sloar 

Finally found a nice mountain bike that fits me. Seems like they only made small frames. Looking to set this up for long rides and I need some ideas for a custom cockpit. Th

anks

tombc

If I didn't want to change the stem I'd get a Surly Open Bar

https://surlybikes.com/parts/open_bar

Tango1

I'm guilty of ordering cheap Amazon accessories to test fitment. In this photo I've used Amazon quill stem adaptor, cheap 50mm stem, and 720mm bars.

It's all I have for photos at the moment.

Classtime 

Nitto MT-10, your favorite drop bars, and bar end shifters.

sloar 

I want to try something different than normal drop bars.

DMC707

Just pulled one of these out of my attic (Marin Eldridge Grade -- not this bike, but mine is close to identical- although a little rougher around the edges) --- Will be doing the cockpit up with Jones H Bars and trying to ready it for a "gravelly" type of build - although i doubt have any gravel in my immediate AO.

its 8 speed vintage Shimano LX - but i have a XTR 11 speed mini group sitting in a box that would be nice if a 1x was in order -- havent decided yet. For starters im just going to clean it up and test out the bars to see if its a worthwhile project. Hopefully update within 24 hours

mstateglfr 

Is that a large frame? Looks like its for someone that is 5'10ish...tough to tell with the sloping top tube. Nice paint condition.

I went full cheap ebay for the most recent MTB refurbish- a Trek 930 for my wife. $15 WAKE branded aluminum handlebars with some rise and backsweep angle. $15 for a 35deg rise WAKE branded stem. $115 for Microshift Advent 1x9 shifter, rear derailleur, and cassette.
Last week I found a neglected but solid Trek 920 out for trash pickup. Its the only bike I have ever trashpicked, but it will fit one of my kids perfectly. I will move everything over from her current MTB(hydraulic disc, air fork, etc) and this will be both simpler and probably more fun even though its fully rigid.

randyjawa 

From this...



To this and a guy followed me home one day just to see if he could buy the bike from me. I sold it then and there. Nice riding bike, even if I do say so myself...

katsup

I have two mountain bikes that I mess with. I do tend to use the original drive train or parts I already have.

1990 Bianchi Grizzly
- Wasn't a fan of the Suntour XC Pro, so used a mix of XT and first gen XTR. It now sits as a 3x9 with 680mm / 40mm rise bars. It is mostly used a my city bike.




1995 ParkPre Pro 825
- Cheap non original suspension fork got replaced with a NOS Tange Prestige fork. Used a 130mm / 17 degree stem in an attempt to keep the designed reach with 740mm Salsa Bend bars (fits great). Kept the original drive train aside from XT brakes and XTR wheels. This one gets used on fire roads, gravel and riding to those areas.




Both bikes weigh in the 25-26lb range with everything you see on them.

nlerner

I put a set of V-O crazy bars on my '98 Kona Explosif. Haven't had a chance to try them yet but hope to this week. I'll take pics.

Tango1

How do you find the bar end shifters? I'm considering a drop bar conversion over the winter.

merziac

sloar

While I'm not an MTB guy per se, my default is bullmoose, mainly for aesthetics but what little riding of them I do, they work better for me.

The first one came with the custom ones but I have the oldschools on a couple of other bikes and can't stand flat bars in comparison, just thinking about them makes my wrists hurt.

You may have to find and buy a complete bike to get some for a reasonable price.

merziac

Bar ends FTW anytime, all day long. I was never a DT shifter guy. Never raced, etc so had them on all my bike before brifters came along and have them on my daily rider but have the bar ends on several bikes that put a smile on my face every time I ride them.

Switched them out on the Paramount the minute I found some Schwinn approved ones.



And built the Gordon from scratch with them.

Chinghis

Beautiful bikes. ParkPre was my second choice, but I went for the Specialized StumpJumper instead (early-90s).

gthomson

I've been asking the same question and originally I thought drop bar conversion was the way to go as I find the only bike I really feel comfortable on is my newish Cannondale road bike. But, I don't really like the look of the extended stems to get those bars up to a comfortable height so thinking I should just stick to some variety of flat bar.

I thought this bike would be my go to for gravel rides, some day when I get into gravel riding but it's a bit small for me. I feel like I'm stretched out over the top too much. I changed the stem and bought a cheap riser bar on FB marketplace but that position starts to hurt my elbows after an hour or so.

katsup

I've had one of those, could not connect with. Tried it a few different ways. I did learn that a drop bar on a vintage mountain bike may look nice, but they are not for me. I'd rather ride the bikes that are meant for drop bars.

DMC707

Fixed it for ya ! (JK- beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder) -- but yes, with the long top tubes coupled with short seat tubes to allow for more standover height -- the drop from seat to drops is extreme unless an oddly tall stem is used - then it has to be short to compensate for the long top tube combined with the extra reach to the hoods

Hobbiano 

They look right, too. Just seems like drop bar conversions have either too much drop or if you get a frame large enough to allow the bars to be high enough the top tube's too long. jmo.

katsup

With the right stem they can look nice. The Velo Orange 31.8 quill comes to mind.

gthomson

Not my bike but I like when the conversion looks like the bike below but would this be super uncomfortable? I've never been into mountain biking so I don't really understand the geometry of the 1990's mtn. bike. I thought maybe the drop bars would improve the comfort.

randyjawa 

Tango1 ...

Bar end shifters are the next best thing to Brifters. They allow you to keep your hands on the bars while shifting as opposed to using down tube shifters. I have run bar ends on several bikes and, to this day, they are still an important part of my Jamaica Bianchi which (usually in a pandemic free world) sees thousands of kilometers each winter...

Classtime 

Then maybe dirt-drops or inverted north roads? Flat bars do not work for me on long rides unless long is on challenging terrain.

nlerner

Okay, here’s my Kona with the V-O crazy bars from today’s ride:




And the verdict is . . . I don’t like these much at all! I could tilt the bullhorns up a bit, but I still found them kind of useless and not worth the weight penalty. Might try those Crust bars linked above.

sloar 

I’ve got two sets of Bullmoose bars, but the insertion post is to small in diameter.

Darth Lefty 

"No" vote from me on barcons. They hit my knees. If anything turns it into a "gravel bike" it's that. Never mind what Tomac did. He was racing in a weird era where they tried weird stuff.

I really like the current flat bars on mountain bikes most of the time but I can see how the wrist isn't quite right for a long ride seated. I'd remedy that with Bend handlebars (mentioned above) or putting bar-ends inboard of the controls. All the exotic handlebars seem to go too far in one direction or another. 35-45 degree sweep pulls the reach back a lot and makes it sit like a beach cruiser