Daft Idea - convert road bike to cyclocross 4 canal commute?

[warp9]

Hi. In my novice cyclist head this works, in reality I’d like the collective input. I’ve got a Dawes Giro 300 that I bought last year for a triathlon, but never did am not really into road biking, so has sat in my shed gathering dust.



I’m now doing a regular road/canal commute of around 8 miles each way on my ancient knackered MTB and want a newer faster bike, thus have thought of changing some components on the road bike to create a cyclocross type thing e.g.

Tyres:http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-cx-pro-mtb-cyclocross-tyre/
Handlebars: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ritchey-comp-flat-mountain...
Gear/brake set: Help! What 8 gear dual unit can I use?

My local bike shop is trying to convince me this is a false economy and to get a 2010 Giant hybrid for £400 which is the sensible choice, but I was after something a bit more unique and cheaper. What do you think? Anyone done this and can advise the end result, plus other considerations and which components to use?
Thanks

[B19GRR]

Those tyres won't fit, they're 26" you need 700c. Why change the bars? Cyclocross use drop bars like road bikes. Basically you need some tougher, fatter tyres but you may be limited by the space under the brake calipers, cylcoX use cantilevers (or probably disc brakes these days) to give more clearance, plus come wetter weather you'd be wanting some mudguards, even clip-ons would struggle if you've already filled the available space with fat rubber. So yes your bike shop is being "sensible" whilst also looking to make money, so why not just try some new rubber and see how it goes, you'd only be a few quid down then at worst.

You also need some pedals

Cheers,
Rob

[Get Karter]

Just use it as it is.

You don't need a specialist bike for every different bit of terrain, especially not a canal path.

I guess the marketing people at the big bike companies would disagree with me though......

[anonymous-user]

as get karter said, you dont need to do anything to it at all. just get out and ride.

it has 32 spoke wheels which should be more than strong enough to cope with towpaths. all the components will be fine, gears, handlesbars, pedals, all fine.

in time some stronger tyres, something like a pair of continental gatorskin tyres might prove useful if the towpaths has overhanging bushes or some sharp gravel and a pair of mudguards wouldnt be a bad idea as tow paths often have big, deep puddles.

seriously though, i use my road bike on tow paths and its a although its similar to your Dawes, its currently running a far more nimble and race-orientated wheelset compared to your bike and I havent had any problems. you will have so much fun riding "offroad" on drop handlebars and you get lots of respect from other cyclists!!

you may wish to review your seating position, your saddle should, as a good starting point, be parallel with your top tube, not pointing down.

Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 17th May 22:13

[Mr Will]

Another vote for "use it as is" here. Through various misadventures I've ended up properly off road on my road bike and it's always coped perfectly fine.

If you find you need a bit more comfort, some chunkier tyres would do the trick, but I'd wear the current ones out first.

[warp9]

Hi all, thanks for the comments so far. It's not that I like free wheeling, I do have some peddles, but it's a long and not very interesting story! The reason I was thinking of changing the handle bar to a straight one, is that I don't like leaning forward and down as you do on a racer and it all feels very narrow, I much prefer the more upright and broad stance of a MTB. This is probably why my seat tilts forward a bit. It just feels like I'm squashing my man jewels and my gut gets in the way.

So maybe I should see how it goes, listen to your advice, stop being such a jessie and get on and use it... (He say's apprehensively!)

[sjg]

Flip the stem if you want a more upright position. You can try rotating the bars back towards you slightly too, or a shorter stem if you want to spend money.

And as said, some slightly fatter tyres (maybe 28mm) with a bit more of a tread pattern will be a bit more comfortable for towpath-type riding as long as there's not too much claggy mud which will just jam in the brakes.

Ultimately, if you want a fatter-tyred, flat-barred bike (and one that actually fits you) then just selling what you've got and buying something else will probably be easier and cheaper overall. No reason why you can't just ride what you've got though.

[dubbs]

Sell both, get a shiny new bike; psychologically it'll make you want to get out more, which in turn will make you fitter, which will make you faster, which will make you want to see how fast you can go, which will take you on to roads, and then you'll need to buy a road bike

[Theoldfm]

warp9 said:

Hi. In my novice cyclist head this works, in reality I’d like the collective input. I’ve got a Dawes Giro 300 that I bought last year for a triathlon, but never did am not really into road biking, so has sat in my shed gathering dust.



I’m now doing a regular road/canal commute of around 8 miles each way on my ancient knackered MTB and want a newer faster bike, thus have thought of changing some components on the road bike to create a cyclocross type thing e.g.

Tyres:http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-cx-pro-mtb-cyclocross-tyre/
Handlebars: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ritchey-comp-flat-mountain...
Gear/brake set: Help! What 8 gear dual unit can I use?

My local bike shop is trying to convince me this is a false economy and to get a 2010 Giant hybrid for £400 which is the sensible choice, but I was after something a bit more unique and cheaper. What do you think? Anyone done this and can advise the end result, plus other considerations and which components to use?
Thanks

If you want to convert it to what I think you are after, you will need:

2 x Cyclo Cross 700c Tyres
1 x Flat Handlebars (of the right diameter to fit your stem)
1 x Pair of MTB Brake Levers
1 x Pair 8 Speed (assuming it is 8 speed) MTB Shifters

If you change that lot over, it won't cost too much and you will end up with a cyclo cross / hybrid type machine. Pretty cool.

