caplja

Hello from Croatia to you all!
This is my first post on this forum and I would like to ask for a little help.
My desire is to transform the Kona Dew to Kona Dew Drop...
At the start, I should buy touring bike and save some serious money but, you know how it is
This is my bike:
and I would like to get this from it:

The dimensions of my frame-set are:

(my size is 56cm, I'm 183cm tall)

So, here where I am now....
I could say that I got actually Ultegra 6703 groupset(2013) for free(almost). And I know that I can't do nothing with derailleurs and breaks. But I can mount STI's on drop bar and make myself something like Kona Dew Drop or Kona Sutra.
Problems I discovered so far are breaks, here I would have to put travel agent or maybe mini v-breaks(tektro RX5!?)

Now I would like to ask you are there any potential problems like setting rear SLX and front DEORE with STI's?
And main question, I don't have experience in touring so much like you guys, (I'm cycling only a 2 years but making 7000-10 000km a year which is good number to me ) So I can not tell if the frame would work with drop bar :/ So far, size is perfect for me, but I read that if I put drop bar I would get smaller bike.

Want to make sure about that "small" problems before I dig in Because I don't want to spend money on 10spd(now is 8spd) chain, cassete, hanldebar etc. and realize that this is not good idea

Thanks in advance
and please have patience with my poor English

fietsbob

Some got it to work, others not, so hot.

consider a left friction bar end, it will adapt to whatever FD is on the other end of the cable..
STI goes Ka-Thunk into 1 of 3 spots . so the relation to the FD matters more, as Many say.

I leapt over the whole issue, Friction Bar end shifters (80's, 90's) to an IGH.

[ I just cope with STI brifters on the repair stand in the Shop.]

caplja

RD is ok, 9spd SLX will work with 10spd STI. But I'm to consider about FD, I have crankset 26x38x48 and it seems to be that this 10T between 38 and 48 would be problem Can I mount ultegra 6703 FD on this crankset?

ksisler

OP; While you work though all the pondering and hypothericals you will likely have here, perhaps you could remove the spacers you currently have between the stem and the headset. This would lower your bars quite a bit and it may be enough of a change to allow you to consider keeping the existing bike as is...would save a lot of money If you do, I wouldn't recommend trimming off the new extra length of the steerer until you are really sure though...and many folks these days find other things to mount on the steerer above the stem (GPS units, lights, bells, smart phone mounts, etc). /K

seely

Here's what I'd recommend for a conversion instead of going the STI route... you also won't need Travel Agents either:

- v-brake/linear pull compatible drop bar levers (Tektro makes some very nice and inexpensive ones)
- drop bars, duh.
- MAYBE a different stem (to compensate for the change in reach)
- bar-end shifters (cheaper & more reliable than STI... still comfortable to use...)

Yo Spiff

I went with friction bar end shifters. They work with everything.

You can find a lot of good info in this ongoing thread that covers exactly what you want to do: Show-Your-Vintage-MTB-Drop-Bar-Conversions

seely

Great minds...

clasher

I did something similar with my special sirrus for my first long trip... it worked fabulously for touring and I only had a compact double on it at the time but did travel pretty light since I'm not. I upgraded with to the current triple last year. Used tektro's v-brake road levers and shimano 9 speed bar end shifters. Just a plain old drop bar and generic tape. This bike has been built up for lighter style touring and so I swapped out the steel fork that originally came with this sirrus. It's been a wonderful bike and is truly my "all rounder".

Basically I agree with the bar-end shifter crowd... also gives ya flexibility when upgrading in the future if you can dig friction shifting.

caplja

Thank you all for advice. I also agree with bar-ends but, I could say that I got ultegra 6703 STI like a gift so I was trying to avoid selling it and buying bar ends etc.
Always wanted to go to drop bars so I thought now is the time.(and why not with ultegra STI if the chance pop out )

As I discover so far, breaks are going to be easily solved with not so expensive Tektro RX5(30$). There only remains shifters with front and rear derailleur.
Rear would be ok, 9spd SLX will work with 10spd STI. But I'm skeptic about FD deore with crankset 26-38-48.
Ultegra 6703 FD i can't mount because seat-post angle and 10T difference between medium and third plate..

also, should I worry about 10spd chain with this crankset?

digger531

Your best chance up front is going to be with either a Tiagra triple derailleur or the alpine one from IRD. Bigger problem might be the ten speed chain on a 8spd crank. It may want to slide between the chainrings and get stuck.

You also mentioned the size. If that bike fits you well now, adding drop bars is going to make it bigger (longer reach) which is going to be the biggest problem.

caplja

crank is 9spd, but I see the problem know.

Your second thought is what was my main concern, maybe it is the best way to leave it as it is after all

Telly

Slightly off topic, but having asked the same question a while back and following fietsbob's advice, I changed my flat bars from my bike to Trekking bars (see below) and have never looked back since! You will probably be able to keep all your existing handlebar hardware with only the cost of the bars and either bar tape or foam tubes.

DVC45

That's the best option, in my opinion.

Drop bars are overrated.

fietsbob

Yea,, above Figure 8 bend, all the straight bar controll move over drectly,

Where Drop bars need some new parts, + the bars , & perhaps the stem too

reach adjustment

Ciufalon

I agree that trekking bars would probably make you happy. I put them on a bike I got with straight bars just to give them a try after seeing them here on the forums for a few years, and I love them. It took a little time for me to decide if I like them. They are much better than straight bars and I highly recommend giving them a try. I also have bikes with drop bars, but about half the time I choose to ride the bike with trekking bars. They are excellent for a multi-purpose bike that is used for many types of riding.

If you do go with drops, it looks like your seat could slide forward some to counter some of the change in reach.

MichaelW

+3 on trekking bars.

I had to upgrade by traditional drop-bar touring bike. Getting a front mech that played well with Tiagra 9 STI was not easy. Not only do you need it road compatible (ie Tiagra), you need it with a tight curve for the small inner chainring and you need it shaped to avoid contact with the chainstay.
Getting any touring bike brakes to work efficiently with STI levers is hard. You will have to resort to those pully widgets to change the cable pull for V brakes.
The effort is not worth the small rewards. Fit trekking bars and use your current controls= cheaper, easier and more effective.

OndrejP_SK

Great solution how to use any road brake levers (including STI or any other that you already have at home) with V brakes is to buy these cheap Shimano road short V brakes: https://www.roseversand.com/article/s...343/aid:592345 I use them with old BL-1055 levers and the it works great.