zeppinger

Hi All,

I have an old Specialized Rockhopper from the 1990s that I want to convert to a commuter/touring rig. I dont like the looks of straight bars with barends on them and was thinking of either converting it to drops or bullhorns. Drop bar conversions look pretty involved and more expensive so I wanted to know what bullhorn handlebars would work with my bike. Do I have the standard 25.4mm diameter? What handlebars would you recommend?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give!
-Zep

hueyhoolihan

i run flat bars on my bikes with 1" quill road stems from manufacturers like 3T and Thompson. so you should be able to chop the drops off an old road bar and it should work well enough with your stem.

fuzz2050

Either one will be a pretty involved project. Bullhorns and drops will both require new brake levers and shifters, as well as new housing and cables.

TenSpeedV2

I wanted to tackle this for my fat bike as both of my fixed gear bikes have them. Would have been way too much to make this happen so I scrapped the idea and just got bar ends. They work well enough.

BobbyG

What about "drop bar" bar ends?
drop bar bar ends - Google Search

fietsbob

Figure 8 bend trekking bars are Great on MTB's. and the conversion requires no new levers be bought.

but Ergon's Grip- bar end combinations are excellent too..

mstateglfr 

1- trekking/butterfly bars. https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...0052_175533_-1
$20, aluminum, tons of hand positions which is great for commuting/town riding/touring, and MTB components go right on.

2- Scott brand AT2 bars. You can get them on ebay. My wife has some AT2 bars on a 90s Scott MTB and they are fantastic.
Vintage Scott at 2 Handlebar | eBay
[URL="https://www.ebay.com/itm/VERY-RARE-SCOTT-AT-2-LF-TAPER-LITEFLITE-Hybrid-Mountain-Bicycle-Handlebar-22-in-/321745250369?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ae982e841"]
https://www.ebay.com/itm/VERY-RARE-SC...item4ae982e841
Very RARE Scott at 2 Butted Aluminum Hybrid Mountain Bicycle Handlebar 22in | eBay

3- Scott brand AT3 bars. these wrap around more than the AT2.
Vintage Scott at 3 LF Handlebar | eBay
Vintage Scott at 3 Handlebar Very RARE | eBay

4- GT had some bullhorn style MTB on mid90s rigid bikes such as the Backwoods and for sure some of the All Terra models- I have a couple sets and love them. One is on one of my wife's road bikes since she likes a more upright position and I have some on a errands/grocery getter.
the link shows what they look like. Tough to find them on ebay. GT Backwoods Mountain Bike 58 Cm | eBay




Best of luck!

zeppinger

Would these work? 25.4 is standard MTB diameter right?

Soma Urban Pursuit Bar 25.4 Clamp Black/Silver

LesterOfPuppets

Probably. Some of the 1999-ish Rockhoppers might have had 31.8, but the vast majority have 25.4. If you could share a pic of the bars and stem, it'll be obvious.
I'd go for the GT Bullhorns already mentioned or Avenir Brahma bars.

Scott AT-x aren't as sturdy.

LesterOfPuppets

They have 23.8 grip area diameter. Many MTB shifters and brake levers will not fit, as they're made for 22.2mm grip area.

mstateglfr 

Having used both the Scott and GT bars, I haven't noticed a difference in sturdiness...at least I haven't notice the Scott bars flexing a lot, which is what I assume you mean by not as sturdy.
Do the Scortt bars have a rep for breaking/bending or something?

TenSpeedV2

100% correct. Tried 25.4 bullhorns since I had them laying around. No way to get the SRAM X5 shifters or brake levers on there as they will not fit.

Darth Lefty 

Need bullhorns specifically or just looking for not-straight bars? Soma sells 3-Speed Moustache II Bar | SOMA Fabrications and Sparrow Bar 490/520/560 | SOMA Fabrications in MTB diameter.

zeppinger

What do you think?

zeppinger

Just not straight bars but I also dont care for mustache bars or swept backs.

LesterOfPuppets

Definitely 25.4.

zeppinger

Sweet! So does that mean that it would be an easy conversion with the brake handles and shifters all transferring over?

mstateglfr 

Assuming you will use some of the GT or Scott bars previously mentioned, your components should all just slide right off and on to the new bars. Just a matter of loosening, repositioning, then cranking them secure to the new bar.

TenSpeedV2

If you find bars that have the same grip diameter, yes. Bullhorns do not have the same, I know because I have tried this already. Shifters and brake levers will not fit on there. If you want to run bullhorns you will need new shifter and brake levers. This is where the work and cost comes into play.

LesterOfPuppets

Actually, there are some levers that would fit. I believe the OP's shifters are some that would work on road size bullhorns, but I'm not sure about the brake levers. I'm not familiar with them and I'd need to see a pic from below to venture a guess as to whether they'd work

fietsbob

Already a Long Stem, the Bull horn Grips will be WAY out there, a long reach.