Masonchat

Hi , so I have a flat bar set up 105 , with hydraulic disc brakes.
and I'm hoping to do a conversion to drop bar , tiagra 2x10 .
I've never worked on hydraulic brakes , so this is hopefully not beyond me.

But I've a few questions I would really appreciate any help advice with, I'll include photos.

So i have most of the parts, waiting on couple of bits.

But. First question, are my current , hydraulic tektro calipers compatible, and if so that leads to my second question.

The shifters arrived with a short length of brake line attached, this leads me to assuming the brake line is not one continuous length of brake line?

And if not, I'm wondering is it possible to connect straight onto existing brake lines?

I am assuming current 105 front derailleur and chainrings will be compatible?

any help advise on what order to go about things would also be really appreciated, thanks in advance

Breadfan

Those are quick connects and they are made so you can just connect them and not worry about bleeding the brakes. Hopefully. I bought he same groupset and it did work for me. You could possibly use the existing lines as long as they reach and are of the same type, but then you'd have to put in new barbs, olives, refill with mineral oil and then bleed them. I didn't like the looks of the quick connects so when I changed frames, I just bought new brake lines, a bleed kit, installed and then bled them. I'm new to this hydraulic game, and it was was a big learning experience for me, but now I know how to do it and I don't have to pay someone to do it for me. I watched many videos on the various ways to bleed brakes. It took me ten times (no kidding) to get the back brakes to bleed correctly and the way I did it was different than any video I'd watched. I had to think way outside the box to get the air out of the back caliper. Be very careful and do not get mineral oil on your pads or discs. I did on the second go around and they squealed horribly and I tried everything to get it to stop with no luck at all. Ended up getting new pads and new discs.

Masonchat

Thanks breadfan, firstly I'm laughing at your user name, as I've only started baking bread with 2 weeks , my second hobby 😄.

I have bought bleed kit etc and have hydraulic house coming , but i wouldn't be sure i ordered right one.

Is there any reason , the tektro calipers can't just be left on bike? I can't see why not , but as I say a green as you were.
Sounds like I'm going to have fun (not&#128513.

I'd imagine the attackeattached hose would make up for any additional distance which would be great as it would save me trying to internally reroute them.

And the calipers that did come also have some hose attached , but they have something inserted at the end , like a pin.

I imagine , I remove that?? Photos included , brakes and bread 😁

Breadfan

The pin stays in, that is the barb. You put an olive on it and connect the two. When you tighten it up, the membrane in the barb is pierced, that is how the brake fluid is kept in and the reason for the "quick connect". I'm not sure if your Tektro brakes are as good as the Tiagras, but I would use the new ones, they are really good. Hopefully you can re-use the old brake lines as long as they fit, which they should. I know Shimano makes two diff ones with the inner wall thickness being the difference of the two. I use the "Breadfan" name from an old Budgie song that Metallica covered, aptly named "Breadfan". I like fresh bread though, lol. Watch as many videos as you can. A lot of them suck and fail to zoom in on the process but you'll figure it out.

Masonchat

Thanks so much for all that breadfan, I'll have to check out that Metallica song, i will be watching the videos alright , but hopefully it will be another maintenence skill acquired by the end.
I did wonder was it the old British TV show called bread that you were a fan of but thought that unlikely

choddo

I’m not sure those calipers are compatible with Tiagra. I know Tektro specifically sell some branded HY-RD which are, which is why I’d be a bit cautious. Something to do with the lever pull ratio.

squirtdad

nice loaf and pretty perfect crust, especially for 2 weeks in
good books https://www.amazon.com/Flour-Water-S...2689700&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/Breads-France...s%2C156&sr=8-1

Russ Roth

Personally I wouldn't mix and match hydraulic brakes if the tiagra came with its own calipers. First, you're having to disconnect the old ones to do the job which means either way you're dealing with the same mess, second, shimano is one of the better brands of hydraulic disc, even at the tiagra level. You don't say which 105 you're switching from which is pretty important. If you're dealing with 10sp 105 the front der probably won't work, 4700 series Tiagra was redesigned from previous 10sp sets to match the new pull ratios that the higher level parts moved to when they went to 11sp. However the crank and cassette will work perfectly. If you have an 11sp 105 the front der and crank will work, though maybe not perfectly, but you'll need a new cassette and a spacer for the freehub body.

