Show Your Vintage MTB Drop Bar Conversions
#7351
Must be symmetrical
#7353
Newbie
Looks great! Are those tires Panaracer Paselas? I'd love to hear a report on how they do. I've got 2.1" Maxxis DTHs on my '84 Stumpjumper Sport & I like them a lot, but I'm thinking I could go a little narrower & not miss anything. They handle street, path, & single track just fine.
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#7354
Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Seattle
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quick conversion I put together for gravel rides with my daughter. I fell for a cheap 'celeste green' bar wrap online. not even close.
#7355
I've been riding it around in this iteration for a while so don't mind the dirt. I'm actually surprised about how well those tires roll.
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When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him. ~Jonathan Swift.
When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him. ~Jonathan Swift.
#7357
I knew they made some nice bikes at the end but I didn't know this existed until I found it. I also have a Mongoose ATB Pro from the mid-80s, one of their early tries at a 26" mtb, that somewhere in this thread.
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When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him. ~Jonathan Swift.
When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him. ~Jonathan Swift.
#7360
I don't know.
Join Date: May 2003
Location: South Meriden, CT
Posts: 2,102
Bikes: '90 B'stone RB-1, '92 B'stone RB-2, '89 SuperGo Access Comp, '03 Access 69er, '23 Trek 520, '14 Ritchey Road Logic, '09 Kestrel Evoke, '08 Windsor Tourist, '17 Surly Wednesday, '89 Centurion Accordo, '15 CruX, '17 Ridley X-Night, '89 Marinoni
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1989 Supergo Access Comp Deore owned since new. Suntour Tourney 3x7 shifter/levers. I raced it the first few years, now it's an errand/adventure bike. It comes in handy on the Cape (shown here).
#7361
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2020
Location: Great White North
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Bikes: 2013 Cannondale Caad 8, 2010 Opus Fidelio, 1985 Peugeot UO14, 1999 Peugeot Dune, Sakai Select, L'Avantage, 1971 Gitane Apache Standard, 1999 Specialized Hard Rock
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I'm thinking if I do a conversion this is the route I will go instead of trying to fit a 2 X whatever and have to install a complete new group set or do a 1 X 11 conversion. I figure, the extra gears never hurt and they were good enough for those original mtn. bikes.
#7362
I don't know.
Join Date: May 2003
Location: South Meriden, CT
Posts: 2,102
Bikes: '90 B'stone RB-1, '92 B'stone RB-2, '89 SuperGo Access Comp, '03 Access 69er, '23 Trek 520, '14 Ritchey Road Logic, '09 Kestrel Evoke, '08 Windsor Tourist, '17 Surly Wednesday, '89 Centurion Accordo, '15 CruX, '17 Ridley X-Night, '89 Marinoni
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Very nice setup, looks like a great touring/adventure bike or city commuter. Assuming you installed the 3x7 brifters replacing the original trigger shifters the bike came with? If so, how did that go? did you need to replace the other components or did you leave them on?
I'm thinking if I do a conversion this is the route I will go instead of trying to fit a 2 X whatever and have to install a complete new group set or do a 1 X 11 conversion. I figure, the extra gears never hurt and they were good enough for those original mtn. bikes.
I'm thinking if I do a conversion this is the route I will go instead of trying to fit a 2 X whatever and have to install a complete new group set or do a 1 X 11 conversion. I figure, the extra gears never hurt and they were good enough for those original mtn. bikes.
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#7364
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2020
Location: Great White North
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Bikes: 2013 Cannondale Caad 8, 2010 Opus Fidelio, 1985 Peugeot UO14, 1999 Peugeot Dune, Sakai Select, L'Avantage, 1971 Gitane Apache Standard, 1999 Specialized Hard Rock
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Why do some mountain bikes have a massive clearance in the front fork and others are much tighter, like the one duo route has posted above? I get those tires are pretty large so that fills up a lot of space, but my old Trek bike had like 2" of clearance between the fork and the 2" tires and plenty of room for fenders as well.
I like how that bike looks above, with the wheel snug up to the fender and fender right under the fork. Aerodynamic like a road bike.
I like how that bike looks above, with the wheel snug up to the fender and fender right under the fork. Aerodynamic like a road bike.
#7365
Junior Member
I've posted this Verago before, but also updated. 'Vintage drop bar MTB' has, overall, become my favorite bike type, it will do almost anything better than it should do.
#7366
Why do some mountain bikes have a massive clearance in the front fork and others are much tighter, like the one duo route has posted above? I get those tires are pretty large so that fills up a lot of space, but my old Trek bike had like 2" of clearance between the fork and the 2" tires and plenty of room for fenders as well.
I like how that bike looks above, with the wheel snug up to the fender and fender right under the fork. Aerodynamic like a road bike.
