ctan

Hello! I recently purchased a used PUBLIC R16 road bike, similar to the 2014 model but has the shifters on located on the drop bars. I want to use this bike to commute to school, but the drop bars make it extremely uncomfortable. I want to convert the drop bars to flat bars, but I am unsure if I should bring it into a shop, or if this conversion is doable on my own. I have also purchased PUBLIC Steel Cafe Handlebars and PUBLIC City Grips but am unsure of the other parts that will be necessary. Any advice will be greatly appreciated!!

tFUnK

Unless you're currently running downtube shifters, you'll need new shifters, possibly new derailleurs.

dabac

I’m having trouble locating a bike that fits your description. Unless you can clarify what parts that are on your bike, accurate help will be difficult.

cpach

First of all, to get my personal feelings aside: I've only ever commuted on drop bars. Comfort may be a matter of getting used to the bike. Also, your position may not be ideal--if you raise and or shorten your stem you can find a more upright position.

To answer the technical side of the question, in addition to new bars you'll need new shifters and brake levers. I googled around on your bike, and I think you have 2x8 road drivetrain parts (with bar end shifters now, I think), so something like https://www.amazon.com/Shimano-Clari...8492862&sr=8-1 or https://www.amazon.com/microSHIFT-8-...492907&sr=8-14. Brake levers must be short pull to match the road brakes, something like https://www.amazon.com/Palancas-Ciud...8492950&sr=8-5 or https://www.amazon.com/SHIMANO-Handl...8492978&sr=8-3 . To do this yourself, you will at a minimum have to learn how to adjust the indexing of your derailleurs, and will probably also have to get new cables and housing for everything, be able to size them and cut them to length, and install them.

Good luck!

70sSanO

I’ve converted old road bikes to flat bar commuter/beach bikes.

If you have a 2x8 setup, just get Shimano Claris trigger shifters and flat bar brakes. Ii is good stuff and easy to get. As noted above you will need new brake and shift housings and cables.

Your biggest concern is getting the right stem. Generally road bikes place the handlebars lower and further forward. You will probably need to raise them and use a shorter stem length.

It will cost more to have a shop do it if you know what to buy and how to do the conversion. But you can spend more if you buy the wrong parts or mess something up. The good thing about a shop is that you can try the setup on flat bar bikes the shop has and then duplicate it on your bike.

John

Edit Added: Just noticed the a Microshift reference above. Decent shifters and are probably less expensive than Claris.

Leisesturm

Public brand bikes live in a gray area of price and quality. Not quite the cachet of ... better known brands like Trek, Giant and Specialized but certainly not junk. That said, doing the conversion oneself is a MUST, otherwise don't bother. Better to just look for a decent flatbar model on Craigslist and set it up with fenders, etc. Actually I bought a very nice Schwinn commuter from a co-op that had been converted to flatbar by a previous owner for $129. That's not much more than a shop is going to want for parts and labor to convert a brifter equipped road-bike to flat-bars. It already had everything a commuter would want. Most co-ops get the bikes they sell from Police impound lots and Transit depot lost and founds. It makes sense that the majority of such finds will be commuterized. Most people are working these conversions the other way and I ended up re-converting that Schwinn back to drop bars (and downtube shifters). Of course I did the work myself and when I took it back to the co-op I bought it from to show it off they had to admit it looked much better with drops. But flat-bars have their place. I have some of both.