Steve B.

I was of the same thought and can see an entirely new component swap out - shifters, brakes, F & R derailers and I would do the cassette and chain anyway. Not going to be cheap, but cheaper than a new bike. Assuming you know stem and bar setup that will be comfortable.

Masonchat

Hi thanks Russ and Steve, yeah it'sR7000 105 front derailleur, I have the tiagra cassette and rear derailleur on,
if i have to disconnect the calipers then would definition swap out, thought i could bleed without disconnecting?

Masonchat

After a long!!! Wait for parts , delayed due to having to reorder some bits plus the holidays
But it's finally done , I'm delighted with it
thanks everyone for all the advice , really helped me understand what I was dealing with .
And ye were correct, calipers/ hoses etc had to be swapped out.

Breadfan

It looks great. Gotta love it when a plan comes together! Did the brake installation go ok? Congrats on your build!

Leisesturm

Lose that adjustable stem at once! And while you are at it, get new bars. Both in matte or gloss black Like God intended.

choddo

Give him a chance to get used to the drops first!

Do those adjustable stems lock ok? I can see something like that moving, potentially dangerously, on a hard tree root or pothole impact.

BTinNYC 

Nice work!

Exactly. The ability to adjust bar height easily after converting is perfect.

Masonchat

Hi breadfan it did once i knew what a barb was 😆, i could have left a little more slack , as I never thought of fact I may need to adjust stem, which I did, but they are fine , great to learn how to do it

Masonchat

What's wrong with adjustable stems lesisesturm? Is it just a person choice thing?
Unfortunately I need to use the stem, starting to see mid range bikes coming fitted with them .

As for the chrome, wouldn't older bikes have been chrome handlebars? , form over fashion but, but of both didn't hurt 😁

Masonchat

[QUOTE=choddo;23127038]Give him a chance to get used to the drops first!

Do those adjustable stems lock ok? I can see something like that moving, potentially dangerously, on a hard tree root or pothole

I had one before never had a issue , having said that didn't have any major impacts.

It did have interlocking groves so looks solid, it is something i would regularly torque up though

Breadfan

[QUOTE=Masonchat;23127362]Other than the fact that they don't look that great, I am unsure if they are unsafe or not. Some say they are not. I never had a problem with them, but I only rode my wife's old Hybrid that had one, but it did seem stable. I think the best use for those stems is to play around with the different positions and once you like where they are, replace it with a regular stem that matches it. But, I wouldn't trust it if I was doing some heavy single track. In the grand scheme of things, stems are cheap.

t2p

there are a number of options for a high rise stem - including Dimension (pictured above), Ritchey, Salsa

Masonchat

That looks the job alright t2p , thanks, would that be 70mm from center to center of stem? If so would actually be a better fit as well ? 👍

choddo

57mm horizontal reach if my trig is still any good But would feel like less because of the additional height too.

Masonchat

The stem is currently set at 28° ish going buy the gauge, and is a 90mm, to shorten it 30mm and drop it a touch would be perfect , I've ordered a 17° 60mm one just now, so thrilled with that , thanks Chad

Crankycrank

Maybe a little late but this stem angle/length conversion tool makes things easier when trying to determine differences in different stems on the bike. Stem Comparison Tool | yojimg.net

Masonchat

Thanks all really happy the gave out to me now😁, would have been impossible for me to know what to get without the adjustable stem though , so no regrets there
, but I didn't know there was such a wide range so I wouldn't have looked much further into it, thanks t2p