Drop bar Conversion on M-Trax ????

RichMTrax

Dirt Disciple
Hi all, I wonder if any one can give me some help and advice, I have a set of Humpert Contest Handlebars, that i was planning on fitting to my M-Trax, But I would Really like to go for Drop bars (racer Style), But I have no Idea what to do about Shifter's etc.

I am on a bit of a tight Budget but have found a nice set of bars Ice Drop Road Bar 42cm x 25.4 at JE James.

Has anyone carried out this conversion so to speak, on a small budget, I need a 7speed rear and 3 speed Front shifter's as I have the original gripshift at present and did wonder If I could work them all the way around the bars to fit new the Stem???

Any advice would really be Appreciated.

Rich
 
Me too :roll:

I am trying to build a drop bar mtb from the frame up and am bumping into all sorts of incompatibility problems I then have to think my way around. You have the advantage of a working bike that you want to convert.

I think you have the easier job ;)

I have bars stem seat etc on mine, and it's looking good. All I have to do now is get the gears to work :facepalm:
 
Thats the same issue I have been reading about, is try to get things to work together, I did think about Friction Shifters, I know they are not the nicest looking etc, But would be compatible as they would work with any number of gears in theory, well so Rutland cycles say.
I am still on the fence at present if to use my butterfly bars and the original gripshifts.
Wish you all the best with you Build, its all good fun but can cause a few headaches and a lot of coffee.
 
I did this with a Raleigh, it was the cromo/titanium framed one?! (Sorry it was a while ago can't remember model name)

I MIGHT be able to find some pics but it will take me all day, basically I had no probs at all using shimano bar end shifters, it worked a treat and I'm sure I had them on indexed mode. Just watch out for your knees! I must have been running a MTB chainset and derailleurs without issue, again I'll try and find the pics.

Back then there was a lot in the cycling press about RTB's as they were calling them, and how to convert on a budget. I have some old copies of Cycling Plus here, I'll go through them too and see if there's an article that might help you.
 
You should have no problems with bar-end shifters - they are essentially the same as thumbies inside. There are plenty of builds on the drop bar thread which give pictures. The main thing you will need is a shorter and higher stem as you need to reach the hoods and drops comfortably. With a standard stem they end up too far away unless you have arms like a gibbon.

Drop bars are 23.8mm diameter in the grip area, so MTB stuff doesn't fit easily onto them.
 

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