Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Cyclocross and Gravelbiking (Recreational)
Reload this Page >

Convert hybrid to gravel for less than 350 US dollars?

Notices
Cyclocross and Gravelbiking (Recreational) This has to be the most physically intense sport ever invented. It's high speed bicycle racing on a short off road course or riding the off pavement rides on gravel like : "Unbound Gravel". We also have a dedicated Racing forum for the Cyclocross Hard Core Racers.

Convert hybrid to gravel for less than 350 US dollars?

Old 06-11-20, 04:16 AM
  #1  
bikeamateur70
Newbie
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: May 2020
Posts: 58
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 22 Post(s)
Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts
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.
bikeamateur70 is offline  
Old 06-11-20, 01:43 PM
  #2  
Elvo
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Orange County, CA
Posts: 4,770
Mentioned: 11 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 630 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 369 Times in 206 Posts
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.
Elvo is offline  
Old 06-11-20, 03:38 PM
  #3  
bikeamateur70
Newbie
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: May 2020
Posts: 58
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 22 Post(s)
Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts
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?
bikeamateur70 is offline  
Old 06-11-20, 07:45 PM
  #4  
mstateglfr 
Sunshine
 
mstateglfr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Des Moines, IA
Posts: 16,535

Bikes: '18 class built steel roadbike, '19 Fairlight Secan, '88 Schwinn Premis , Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross V4, '89 Novara Trionfo

Mentioned: 123 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10900 Post(s)
Liked 7,390 Times in 4,148 Posts
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)
mstateglfr is offline  
Old 06-12-20, 10:38 AM
  #5  
princo
Junior Member
 
Join Date: May 2020
Posts: 13
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
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.
princo is offline  
Old 06-12-20, 11:18 AM
  #6  
unterhausen
Randomhead
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Happy Valley, Pennsylvania
Posts: 24,363
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Liked 3,664 Times in 2,497 Posts
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
unterhausen is offline  
Likes For unterhausen:
Old 06-12-20, 12:30 PM
  #7  
Whit51 
Senior Member
 
Whit51's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Reston VA
Posts: 566
Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 85 Post(s)
Liked 74 Times in 55 Posts
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



Last edited by Whit51; 06-21-20 at 05:45 AM.
Whit51 is offline  
Likes For Whit51:
Old 06-14-20, 02:17 PM
  #8  
bikeamateur70
Newbie
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: May 2020
Posts: 58
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 22 Post(s)
Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts
Great bike there!
bikeamateur70 is offline  
Old 06-14-20, 02:18 PM
  #9  
bikeamateur70
Newbie
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: May 2020
Posts: 58
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 22 Post(s)
Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts
Thanks,princo. I am checking out?
bikeamateur70 is offline  
Old 06-16-20, 09:27 AM
  #10  
smurfy
Senior Member
 
smurfy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 1,258

Bikes: Classic lugged-steel road, touring, shopping, semi-recumbent, gravel

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 46 Post(s)
Liked 81 Times in 32 Posts
Yeah, nice bike! I don't think I would do anything else to it except maybe change pedals with something nicer.
smurfy is offline  
Likes For smurfy:
Old 06-17-20, 03:19 AM
  #11  
blak_byke
Newbie
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 35
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 11 Post(s)
Liked 13 Times in 9 Posts
Schwinn Criss Cross 1x10 built with various parts I've accumulated over time.

blak_byke is offline  
Likes For blak_byke:
Old 06-17-20, 05:07 AM
  #12  
bikemig 
Senior Member
 
bikemig's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Middle Earth (aka IA)
Posts: 20,505

Bikes: A bunch of old bikes and a few new ones

Mentioned: 178 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5877 Post(s)
Liked 3,445 Times in 2,066 Posts
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.
bikemig is offline  
Likes For bikemig:
Old 06-18-20, 07:18 PM
  #13  
DarKris
Senior Member
 
DarKris's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Buffalo, NY
Posts: 619

Bikes: Kona Kahuna DL Drop Bar - Sensah SRX Pro 1x11 (2012 Frame), Giant Toughroad GX 1 - Shimano Road Hydro + SLX 1x10 (2018), Diamondback Sync'r - SRAM NX 1x12 (2020)

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 160 Post(s)
Liked 97 Times in 54 Posts
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.
DarKris is offline  
Old 06-19-20, 07:21 AM
  #14  
shoota 
Senior Member
 
shoota's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Stillwater, OK
Posts: 8,128
Mentioned: 33 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1871 Post(s)
Liked 689 Times in 467 Posts
Originally Posted by unterhausen
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
And some won't even do 10s. Ask me how I know *sigh*
__________________
2014 Cannondale SuperSix EVO 2
2019 Salsa Warbird
shoota is offline  
Old 06-19-20, 01:56 PM
  #15  
mikehuangsd
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2020
Posts: 101
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 52 Post(s)
Liked 130 Times in 37 Posts
Originally Posted by blak_byke
Schwinn Criss Cross 1x10 built with various parts I've accumulated over time.

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?
mikehuangsd is offline  
Likes For mikehuangsd:
Old 06-19-20, 02:14 PM
  #16  
chas58
Senior Member
 
chas58's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,863

Bikes: too many of all kinds

Mentioned: 35 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1147 Post(s)
Liked 415 Times in 335 Posts
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.
chas58 is offline  
Likes For chas58:
Old 06-20-20, 02:23 PM
  #17  
blak_byke
Newbie
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 35
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 11 Post(s)
Liked 13 Times in 9 Posts
Originally Posted by mikehuangsd
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?
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.
blak_byke is offline  
Old 06-20-20, 02:26 PM
  #18  
blak_byke
Newbie
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 35
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 11 Post(s)
Liked 13 Times in 9 Posts
Originally Posted by chas58
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.
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.
blak_byke is offline  
Old 06-20-20, 05:39 PM
  #19  
DarKris
Senior Member
 
DarKris's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Buffalo, NY
Posts: 619

Bikes: Kona Kahuna DL Drop Bar - Sensah SRX Pro 1x11 (2012 Frame), Giant Toughroad GX 1 - Shimano Road Hydro + SLX 1x10 (2018), Diamondback Sync'r - SRAM NX 1x12 (2020)

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 160 Post(s)
Liked 97 Times in 54 Posts
Originally Posted by chas58
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).
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.
DarKris is offline  
Likes For DarKris:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.