 16, 2006

Raheel - I don't understand how eBay is no help. I've personally bought about three or four nice old road bikes from ebay and had them shipped to me for under $150 each.

It helps if you know exactly what you're looking for. And you have to invest time searching eBay - the turn over in the bicycle section is incredible.

So here are my suggestions:

Craig's List (Chicago & St. Louis)
eBay
Yard sales
Fleamarkets
Pawn Shops
Classified section of your local news paper

Alternativly just save your money. If you can afford $200 now - maybe in a few months $450 or $500 wouldn't seem unreasonable.

A new entry level road bike (form a real bike shop) will be lightyears ahead of anything you'll find second hand that is older than 10 or so years. And unless your good with fixing things an old road bike will probably require a tune up and some replacement parts (more money, time, etc.)
posted by wfrgms at 10:50 AM on September 16, 2006

Also Carbondale is home to Mike Magnuson - author, sometimes columnist for Bicycling magazine, professor, cyclist and all around cool guy. So it can't be an entire non-bicycle wasteland.
posted by wfrgms at 10:58 AM on September 16, 2006

Hate to be Captain Obvious, but while you're searching sell your current bike on Craigslist or e-bay. That 100 bucks will be helpfull.
posted by snsranch at 4:57 PM on September 16, 2006

Recycled Cycles. He ships, or if you have transport, it's not that far to St. Louis to pick up a ride.
posted by eriko at 6:30 PM on September 16, 2006