Smitty2k1

Hey everyone, I've got a drop bar 2010 Jamis Aurora Elite touring bike that I use as my commuter and grocery-getter right now. It's a bit long for me so it has a short and tall stem on it and rides more or less OK with that. It's got a 3x9 tiagra front drivetrain and controls and LX rear derailleur. Avid BB7 road disc brakes. Having a baby this year and wondering if it would be a good candidate to convert to a flat bar with baby carrier in the back. Interested in doing flat bar to have a more upright seating posture for commuting around town with the baby. I think the bike may be a good candidate because it is a touring frame that has a very sturdy rear rack (50lb capacity) and front rack, disc brakes, and wide gearing.

Any handling considerations for doing a flat bar conversion? I know I'd need the bar, brake levers, and shifters. Do the BB7s work with any shift levers? Any other opinions? If I go down this route I'd spend the next 6 months or so just sourcing used parts locally, so I don't anticipate it would cost too much money.

kingston 

Handling should be fine. Flat bar won't get you much more upright than a drop bar. I'd probably go with north road bars, something similar or at least risers to shorten the reach if the bike is too long.

BB7's don't care what shift levers you have, but get the avid SD7 brake levers. They work the best with BB7's and aren't too expensive. Several different shifter options available. I have 3x7 gripshift on one bike that I like ok.

That's what I always think when I start a project like this.

Bill Kapaun

Your "road" FDER will be incompatible with a "mountain" front shifter. (different cable pull)
You need this FDER-
https://www.harriscyclery.net/produc...illeur-964.htm

dedhed

Or a shimano flat bar road triple shifter and keep his current FD

https://www.modernbike.com/shimano_s...ad_shifter_set

dedhed

I myself would probably just pick up a decent used Hybrid of rigid mountain bike and have that exclusively for kid duty.
Or possibly even as a "donor bike" for cockpit parts on the Jamis

cyccommute 

The road BB7 many not care about shifters but it does care about the levers. Road BB7 and mountain BB7 are two different beasts. The road version uses a short pull lever while the mountain uses a long pull lever. The adjustment in the SD7...the “Speed Dial” part...isn’t enough in my experience to make up the difference. The road BB7s need a flat bar road lever or even an old cantilever lever. Shimano Claris would be a good choice.

kingston 

I stand corrected. Forgot about the road vs mtn versions. Thanks @cyccommute

Jeff Wills

Except that derailleur is "not available". I think there's a Microshift equivalent but I can't find it. It exists because I put one on my new bike. It's a front derailleur that works with older "flat-bar" and mountain triple shifters but the cage is contoured for large chainrings.

Regarding the OP's "baby hauler" requirement- challenge accepted:

https://bikeportland.org/2012/06/28/...-by-bike-73731

cyccommute 

Smitty2k1’s best option would be to use Sora flatbar shifters which will work with the Tiagra front and rear derailers.

veganbikes

I would try something like the Velo Orange Crazy Bars, Surly Moloko Bars or Koga Denham bars. Give you more hand positions like a touring bike but without the drops.

For shifters I would personally go with thumbies. MicroShift makes some for different speeds and the front is friction so it don't care what derailleur you are using (though I bet you could shift a road FD with a mountain trigger shifter just fine it is the RD that would be the issue on 10 speed and up)

Also make sure you get the correct pull brake levers for your brakes. As some have stated BB7s come in a Road (short pull) or a Mountain (long pull) configuration. Or you can swap out for some hydraulic brakes for better stopping power with kids on the back if you are going the flat bar route.

Geezerdan

When I went from drop to flat a bought a 3" rise bar, I'm a Clyde and a geezer and ride more upright, works great for me.

Jeff Wills

No, you can't. A "mountain" trigger shifter pulls more cable than a "road" shifter so the derailleur hits its stop before the shifter ratchet "clicks".

Ironfish653

Best bet, on a budget would be to go old-school; North Roads bars, MTB canti levers, and friction thumbies or bar-end shifters.

Keep in mind, kids are only baby carrier size for a couple of years. A ‘healthy’ 2-3 year old may be more weight and wiggles than you want to have strapped to your bike.

These mods would also be good to have when/if you wanna use the bike for pulling a trailer or tag-a-long when they outgrow the baby seat.

ramzilla

Go for it. It's just a bunch of parts and a little elbow grease.

Smitty2k1

Thanks for the tips and info everyone, but I have one question - I thought all 9 speed were interchangeable (road and mountain). There is a lot of talk here about incompatible shifters and derailleurs. The brake incompatibility I get.

base2 

What about foregoing all the shifter/brake/handle bar stuff & scope out a decent used trailer on your favorite want ads website?

$200 & no complications. I did need to take out the kid harnesses & build a solid floor.
20190911_164234 by Richard Mozzarella, on Flickr

My dog loves this thing, BTW.
He'll go to the garage & sit by it or get between me & whatever bike I'm working on when he wants to go for a ride.

veganbikes

We are talking about a front derailleur not rear. Shouldn't have those issues.

Jeff Wills

Shimano "mountain" front triple shifters and derailleurs were designed around much greater cable movement than their "road" triple counterparts. I tried them and they were incompatible.

At least they were when mountain bikes had triple cranks. With the latest Sora triple cranks, the shifters' cable pull has been unified so the front derailleurs are identical for drop-bar and flat-bar shifters.

veganbikes

Ahh maybe around the older triples, I wish we had figured out the lovely compact gearing for road bikes a long time ago probably could have saved those odd road triples.

Jeff Wills

I guess I'm an old fart now. I like triple cranks and small jumps between cogs. My current bike has a 24-36-48 triple up front and a 12-34 9-speed cassette. I'd like a "road" triple (24-42-52) but I can't find a new one I like.

And get off my lawn!

veganbikes

Ehhh I have a bike with downtube 6 speed DA shifters and a freewheel and I have toyed with converting to triple because 6 speed on a short cage derailleur and a 52-39 (formerly 42) is just not enough to get up the hills easily. I love the bike and wouldn't upgrade it for practicality with some more modern long cage stuff or a non-dura ace 7400 RD.

That is more the touring triple which I similar to what I am running on my touring bike albeit with a 11-34 (though for some reason I had briefly toyed with a 12) However with the new compact and sub compact cranks it is nice to get the lower gearing without a triple.

dedhed

Looking for clarification here. Do you mean flat bar ROAD shifters or ALL (Mt & road) flat bar shifters, because there has in the past been flat bar road shifters the shifted road FD?

Is this moving forward or is there some kind of backward compatibility?

ramzilla

If all else fails just slap a set of thumb shifters on it and forget about it.

ramzilla

Jeff Wills

I'm not sure I understand your question.

In the past, Shimano's triple "flat-bar" and mountain shifters were 100% interchangeable. I have used Shimano SL-R660 shifters and SL-M751 shifters with the same front and rear derailleurs and they perform identically despite one being advertised as "flat-bar road" and the other as "mountain".

I understand that flat-bar double shifters work with road front derailleurs.

As I pointed out above, Shimano has muddied the waters further by making the current Sora "flat-bar" shifters work with the "road" front derailleur. If I weren't already crazy, this would push me over the edge.