robatsu

I picked up a Bianchi Grizzly MTB, 1988 a little while back with the thought of roadifying it a bit for commuting, gravel trail, errand type duty.

Trying to do this mostly with parts on hand, keep it cheap.

Haven't really had any inspiration, so I've just been busying myself with repacking bearings, greasing, cables, and so forth.

Also nagging at me is the memory that whenever I did this in the past, I got a lot of joy out of the build process but was always underwhelmed by slogging around on flattish/high bars for more than a couple of miles (or after a few rides).

So I fitted up some stuff, got is roughly set up to how I like my road bikes.

Zowee, I definitely see where this thing is going now.

For first rides I'm just going to set it up w/some stem shifters, make sure I really am down with this thing before committing to some Paul thumbies on handlebar sleeve or clamping on some DT shifters. Or maybe I'll like the stem shifters on this one.

Sorry for the cell pic, garage fresh and all:

Chris W.

Thats really cool
Does the long(er) top tube give you any reach problems?

Cheers,
Chris

robatsu

Measures up pretty close to my road bike saddle/bar/seat height configuration

LesterOfPuppets

Production MTBs generally didn't get long top tubes 'til the 90s, when chainstays got shorter and front-centers got longer.

Looking good robatsu. What bar tape is that? I like the oxblood color!

Needs a saddle to match and some olde Conti tires whose sidewalls were almost that color.

robatsu

This is newbaum's maroon tape with 3-4 coats of clear shellac. I made up the handlebar assy for another (long gone) bike a while back. I could see a saddle in that color, but the white is working for me at the moment.

Bianchigirll 

looks great so far. I think I would go barends on that. when I streeterized my Grizzly and upped it to 7sp, I left the flat bars on it.

robatsu

I've made a little more progress on this, all I really need to do is hook up a few more cables, throw on a chain and I'm ready to go. The tires will get swapped eventually:



Stem Shifters! Suntour, natch. Cheap solution for now, may get promoted to permanent depending on how things go in sea trials:



Nifty cable carrier from the nifty bits bin (whose contents are rapidly disappearing into the maws of ebay):

robatsu

Finally got around to finishing up this bike and getting it on the road today, went for a quick jaunt. The drop bar configuration fits me nicely. The stem shifters work great for heads up riding but aren't going to win any stylistic points. Got a bunch of little tweaks/adjustments to do, the knobbies are naturally not a whole lot of fun on pavement, but overall, a fun bike!

RFC

Great job. If you are going to keep to relatively smooth trails, gravel roads, etc., I'd dump the MTB tires and go with a 1.5 all purpose or cross tire. I promise a great improvement on pavement.

BTW, I feel the same way about MTBs with standard tires -- great off road, pigs on pavement.

Bianchigirll 

you do realize this is considered sacrilidge and the bike police are coming for you right?



I like it!

robatsu

Bring 'em on! I've got my garage door barricaded...

Too bad these things have an apparently indelible bad rap. They are pretty fun and convenient for curb-hopping type riding. We'll see where this goes, I just put these on as I had them around and was the cheapest option for testing the drop bar configuration on this frame. It remains to be seen whether this is a keeper - w/rack/basket, some smoother tires and fenders, it would be perfect for the urban riding in Japan but unfortunately it is here in the U.S.

XLR99

Like! What's the story with the fork? Looks interesting with the unicrown combined with a lug/gusset.

ThermionicScott 

Oh, man. I think I need one of these now...

Whit51 

Great all-rounder build, Robatsu. I keep telling myself "no more mountain bikes" but they keep accumulating. You've inspired me to convert a couple of MBs or Hybrids this winter.

robatsu

Yeah, it is a lugged unicrown fork. This is sort of a transitional thing between traditional crowned forks and the conventional unicrown forks we all know and love. Pretty short lived phenomena, I think the Bianchi Grizzlies had them for two model years, maybe. I think these are mostly often sees on bikes from around the 85-88 or so period.

robatsu

I have the same problem. The MTB's are cheap and plentiful, but as yet I've never built one up that I enjoyed more as an all-rounder than a touring/road bike beefed up a little for rougher duty.

This is my last shot at it, I think. If I end up not riding this one, I'm swearing off MTB's for good.

RFC

I have tricked out a number of hard tail / rigid fork MTBs into fast path / trail bikes. It's all in the bars (you've got that) and tires.

I converted this one last week, have more than 100 miles on it. It is fast and bulletproof.

vane28

Hello!

I literally just made this account so I can respond to this thread.

I just went to go see a Bianchi Grizzly MTN bike today, identical to the on you posted. I absolutely loved it, but intend to mod it to make it faster (since I need for commuting, errands, going to work, eeeverything). My plans were exactly to change the handle bars to drop bars, and changing the casette on it for something that'll make me faster (which I'm not even sure is an option..)
I researched online about the model and found that you did almost the exact thing I had in mind! I suppose my question is.. how has it treated you?! What exact modifications have you made to make it more "roadie" and fast, besides the bars?

Thanks and I appreciate you reading my message. Have a good week!

vane28

Bikedued

I still love this Grizzly! One of my favorite drop conversions I've seen.

As far as making one faster, about the easiest way is to change the tires to a smooth tread, in 1.5". Slicks feel awesome on the road, but wet grass will be your downfall(literally). Something like a Pasela tread would be a good trade off. Larger front cranks would help, but may become a problem on chainstay clearance. Rear gearing is more logical, but be sure to shorten the chain if needed. Lighter wheels would make a big improvement, some mid nineties Trek Matrix wheels would fit the job if you can find a set in good shape. Light enough, and durable! They stand up to a 6' 1" clydesdale rider like me.

I've got a Cannondale that I am making lighter/faster, but keeping the mountain style. Panaracer Fire XC pro are not too scary on the road, if kept around 50psi. The ride of this bike is improving all the time. It's a quick, nimble bike that can go anywhere. I've bombed down concrete bike path descents which can be kind of spooky on a mtb. This bike handled it without a complaint. The geometry is very road like IMHO.,,,,BD

robatsu

It worked pretty well, although I didn't ride it that much. As usual, mtb->road builds for me are fun, but I just prefer road geometry on the pavement, even kinda rough or gravel. So I sold it.

Right now, I'm working on another project or two approaching the same problem from the other direction, getting a road bike (like vintage steel touring) ready for a bunch of gravel road trekking.

But it was a cool thing and a lot of fun to ride.

eastbay71

I'm working on an '87 Nishiki Cascade for my brother and it has the same fork. I've been tempted to steel it and put it on one of my bikes. How do you like the U-Brake? They were all the rage in that period but kind of a PITA

due ruote 

Vane28, I have one of these bikes and like it a lot. It would make a great commuter. There are plenty of lighter bikes, but I find mine a blast to ride, very comfortable and reasonably fast. I'm using Panaracer Pasela tires. Cassette is a 13-26 8 speed. Bars are On One Midge. Unfortunately mine came without the original fork.

kimpw

What type of tires are you guys running for pavement use? I was looking at Panaracer Paselas 26x1.5 or 26x1.75. Not sure if that extra .25" will make a huge difference or not.

Bianchigirll 

Mine had x1.25s. I really wanted x1.5s but no one had them when I bought them.

due ruote 

The tires shown below (#22) are 1.5 Paselas. To me they feel ideal for road/light gravel trail use. ymmv