steelgtr

Hi Guys,

I bought a Giant Defy road bike at a garage sale. I would like to convert the bar to a riser bar like on my 2011 29'er Stumpjumper. The Giant is 8 speed by 3 speed, Shimano (no model on Derailleur), and the shifter is the one that you move the brake lever to the side.

Will any Shimano 8x3 MTB shifter brake levers be compatible? I have limited funds and would like to try it myself if possible but don't have a clue!

thx

bob

Retro Grouch 

MAYBE!

This might not be a good "limited funds" project. You need a handlebar, (maybe) a stem, brake levers, shifters, handgrips and cables and housings. That's a lot of parts. You might be converting a cheap old bike into an expensive old bike that has a few new parts.

Trigger shifters are always indexed, front and rear. The amount of cable pull for the rear is the same, road vs. mountain, so your rear derailleur can be made to index index fine with the new shifters.

The front is a little bit more interesting: Shimano cable pull ratios are a little bit off. Many mechanics will tell you that it won't work but there is this: Back in the 90's, many flat bar tandems and some hybrid bikes came with road front derailleurs and trigger shifters and they indexed fine. My bet is that your Defy could be made to do that too.

An alternate plan would be to use twist shifters. Many (but not all) twist shifter sets are friction for the front. That would work for sure. Friction shifting is your friend.

steelgtr

Thanks, Grouch

I don't know what year mine is but is looks like this:

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/20...--triple--2013

I only paid $100 for it so I have some room for conversion within reason.

thx

bob

IthaDan 

Moustache bars.

Keep the shifters you've got. Though it might be tricky to hit the cable release thumb button 'stache bars.

Edit:

Alternately, these should do it. You'd still have to resolve bars (is that a 31.8 clamp diameter?) and grips, but that's not that bad all told.

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/u.../rp-prod112069

ksryder

Counterpoint - give the drops a chance.

steelgtr

Thanks, Dan

Is that shifter combo dependent on mine being "claris" also, because I don't see any label on it?

bob

steelgtr

So, do I gave to use the Claris group components if that is what is on the bike?

thx

bob

steelgtr

Dan,

I messed up. The Giant is 9x3 not 8x3! Any gear shifter brake sets that are similiar to the 8 speed link above?

Sorry!

bob

IthaDan 

What bike do you have? A driveside picture would work fine.

Here's what I know:
* Shimano uses different cable pulls for mountain and road front derailleurs. This means you kind of have to use a flat bar road shifter.
* If you're planning on keeping the caliper brakes, be sure to avoid brake levers for linear pull brakes or cable actuated disc brakes.
* Again you MUST find a flat bar road set of shifters.
* I found the claris ones by googling "shimano 8 speed flat bar road shifter". Nothing special there. It might be best if you do the googling and check in with the thread to see if it's compatible.

Again, what bike do you have? ... or what components are on it? I think somewhere you said that the RD simply has "shimano" written on it. That's a little curious to me- I didn't know that shimano made 2000 level stuff in 9s yet. What shifters are on there now? Are you sure they're actually 9s or do you just have a rear wheel with a 9s cassette?

There are lot of questions here, but I think those are most of them.

squirtdad

why change out? What will a flat bar give you?

With drops you can ride on top of the bar with a flat bar position (if you don't like having to reach for the brake lever you could add interrupter levers), you and ride on the hoods (good for commuting) or just above them with more natural hand position, you can ride in the drops.

you will be faster than with a flat bar (IME on my bikes)

have you ever ridden a drop bar? lot's of people who have grown up in the mtn bike/Bmx era have not and don't realize how versatile they are.

try them for while

steelgtr

Thanks, Dan

Here are some pics

cs1

To everyone who says drops are best it's a preference. Personally I like them. But lots of folks don't. Rather than trying to talk them out of it just give them what they want.

steelgtr

Thanks,

With ~7000 miles on a MTB (mostly paved paths), I like that feel but want a lighter faster bike without spending many thousands for carbon. Converting a light road bike seemed a good option.

bob

squirtdad

not trying to talk people out....but am saying try them if you have never used them, then decide (it is only a preference if you have tried both )

especially with costs involved to shift and that often the bikse geometry was not set up for flat bars.

practical

I converted a road bike (2008 Specialized Sequoia Elite) to a flat bar. Not too complicated. Bought a handlebar on craigslist for $10 and a pair of combination shifter/brake levers online for under $100 (forgot how much). My bike is also a 9-speed triple. Works like a charm and much nicer to ride. I take this bike on longer rides (used it on a century ride last fall) and the ergo grips kept my hands free of fatigue. Go for it.

RubeRad

I'd say

PROBABLY. Even for 9sp. Probably not for 10/11sp though

steelgtr

Is there a problem using V brake shifters on cantilever brakes?

bob

RubeRad

There is a problem using V brake LEVERS with cantilever brakes, yes. V-brake levers pull more cable ("long pull"), to go with V-brakes that are designed to have more arm travel. The leverage/mechanical advantage etc of cantilevers are designed for "short pull" levers (same as caliper brakes). It is not good to mix-match those systems, as the brakes will not be able to be adjusted well and braking performance will be seriously degraded. That's dangerous.

There are some brake levers that have a little switch so you can set them to pull either short or long. But as far as I know, those are only separate brake levers. Integrated shifter/brake units are I think always just one or the other.

Fortunately, V brakes can be installed onto the same posts that cantilever brakes are installed on, and even cheap V-brakes (under $20/set) can give very good braking performance.

steelgtr

Thanks

I always liked the cheap V brakes on my old Hard Rock. Didn't think the hydraulic discs on my Stump jumper were really much better.

bob

RubeRad

Really, historically, cantilever brakes were a halfway solution towards V-brakes; halfway because they used new mounting posts for the brake arms, but kept the old brake levers. They were always finicky to set up for ideal performance. Once V-brakes came along with their own levers and more cable pull (and conveniently the same mounts), setup and performance both improved.

Just don't get V-brakes that are so cheap the arms are stamped metal. The very very cheapest bikes have V-brakes that are basically thick tin foil, very flexy.

IthaDan 

Are you suggesting that cantilever brakes moved the mounting posts... from where they were for u-brakes or roller cams?

Cantilever brakes are a LOT older than you are giving them credit for.

For example:
1949 Rene Herse | Old Spokes Home

RubeRad

No, I'm suggesting that caliper brakes don't use mounting posts

blakcloud

Buy a flat bar of your choice to fit your stem. For shifters you could use Microshift thumb shifters SL-A09. Next buy brake levers that have the right pull for your bike. Changing out the cables to the ones of your choice and you will be good to go.

Shifters. microSHIFT -The best control system around $80 on the Bay
Brake levers Shimano R550 Flat Bar Road Brake Levers > Components > Brakes & Shifters > Road Levers | Jenson USA $18

So a little more than a C note you can convert with brand new parts. Sell your current shifters and bars and reduce the cost.

dabac

I like the thumbs-forward hand position, but almost never use the drops. Which makes drop bars feel a bit silly. Particularly since braking from the hoods isn't as good as from the drops.


I've tried a few versions of brifters on bullhorn/TT base bars to get it all, thumbs-forward with shifting and (good)braking at immediate reach, but haven't found a good enough way to set that up yet.

cs1

Agreed, I spend 90% of the time on the flats thumbs forward. Bullhorns might be a solution.