koolerb

I've got everythng figured out but the stem for the Nishiki conversion. What do you guys think:

This style quill stem:


Or quill to threadless adapter:

Gravity Aided

Quill, stick to the classics.

neo_pop_71

+1 Agreed!

Stick with the quill... I have an adapter on my '89 Schwinn 974 (quasi-Klein) and it'll do fine for the 1" threadless Cinelli Alter stem but I wish I would have stayed with the quill set up. That said, especially if you can pick up a Nitto Technomic quill stem like mine in the previous Cimarron posting... that stem will solve all your stem height issues! I think I hid the stem adapter pretty well but it never looks great in my opinion.

koolerb

Or road bike stem. I've already got this one; only issue is my Nitto Raundoneur bar fits loose in it. I was thinking I could wrap some tape around around the bar and it would probably be plenty tight. The top of the bar will also be just under level in relation to the seat with this one. I was initially thinking I want something with a little rise.



Any issues with road bike stems in this application? Planning on hitting some rough roads with this one.

hairnet

If it gets you the fit you need then it should be fine. The road stem I had at first had me sitting too far forward to workout with this particular bike. I just switched out to a threadless stem so I can play with different amounts of rise and, to me, they dont look out of place on steel MTBs

Aemmer

Nitto Dirt Drop Quill.

ivan_yulaev

Don't use tape! Horrible idea.

Get a bimetal beer can (the heavy ones for 22oz beers, like sapporo) and cut a strip out of it. That should be just about the right thickness to shim the bars.

acoffin 

I have had good luck with beer can shims. Using tape as a shim seems like a really bad idea. You might just want to get a stem and bar combo that are the same size if you are tackling rough ground. Otherwise you might just be asking for a faceplant.

dddd

Beercan shim works well, and the bigger-diameter cans will give you a thicker shim in every case.

Note that some import beers use steel cans, which likely are a little thinner (if still stiffer, so seeming thicker).

The shim should be sanded on both sides to remove the slippery poly coating!

Those Modolo stems are one of the more troublesome designs, many have broken at the clamp.
Having clamped it on a 25.4mm bar might actually have weakened it further.

bobotech

Nice but its already sold.

Wish I had the money but too rich for my blood right now.

Agreed, looks like Sport Rock not Stump Jumper but still was a good deal except that its already sold. LOL

So I was at my co-op today and looking around. We don't have any really nice frames but there are a bunch of frames to play with. All of the frames are either rough to fair as far as paint is concerned. We have what looks like to be a mid '90s Specialized Hard Rock with a chromoly front fork but I thought that Hard Rocks were straight gauge pipes. There is also a Trek 830 but no fork and paint is rough and the frame looks rather short but I heard that they are excellent frames. Also looks like to be mid '90s.

I'm going to look some more tomorrow.

frantik

i think it depends on the year.. i think some were butted main tubes and straight stays, but later were all double butted frames. I've had 3 Hardrock's pass thru my hands and each one was good quality. If that one has cr-mo fork and doesn't feel super heavy then give it a go...

4funbikes

My new cruiser.
Not a drop bar, but still fits this thread..
1990 trek 970. Lugged true temper tubing. Cool splatter paint job. USA made.
Bars and cables are a bit obnoxious, but they are growing on me.

Chris Chicago

for an extra thick shim use a beer bottle.

neo_pop_71

That Trek 970 was the top model in the 900 Series, my 950 came with LX/XT but the 970 was full XT. The lugged True Temper OX frame is really nice and make great conversions! I know Bill has one from the similar era, his is a beauty!

koolerb

Score!!! Grabbed these today from the Box-O-Stems at one of the local bike shops. now just need to figure out which one I want to use.

Yo Spiff

The adjustable one looks very handy. Convenient to swap bars and adjustable every which way. I'm not enamored with it's looks, however. The Technomic is a nice looking traditional road stem.

ThermionicScott 

Just flip those bars, and you'll be in business.

neo_pop_71

Score indeed! Nice pick up, coming out of the Box-O-Stems, I gathering that you paid less than the $65.00 cost of a new Nitto Technomic quill stem... lucky!!! I just installed a Technomic stem with a Nitto Albatross bar on my Cimarron build. I got a good price on mine, $50.00 with shipping included. Spare me the agony if you scored yours for practically nothing, thanks! I'm biased but I say you go with the Technomic, you can't go wrong with a classic look.

Bikedued

Well, you guys let one hybrid in a while back. Well, this is hybrid taken to the extreme roadie side. Most may argue it doesn't belong here, and they may be right(being not a mtb, and not vintage). In my opinion it has taken a utilitarian flat bar bike, and turned into a drop bar bike, which is what this thread is about. I'll understand if you hate it, but it is what it is. An extremely comfortable rocket of a bike. It scoots along VERY well, though I haven't put a speedometer on it yet. 21 pounds 13 ounces as it sits. It's going ten speed soon though, and then the frame may be replaced by something more cyclocross in nature.,,,,BD

frantik

saw one of those at a local charity bike place.. woulda grabbed it cept i already had too many mtbs of similar quality

it needs some drops though :-p

ThermionicScott 

I think it fits the spirit of this thread -- hybrids occupy kind of a middle-zone between MTBs and road bikes anyway.

Bikedued

And how often do you see a Schwinn Super Sport single speed with Cannondale bars, Deore V brakes, and a carbon aero seatpost from a Giant Defy. Never, haha. Thanks!,,,,BD

The ride is amazing too! It floats over everything and nothing seems to upset it, as long as I keep the tires to around 80-85 psi. If I get to or near the max inflation of 100, the rides changes dramatically to a CAD3, feel every pebble in the road, teeth rattling type experience...

IthaDan 

What's to hate? That thing looks like one hell of a backroad bomber.

Bikedued

I finally figured out how to sprint it too. If you cut the bars back and forth just a bit more than a normal road bike, it falls right into a groove. Although, I am not sure if it actually accelerates any faster, when forward motion is bring traded for turning the bars just so. It's so rock steady during a steady cruise, that it kinda makes up for it.,,,,BD

bobotech

So I want your opinions. I found a rather rough yet complete Specialized Rock Hopper frameset today with the drivetrain still intact. This will be the basis of my drop bar conversion, moving over the parts on my late model Hard Rock.

Is the Rock Hopper a better frame than the old Hard Rock that we have at the co-op?