A road frame for an urban bike

Hi everyone,

I've been lurking around here for quite a while (a matter of months actually...) but I still consider myself a noob.

So this noob has decided to finally pull the trigger. On a city bike. Kind of.

My plan is to :

Buy an old road bike, (for less than 500 €)

Drop the dropbars and replace them with straights (changing shifters of course),

Change the fork for one that has disc tabs,

Change the hubs, or even the wheels Etc...

So here come the questions :

Does that seem to be a good plan?

What kind of bike should I look for? I've seen two great Pesenti fly (with the amazing Alu/berylium frame) at reasonable prices but they were way too small for me (51 and 53 and I'm 6"3'..)

What kind of groupset should I look for? Most of the interesting bike I've seen come with a Shimano Dura ace 7700.. How does it stack up against today's standards?

When I try the bike, what kind of potential problems should I pay the most attention to?


Thanks a lot for reading !!

Hi and welcome,

Your cunning plan looks, to me, like it could be costly. You plan to buy something and change all the bits - perhaps buying something closer to what you want initially will reduce the costs. I have a doubt that your budget would be enough to cover your plans.
You could buy a frame and forks for around £100
Groupset (i saw a 105 with wheels tonight) £120
Additional parts - £80

That would keep you in budget - but perhaps with a lower standard of parts than you want.

My opinion, and mine only, is that you should try and source a bike which suits your needs when you buy it - without the bother of all the changes. You can upgrade parts etc. if you wish, in your own time and it should still work out less expensive. You mention trying the bike - you will be trying a bike with drop bars when you plan to change them - this seems peculiar. You should ensure that the frame fits before you buy - which is obvious. I do not know if the fitting for straight bars is the same as for drops but i would presume it is the same.

Good luck with your build, and i would be interested to see what you come up with - post in readers bikes when you start.

Welcome to the joy of RB

Richard

TGR":2iq68glh said:

Hi and welcome,

Your cunning plan looks, to me, like it could be costly. You plan to buy something and change all the bits - perhaps buying something closer to what you want initially will reduce the costs. I have a doubt that your budget would be enough to cover your plans.
You could buy a frame and forks for around £100
Groupset (i saw a 105 with wheels tonight) £120
Additional parts - £80

That would keep you in budget - but perhaps with a lower standard of parts than you want.

My opinion, and mine only, is that you should try and source a bike which suits your needs when you buy it - without the bother of all the changes. You can upgrade parts etc. if you wish, in your own time and it should still work out less expensive. You mention trying the bike - you will be trying a bike with drop bars when you plan to change them - this seems peculiar. You should ensure that the frame fits before you buy - which is obvious. I do not know if the fitting for straight bars is the same as for drops but i would presume it is the same.

Good luck with your build, and i would be interested to see what you come up with - post in readers bikes when you start.

Welcome to the joy of RB

Richard

Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for your reply !

500 euros was what I had in mind for the frame + groupset only! My "all inclusive" budget is around 1000 euros, or maybe slightly more since I can spread the parts' cost over a few months...

I didn't think of the drop bars fitting issue though... But since most "fitness" are based on a road frame + straights I'd assume that It's the same.

You might find something useful here: http://www.velosaloon.com/shop/bikes.html

They seem to have a number of semi urban bikes. With a little bit of fork and wheel changing, you might be able to put together just what you want.

One thing to watch out for though. Most retro bikes have 1 inch steerers, where as most modern forks are likely to be inch and an eighth. That said, you can always get some straight leg forks and have a frame builder add a disk brake mount to them.

Good luck with you build.

500 euros was what I had in mind for the frame + groupset only! My "all inclusive" budget is around 1000 euros, or maybe slightly more since I can spread the parts' cost over a few months...

I didn't think of the drop bars fitting issue though... But since most "fitness" are based on a road frame + straights I'd assume that It's the same.

Click to expand...

Don't be fooled... a few years ago too wanted to get back into cycling, and I too was lured in by a flat bar fitness bike. It did the job in terms of getting me back into cycling, but for rides over an hour the position it puts your hands in and the lack of alternative positions meant that I found it was killing my wrists and shoulders.

So I then built a drop bar bike, and havent looked back since. The flat bar bike was sold to someone at work for 1/4 of what I paid for it.

IMHO "fitness" bikes are a genre cooked up by the manufacturers to sell to people who they think are scared of drop bars. For the record drop bar does not equal racing bike. Just more comfort.

Drop bars exist for a reason. Flat bars for off road (but drops work) drops for the road only.

Your plan will be more costly than bying a road bike to being with.

It appears my initial advice was nearly right!!! Whoo hooooo.

If you have the money - spend it wisely and borrow a bike or two and see what suits your needs before you buy. Once you decide the type of bike - the world is your oyster!!!

Richard

It's a costly journey IMHO.

If you want a city bike and are starting to get into cycling again, a second hand 700c quality hybrid is a good starting choice. I know there's a lot of people who dish them because they are "neither here nor there" and probably haven't rode one or taken it for what they are - they are very good at what they are intended for; short quick comfortable commutes with a higher point of visibility for traffic and heavy tyres for puncture protection / occasional light unpaved road use.

A good hybrid will have a longer top-tube and slacker head angle more similar to an old school MTB for a fairly open relaxed position with say a 120mm stem; putting flat bars with bar ends on a road frame is not the same - but close enough by approx 8cm shorter reach and the handling is a little more nervous when speed increases. You will also run into a few front derailleur issues to work with flat bar shifters as the pull is different, but Shimano Tiagra is good functional stuff. You've got plenty of choice of disk or v-brake too.

If you are getting into more long distance and intend on weekend riding recreation side of things on tarmac, then go straight for the purpose road bike as people have said. If you really want flat bars and disk tabs, then a MTB from the early 2000 with road semi-slicks, road cassette and rigid forks is a cheap way to go without a lot of fuss.

bm0p700f":g0d4rfbf said:

Drop bars exist for a reason. Flat bars for off road (but drops work) drops for the road only.

Click to expand...

I've been riding drops since I was 11 or 12 (a quarter of a century ago!!), consequently I can't really get on with flats any more - one of the main reasons I no longer own a mountain bike.

David

Hi guys,

Thanks for all your replies !

I've finally managed to try a road bike with dropbars. And I liked it ! I've still got to get more confident on them but I can clearly picture myself commuting with such a bike...
The frame's geometry was a little bit too "aggressive" for my taste though..

But I still want that darn front disc brake ! I've found this fork : http://www.carverbikes.com/comp/carbon-cx-disc-fork but I'm still looking for a good front wheel..

any ideas?

thanks !