UKC

Old bike re-purposing/renovating

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 gethin_allen 05 Mar 2017
Watching the design of CX and gravel bikes slide ever closer to my 1996 Marin Miurwoods MTB that I still have hanging in the shed I'm tempted to dig it out and do something with it.
I'm thinking about using it for road touring/commuting as my commuter road bike is looking rather knackered and doesn't seem to like the weight of touring kit.
It currently has some really crap bars and stem and the combined brake/shifters are dead so I'm wondering if I should put some drop bars and road style STI levers on or replace the MTB style stuff?

Any ideas how an old rigid MTB would handle with drops and if all shimano rear mechs are compatible with both road and MTB shifters?

I'm also wondering if I'm going to run out of gears as it has a highest gear of 42-11 which compared to even the compact chainset on my road bikes seems a bit on the small side.

Any tips or wisdom appreciated.
Gethin.
 beardy mike 05 Mar 2017
In reply to gethin_allen:

I think it might be a little odd to be honest. There are lots of franken bikes about but those old Marins (I had an Eldridge grade back in the day) were designed for rigid forks with a long head tube and flat bars. I think to get it to ride vaguely well you'd need a high rise stem, and shallow drops. But really I'd say it would be a shame. If it were me I'd do it up as a retro MTB, put 1x11 gearing on their and some good quality v-brakes with some skinny old school knobbly tyres and it's still a great fun ride... but then I have a thing for old Marins, GT's and Kona's!
OP gethin_allen 05 Mar 2017
In reply to beardy mike:

I do still have the old bars and stem so I could just put them back on but I was wondering if there were any advantages of running drops for touring.
 beardy mike 05 Mar 2017
In reply to gethin_allen:

Well yes there are for sure in the sense that you have more hand positions. If you travel that road start reading up about dirt drops. The trouble with standard road drops is that they tend to be deep for aerodynamics and narrow. That means when you are riding offroad you have to bend your arms more on descents when yuo will be in the drops for stability. On long descents it means your arms will be spent as f*ck by the bottom. Flared drops allow you to have straight arms and are actually really comfortable. The drops are shallower which puts you much higher than a road drop. The width is also much wider than a road drop which is better for control.

There are lots out there now:

Salsa woodchipper
Salsa Cowchipper
Salsa cowbell 2 and 3
On one Midge
Alpkit Bomber (basically a midge)
Soma fabs ones
Velo orange Daija Far bar
A few I can't remember!

I have the midge, and whilst it's OK, I don't like the acute bend in the bar which means you can't reallyride the drop hoods. Also the drop is actually really short so if you have big hands like I do they are not so great. I got them as a cheap second hand replacement and have stuck with them mainly through being a tightwad. For the same reasons I'd not get the alpkits - they are nearlly the same bar it would seem. he wood chipper is somewhat similar but has much longer drops as are the soma. Might work, but some people like them and others hate them.

The cow bells are more a standard road geometry with slight flare. Really popular with out and out CX riders.
Cow chipper is in the middle. I would really like some, but they are £90!
Lastly the Daija - seems like a bit of everything thrown in there, and seems like maybe a good option? I might try some once I have a bit of spare cash! Either that or I'll just save more and go for the Cowchippers!

The real problem comes when you start considering gearing. Personally if you really want an MTB with drops, I'd stay with SRAM. I went Shimano and because the ratios are different between MTB and road gearing, its a total ball ache. But then I prefer the way Shimano shifts. So I'm on a bar end shifter for now.
 DamonRoberts 06 Mar 2017
In reply to gethin_allen:

I've done it. Its hilariously good fun with fat not very grippy tyres and a timetrial riding position. Mines singlespeed however.

https://goo.gl/photos/sbCY6pUoP7seM6c67

I think most older shimano stuff is all interchangeable, but finding 7 speed STI's won't be very easy (I think they made them in Dura Ace flavour, then everything moved to 8 speed) so you might need new wheels/cassette, plus you need a road mech to go with road shifters.

I'd also recommend a higher rise stem than the one in my picture, it makes it quite uncomfortable when you're not putting the hammer down along a bridlepath, as per Beardy Mike.

 beardy mike 06 Mar 2017
In reply to gethin_allen:

Then all you need is one of those Tioga string wheels and you're set Either tthat or bin that lot and buy a Kirk Revolution. <shivers with slight disgust remebering how much I wanted one when I was 15>. Or if you really want your head checking find a sligshot bike.