I like how that bike looks above, with the wheel snug up to the fender and fender right under the fork. Aerodynamic like a road bike.
You’re right that mine is kind of snug. I had to dimple the fenders slightly for a proper fit.
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#7368
Made my conversion, cinelli ottomilauno mid 80's. It was my first real bike when i was 14, they stole it, then after 30 years found a very good one 400km from my house. Obviously i got it! But using it only on the road, so i decided to go drop bar. Changed only handlebar, stem, command and cables, so is easy to revert it to original. Brifters are Campagnolo xenon 9v, they work on 6 speed xt m730. With latex tube and continental speed king is comfy and fast on road, even if it's not the lightest (wheels are pretty heavy).
I would like to post photos but i'm not allowed since less than 10 posts, i read a lot but not writing too much. This thread has been a great ispiration nevertheless. This is a 1 post count, so hopefully will upload photos soon!
Enrico
I would like to post photos but i'm not allowed since less than 10 posts, i read a lot but not writing too much. This thread has been a great ispiration nevertheless. This is a 1 post count, so hopefully will upload photos soon!
Enrico
#7369
I guess this sort of qualifies. My partner's dirt drop, bar end, wide(er) tired Bridgestone XO-2 gravel rig. Mix of parts bin stuff. Origin8 "Gary" dirt drops on a Kalloy dirt drop stem. Shimano tricolor aero levers, 9sp bar ends and XT M732 cantilevers. Nervar 50.4 crank with the pedal holes retapped wearing Sugino 46/28 chainrings. Tire clearance with the WTB 1.95s is close, but after straightening the fork, acceptable.
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#7370
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What is the preferred canti brake setup to go with STI's?
#7371
Thrifty Bill
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Mountains of Western NC
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XT or Pauls. Lower end Shimano vintage cantis had the dreaded plastic spring housing, which often fails. Avoid. I've got Pauls on my Cimarron right now. Pauls are pricey, got mine off a donor bike where other parts covered the price.
Last edited by wrk101; 09-12-22 at 02:27 PM.
#7372
Are you asking about shimano sti with slr, or brifters in general?
I've no experience with shimano slr, but in general cantilever are compatible with brifters and working with the straddle cable you can fine tune the mechanical advantage, or at least make them stop the bike...
Paul for sure are superb, but are expensive. I like shimano cx50 brake very much between the new cantilever, not easy to find now but available somewhere, in my opinion "new style" cartridge pads are easier to setup. I have tektro oryx clone on one bike (cane creek marked) and they work well.
In general, wide cantilever like tektro cr720 are less powerful but somehow easier to setup, with longish straddle cable, narrow cantilever are more powerful but need a short straddle cable and suffer for variable mechanical advantage. Normally you just use what you have or is easy to find around you.
I've no experience with shimano slr, but in general cantilever are compatible with brifters and working with the straddle cable you can fine tune the mechanical advantage, or at least make them stop the bike...
Paul for sure are superb, but are expensive. I like shimano cx50 brake very much between the new cantilever, not easy to find now but available somewhere, in my opinion "new style" cartridge pads are easier to setup. I have tektro oryx clone on one bike (cane creek marked) and they work well.
In general, wide cantilever like tektro cr720 are less powerful but somehow easier to setup, with longish straddle cable, narrow cantilever are more powerful but need a short straddle cable and suffer for variable mechanical advantage. Normally you just use what you have or is easy to find around you.
#7373
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: SF Bay Area, East bay
Posts: 7,804
Bikes: Miyata 618 GT, Marinoni, Kestral 200 2002 Trek 5200, KHS Flite, Koga Miyata, Schwinn Spitfire 5, Mondia Special, Univega Alpina, Miyata team Ti, Santa Cruz Highball
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Running ultegra 6500 with diacompe. I stop, but looking for something a little lighter on the grip.
#7374
Personally, on what is available now on the market, i would use shimano br-cx50 (at least, here in Europe they are still on some site like bike components) for good price/value ratio and easy set up. For further improvement is possibile the replace the pads with the cartridge one from cx70 (that are non more available as a full brake as far as i see). Paul components touring or neo retro for awesomeness
Last edited by defraz; 09-12-22 at 02:57 PM.
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#7375
Full Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: '16 StumpJ, Salsa Mukluk, Soulcycles SS, Dean Colonel HT, BMC FourstrokeTrail, Dean Torres CX, Santana Visa Tandem, Trek T2000 Tandem, Cupertino MTB Tandem, FreeAgent26"Xtracycle, Dirt Drop Dingle, Jamis Dragon Dingle, Airborne Skyhag SS, SSDean Cols
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1994 Dean Colonel
KS seat dropper lowered. Dingle
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