Wilbur76

Picked this up from a nice guy in San Diego this weekend. I think there’s some historic significance to it but really hoping to convert to gravel drop bar. Unfortunately cockpit is awfully long and slammed. Any tips for getting some extra height out of that steerer (1-1/8” with starnut I think) would be appreciated thanks!

Korina

Cool bike. Good luck getting a drop bar on it; the stoopid long top tube will make it problematic, unless you're built like Michael Phelps.

thook

you'd be surprised what a difference in reach it'd make getting handlebars up nice and high. i'm a little over 5'6 and long legged. so, for the example, with traditional diamond frames, i have always had to seemingly stick with short top tubes for a comfortable amount of reach and tall quills/risers to get the handlebars up to saddle height. well, not long ago, i got my hands on a couple of road frames with 57cm top tubes. i still have to use a slightly taller than the average quill for equal saddle and bar height, but in my diligence to make it work i also discovered the magic of zero offset seat posts, short reach stems, and short reach bars. so, with the zero offset post, an 80mm reach quill, and bars with 75-80mm in reach, i can ride...comfortably....upon the larger than my usual 54-55cm top tube frames sans really tall or riser quills

in your situation, should you really like to try some drops, were i you i'd get one of those headsets that are for threadless steerers that allow the use of a quill. and, you can get 1 1/8" quills easy and cheap. get an 80m reach quill and a soma portola dirt drop with a reach of 65mm and i suspect you'd have your set up. oh, and a zero offset post. it's an option often done

ps. you'll have to knock the star nut out to get that quill in...obviously

thook

https://forums.mtbr.com/vintage-retr...et-830111.html

Wilbur76

Awesome thanks for the tip! My last covid project bike had a threadless quill stem that needed 1” to 1-1/8” so I bought a threadless adapter and it worked great. Was able to get a few mm height out of it too since the old quill stem was fairly tall. I just wasn’t sure whether this new project bike needed to keep the starnut or if I could also convert it with a threadless adapter. Removing a starnut is a PIA so don’t know why threadless adapters aren’t more widely used.

Velo Mule

You could also try a 0mm stem.

CyclingAbout Stem length

In here Alee talks about 0mm stems along with a bunch of steering geometry stuff. This could be a viable option.

Keep the pictures coming as the bike progresses. It looks like an interesting build.

Wilbur76

Nearly complete with assembling the parts for this 1x10 dropbar conversion. Dealt with a stuck seatpost but brought it down to my local bike co-op who muscled it out for me. Delaying again because the new fork to increase the cockpit height had a 1 inch compression slot that had to be cutoff in the current threadless setup. At least that’s what the LBS mechanic told me had to be done otherwise the compression slot is unsafe for the headset clamp to mount to. So I’m waiting for a new high stack Velo Orange stem to come in to help with the cockpit height. Here’s a pretty pic of the major parts so far.

Wilbur76

The Warthog build is now complete. Converted from 3x7 flatbar to 1x10 gravel flare dropbar. Old weight 28.8 lbs, new weight 27.2 lbs.

Frame, seatpost and cantilever brake hardware are the only original parts. New parts include Microshift Advent X dropbar shifters, 11-48 cassette and medium cage RD, Salsa Cowchipper bars, Velo Orange Happy Stem, Cane Creek 40 headset, Suntour fork, Panaracer Smoke and Dart tires, Shimano Deore hollowtech 2 BB, Koolstop Eagle 2 brake pads, plus assorted no name Amazon and eBay parts including a 32t oval chainring and HT2 crankset.

bOsscO

Looks great Wilbur76

Rage

Ditto!

loudbay

I spent HOURS last night looking for a vintage FSB to play around with after seeing this bike! Thank you (I think). This is the 'coolest' one I found. I never owned a lefty, but seems like it would be a pretty unique drop bar conversion.

Wilbur76

I’d do it. The challenge for me was getting the cockpit higher because that old school mountain bike geometry wasn’t doing it for me. Doesn’t look like you’ll have that problem.

loudbay

It's sold. it's on the +1 list though! What a fun idea! I'm too old to really learn to thrash a FSB, but this is right up my alley.

Cheers,

Even0404

How have you been liking the ride? I have the same frame and would like to do something similar.

Also, what shock is on the back? My stock one is an air shock.

Wilbur76

I sold it and most of my other vintage mtbs as I had to downsize for my move. I loved it though and would’ve kept it forever otherwise.

The shock is a Fox Vanilla I think. Not original so I suspect the recent seller swapped it out because the original was broken.

georges1

Interesting conversion And first time I see a full suspended steel stumjumper, I would have done another conversion but great job

Even0404

Ahhh some buyer has to be loving it. The frame alone is a good conversation piece.

Were you happy with the fork? I’m kinda lost with the compression ring you mentioned.

Wilbur76

The fork is a new “Suntour” from eBay. Not sure if it’s legit Suntour but it does seem to be quality-built.