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/files/disc_drive_1_109.jpg
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/download/file.php?id=117369
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/62/97/cd/6297cd9c3887095429f...
 beardy mike 06 Mar 2017
In reply to DamonRoberts:

For the right person I have stashed away a pair of Shimano Deore DX 7 speed (or are the 8 - I can't remember) short pull STI rapidifre shifters and brake levers and 4 LX Cantilever brakes, not v-brakes - the proper ones with straddle wires. You'll swear and curse as you set them up and again as you try to stop going down a hill in the wet, but it'll be authentic
OP gethin_allen 06 Mar 2017
In reply to DamonRoberts:

> I've done it. Its hilariously good fun with fat not very grippy tyres and a timetrial riding position. Mines singlespeed however. https://goo.gl/photos/sbCY6pUoP7seM6c67
I think most older shimano stuff is all interchangeable, but finding 7 speed STI's won't be very easy (I think they made them in Dura Ace flavour, then everything moved to 8 speed) so you might need new wheels/cassette, plus you need a road mech to go with road shifters.


This was the real question. The back wheel has an 8 speed cassette running a spacer to accommodate a 7 speed cassette. At one point it was running 8 speed XT but someone stole bars along with the shifters and brakes when it was outside my uni halls years back and I didn't have any money so put the old stuff on just to get it working.



In reply to gethin_allen:
There is a history of XC MTB racers using drops off-road (Tomac), it'll be great fun. I've just built up a hack/commute bike based on an old Claude Butler rigid MTB and had thought I would get some wide drops. It now has slicks and a 48 big ring.
 beardy mike 06 Mar 2017
In reply to gethin_allen:

Well if you want 8 speed road shifters, they will work absolutely fine as long as you stay within manufacturer, so an 8 speed STI road shifter will suit an 8 speed (or indeed a 7 or I think 9) speed MTB derailleur. You can pick up 8 speed road shifters on fleabay for next to nowt as people seem to think they need 100 speed bikes these days. Apart from all the 1x fanatics.
 RX-78 06 Mar 2017
In reply to gethin_allen:

I got an old gary Fisher rigid MTB set up as 1x 8. It has been in various disguises over the years. For a good while it was single speed but put back the rear derailleur for a cycle touring holiday. It is bombproof on London's roads coupled with some heavy weight schwalbe tyres. But I have upgraded from cantilevers to v-brakes. Put in an ahead set adaptor, New hollowtech BB AND cranks, New rear derailleur and shifter. Looks old and cr*p but rides well (frame needs a bit of tlc)
OP gethin_allen 06 Mar 2017
In reply to beardy mike:
"... people seem to think they need 100 speed bikes these days. Apart from all the 1x fanatics."

I've noticed this too, it's one way or the other and I'm only really driven by what is available.

 DamonRoberts 06 Mar 2017
In reply to beardy mike:

Awesome. I got into the whole retro bike scene a while back. It all started with rescuing a 1991 Specialized hardrock from our local dump and enjoying ragging it around so much I got a few nice old steel frames to play with. My dad recently built up a Kona Explosif with 8 speed XTR and Magura hydraulic rim brakes. It's one hell of a fun bike.
 beardy mike 06 Mar 2017
In reply to DamonRoberts: I have my gt avalanche waiting to be built. Got some rockshox sids, a pair of middleburn rs 7's and some old hope wheels. I'll do modern gearing though... so much better I cant not...

 Timmd 23 Mar 2017
In reply to gethin_allen:

If you do a bit of googling, you'll probably find information on how to change your bar stem length so that drop bars work okay.

singletrackworld.com can be helpful for things like this, lots of tinkerers who'll share what they found to happen when they did something like this.
 Timmd 23 Mar 2017
In reply to gethin_allen:

I gather there's a rule of thumb by how much you'll need to shorten your stem when fitting drop handle bars.
 beardy mike 08 Apr 2017
In reply to gethin_allen: Just to add to this thread as it might be useful for someone else:

So I've bought the Microshift Shimano mtb 10 speed compatible bar end shifter - great shifter, well made and indexes perfectly.
I also after much deliberation decided I couldn't afford the Salsa Cowchipper and went for the Velo Orange Daija, which seems identical to the Origin8 Gary Ergo Sweep and the Sartoi Boondock. Went for my first ride today and have to say I'm really impressed. Much better to ride on the hoods, and the drops are long, confortable and have a little hook at the end to rest your hand in. Definitely a win so far, but not been offroad (other than the canal path) so will report further...

 radar 09 Apr 2017
In reply to gethin_allen:

Pop over to Retrobike. MTB chat bit of the forum (pre 98 section), there is quite a lengthy chat about doing what you are suggesting. Some very knowledgeable folk, and quite civilised and welcoming (compared to some bike forums). If you can't immediately find it, search for drop handlebars and it should come back as one of the first returns. Many moons ago MBUK turned a Litespeed ti mtb frame into a courier style TT bike, it looked top.

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