Convert hybrid to gravel for less than 350 US dollars?
 

Convert hybrid to gravel for less than 350 US dollars?I bought a second hand hybrid bike a couple of years ago. Using it mainly on rough bike paths, so a gravel bike will suit me better. Is it possible to convert such a hybrid bike into a gravel bike for less than 350 US dollars? The bike is originally a Merida Freeway Redwood. Frame sixe 58 cm. I am 51 years old, 181 cm tall. Most important is to get dropbars. Will 1x11 groupset be an idea for this? Also curious whether a shift of wheelset will make the bike better. I am living in Scandinavia, so I use European online stores. Please let me know if you know any good online offers.

I bought a second hand hybrid bike a couple of years ago. Using it mainly on rough bike paths, so a gravel bike will suit me better. Is it possible to convert such a hybrid bike into a gravel bike for less than 350 US dollars? The bike is originally a Merida Freeway Redwood. Frame sixe 58. I am 51 years old, 181 cm tall. Most important is to get dropbars. Will 1x11 groupset be an idea for this? Also curious what a shift of wheelset ell make the bike better. I am living in Scandinavia, so I use European online stores. Please let me know if you know any good online offers.

Yes you can definitely convert a hybrid to a drop bar gravel bike for under $350. It will be hard to do it with 1x11 unless your bike is already 1x11. It would be helpful to post a link to the bike itself.

I am a newbie here and unfortunstely you need to post 10 times before I can have a picture or URL. My bike got a 3x7 groupset as it is now. Is it right my v-brakes need to be upgraded if I change to dropbars?

You could change it to a drop bar setup for under $350. Much would need to be used instead of new.

I dont think you could change to drop bar 1x11 for $350.
You will need-
- an 11 speed compatible wheelset
- 1x11 shifting
- drop bars
- bar tape
- new crankset
- new chain
- new cassette
- new cables and housing
- new brakes(mini v or cantilever)

This should be the first thing to check: If you can not update the wheels, it will be hard to do it under $350 as a new wheelset will eat up a lot of your budget.

Good point about the cassette body. 7 speed will work up to 10 speed, but not for 11. Even cheap wheels will use up most of a $350 budget

Here’s a mint Specialized Crossroads I added a threadless stem converter, road stem, drop bars 7 speed RX 100 brifters and a freewheel with 34 tooth big chainring. No other changes, works fine, but if I keep it I would convert it to 8 or 9 speed, add gravel tires and a different saddle. I had all the parts laying around so it’s hard to say how much I paid. I was fortunate to find a hybrid that fit perfectly on CL

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0b4fffc16.jpeg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b33d5b0ac.jpeg

Great bike there!

Thanks,princo. I am checking out?

Yeah, nice bike! I don't think I would do anything else to it except maybe change pedals with something nicer.

Schwinn Criss Cross 1x10 built with various parts I've accumulated over time.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2c94558e85.jpg

Why not stick with the original wheels and just convert the bike to drops? That will be the most cost effective solution. You can source 3 by 7 brifters or source 7 speed bar end shifters.

Note on the 11 speed, You need an 11 speed freehub body for ROAD 11 speed cassettes. Mountain 11 speed cassettes (11-40+) fit on standard 10 speed freehub bodies.

OP, You can try and shop around for used parts, or you can go with Microshift Advent X 10. You would probably be able to get a full drivetrain sans chainring for ~$300 or possibly less.

And some won't even do 10s. Ask me how I know *sigh*

This is awesome. Did you strip a steel frame down to the bare metal? Do you have to wax it or something to keep it from corroding?

Unless you are a true bike geek (like many of us here), I would just leave it as it is. Hybrid makes a decent gravel bike - they are long and stable and not particularly fast. Just put the biggest tires on there you can fit, and go have some fun.

Personally I think flat bar bikes converted to drop bar often look kinda dorky and ugly because you have to raise the drop bars up a lot to get them into a comfortable position. The two bikes above are beautiful, in part because they have a large saddle to handle bar drop. (90% of the conversion bikes I see try to get the bars even or higher than the saddle).

FYI, I have an old 1994 Allez that looks quite similar to the Crossroads above, and I made it an 11 speed just by changing out the cassette and the chain. But it has friction shifters, so that part was easy.

Thanks! Yes, I stripped the frame to bare metal and wipe it down with Gibbs brand metal treatment. Found out about it on a hotrod forum.

Precisely why I'm using Gevenalle shifters. I can go from 9 to 10 to 11 speed with relative ease. Currently running 1 x 10.

Slightly off topic but both of my gravel "specific" bikes are now set up with the bars just about level with the saddle. It's a comfort thing and it allows me to actually run the drops without feeling too far forward OTB.

OP, when I converted my hybrid to drop bars a couple years ago it was for two reasons: It was the cheapest way to see if I enjoyed drop bars more than flat bars, and because there wasn't a "good" alternative for a multi-position handlebar that still gave me easy access to shifting & braking. That said, like Chas58 mentioned, you don't need to convert to drop bars to enjoy riding gravel, and there are some decent enough Alt-Bars that you can run to give more hand positions if that is something you're looking for also. Heck for the money you could get something like a Jones Bar - or any Alt-bar and upgrade the drivetrain to lower end SRAM 1x12 (disclaimer: you'd need to check if you have a 10 speed compatible freehub first).

I don't want to dissuade you from doing the conversion, but I did want to provide alternatives to consider also.