Now then, I just happen to have some 8 speed Shimano XT brake lever / shifter combination levers which will work with your brake calipers (as opposed to V type brakes which have a different amount of cable pull) which I might be up for swapping for your old brake levers... hmmm

Edited by Theoldfm on Wednesday 18th May 20:01

[warp9]

Theoldfm said:

Now then, I just happen to have some 8 speed Shimano XT brake lever / shifter combination levers which will work with your brake calipers (as opposed to V type brakes which have a different amount of cable pull) which I might be up for swapping for your old brake levers... hmmm

Edited by Theoldfm on Wednesday 18th May 20:01

I've ordered some cyclocross 700x30c tyres, am going to flip the stem and tilt the bars up a bit, flatten the saddle then see how I get on next week. Providing this works I'm fairly sure I'll want a flat bar as I've never got on with drop bars, so if you're OK waiting a week will likely take you up on this offer?

[sjg]

I was under the impression that MTB and road shifters (and even between different manufacturers) pull different amounts of cable for each "step". There might be some combos that work, although picking up some of the flat-bar-specific road STIs would probably be easiest:

http://cycle.shimano-eu.com/publish/content/global...

I still think that's a step too far to be economical. Persevere with drops for a few months, they're a bit strange at first but you do get used to them.

[RonJohnson]

700x30 - will there be enough room for them to fit through the calipers?

[ewenm]

warp9 said:

I've ordered some cyclocross 700x30c tyres, am going to flip the stem and tilt the bars up a bit, flatten the saddle then see how I get on next week. Providing this works I'm fairly sure I'll want a flat bar as I've never got on with drop bars, so if you're OK waiting a week will likely take you up on this offer?

I've ridden my roadbike (Cannondale R600) along canal towpaths fairly often with no mods at all. On the flat bars/drops front, I hardly ever use the dropped bit of the bars, just ride with my hands on the hoods of the levers - I get plenty of steering control, brake power and gear control without needing to switch to the drops.

[itsnotarace]

RonJohnson said:

700x30 - will there be enough room for them to fit through the calipers?

Unlikely. Keep the receipt OP

[Theoldfm]

warp9 said:

I've ordered some cyclocross 700x30c tyres, am going to flip the stem and tilt the bars up a bit, flatten the saddle then see how I get on next week. Providing this works I'm fairly sure I'll want a flat bar as I've never got on with drop bars, so if you're OK waiting a week will likely take you up on this offer?

No problem - and by the way, the amount of cable pull on the gears is exactly the same as for an MTB just so long as they are the same speed i.e. 8 speed etc.

The only time the cable pull changes, is in relation to the brakes. You cannot use V-Brake levers with normal 'racer' brakes. The ones I have are for the canti-lever type brakes so they will be fine.

Cheers

[Kermit power]

I did basically this with my GT ZR 3.0, but for comfort rather than because I was using it on a canal path. I use it pretty much exclusively for commuting, and whilst the drop bars were fine on quiet roads without too many junctions, I just couldn't find a position in which I was physically comfortable whilst also having the necessary visibility to give me the psychological comfort I wanted for cycling through the London rush hour.

One thing to be aware of is that to get the sort of riding position it sounds like you're looking for, you probably won't be able to fit flat bars. I have Easton EA50 riser bars like this:



Even with these, I still needed to fit a riser stem as well. Can't remember the make, but it looks something like this:



The reason for this is that you've got your hands spread much further apart than on drop bars, so without the extra rise, you'd need to lean much further forward to compensate, and end up kneeing yourself in the chin constantly.

In terms of shifters, this was an initial challenge for the LBS, but they just gave Shimano UK a call and asked them what MTB shifters could be used with a Shimano 105 groupset. It meant I ended up with a 3 stop shifter for a 2 ring front setup, but this doesn't stop it from working perfectly well. This was a few years ago though, and if you look on the Shimano website now, they have specific components for flat bar road bikes. The one thing I can't remember is whether I had to change the front derailleur or not. I certainly didn't have to change the rear.

With regards to tyres, I kept the standard wheels, and for a while kept the standard tyres, but I kept getting punctures on the rear. This wasn't down to canal paths or anything, but just down to 18 stone of me plus a pannier rack, laptop and all the rest of the kit I haul around with me. It only took a small pothole or something and that was me at the side of the road fixing it! I fitted a set of Conti Gatorskin tyres as someone else above has suggested. They fit fine through the calipers, and I haven't had a single puncture since.

[louiebaby]

I would have thought a shorter, rising stem as mentioned, combined with some tougher, slightly treaded tyres would suit you well.

Keep the old ones, and if it's wrong, then you can sell it as stock without too much hassle. Narrower bars, (within reason,) are handy when commuting...

[anonymous-user]

jeez its a towpath not the highlands. just ride it a few times and see how it goes. stay on the hoods, and keep pedalling. 9 times out of 10 issues regarding bike control are speed related, try going faster and the steering remains true.

for the money people are suggesting you spend, you probably should buy a hybrid...

[Kermit power]

pablo said:

for the money people are suggesting you spend, you probably should buy a hybrid...

I sold my drop bars and 105 shifters/brakes on Ebay for more than the cost of the replacement parts!

[ewenm]

pablo said:

jeez its a towpath not the highlands. just ride it a few times and see how it goes. stay on the hoods, and keep pedalling. 9 times out of 10 issues regarding bike control are speed related, try going faster and the steering remains true.