sprocket38x14

The search function isn't working for me, and I couldn't otherwise find a relevant thread. Sorry if this question has been asked a lot in the past.

I want to switch to bullhorn handlebars. Rather than buying new ones, I'm considering flopping and chopping the old ones, but I can't find a good how-to guide anywhere. I realize this is a pretty simple project, so instructions aren't so necessary. Regardless, I have a few questions:

1. how do flop and chops compare comfort/utility-wise with "real" bullhorn bars?
2. I can't see why a metal pipe cutter wouldn't be sufficient to do the cutting (I have alloy bars), but would a grinder be a better choice?
3. this is largely a matter of personal preference, I'm sure, but how much bar to people cut off? I'm planning to cut the bar roughly at the midpoint of it's curvature (about the middle of the brake levers).
4. Anyone have any luck using their old brake levers on bullhorns, or are they just too unweildy? If the latter, please suggest a good brake lever

Thanks.

moxfyre

Haven't tried flop-and-chops myself, but I like the Nashbar TT brake levers on bullhorns. They work great and fit my large-ish hands very well: https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename=

I first tried using a drop lever on bullhorns, and nope that didn't work well

dobber

-Use a good hacksaw and a pipe clamp as a guide

-Cyclocross levers work nice on bullhorns, keeps the lever tucked up near the stem.


https://www.google.com/search?hs=wFi&...et&btnG=Search

ApolloCVermouth

Chopped drops are great. Maybe I don't know what I'm missing but I can't see myself paying for bullhorns. I used a 10$ pipe cutter to cut some old steel bars and it worked great. Another benefit to the older cheap steel drops is that they fit the 1 inch MTB size stem and are narrow so you can slide on an old MTB canti lever for your brake and save the cost of cyclocross levers .

likeclover

I just did a chop on the drop bars of an old Raleigh find. Cut them off with a hacksaw halfway through the curve, used the old Dia Compe road levers clamped almost up to the end of the bar, taped with cheap cork and finished with solid rubber bar end plugs from the junk box. They are now the best thing about the bike!
Tim

powers2b

+1
Same here but it was an old Gazelle

sprocket38x14

Thanks for all the replies.

I ended up using a pipe cutter and cutting at a point about 115 degrees through the curve (making the bars a little longer than cutting at the midpoint). I also flipped the stem upside down to increase the handlebar height (I don't know if this is a safety hazard, but it seems sturdy to me).

Leaving the bars slightly longer allowed me room to reattach my drop bar brake levers at the bar ends, leaving plenty of room for my hands. The brake seems to work fine like this (it's a fixed gear, so the other is a dummy lever) and it allows me to ride on the hoods as well. This configuration looks a little different than any other bullhorns I've seen, but it's so comfortable I really don't care. I can post pictures as soon as I tape the bars up and have them lookin nice if anyone is curious.

Several people recommended using a hacksaw. Maybe it's because I've always used worn out blades when cutting through metal in the past, but I really think pipe cutters are the way to go if you have access to some. It's less effort, and it's less likely the blade will slip.

Marlin

A couple of pictures would be great!

CIVEbike

In my experience hacksaws tend to leave a lot of rouge burrs on the edge of the cut whereas pipe cutters seem to give a much cleaner cut. Also, you can get a much straighter cut with the pipe cutters without any kind of guide.

ThatWhichRolls

What sort of drop lever was it? I installed a set of bullhorns on my fiancee's fixie a few months back and found that aero lever she'd had on her drops was perfect for it set very near the end of the bar.

sivat

I've used aero levers on both flip-and-chops and true bullhorns. Except for some trouble routing the brake cable, they work fine. You can see a picture of where they're mounted on my nishiki in my sig.

meatwad

<<I want to switch to bullhorn handlebars. >>

Why?