Drop bar brake/shifter levers

[Dales Cannon]

After doing some km on the roadie thing I built up for #3 I am toying with putting drop bars on the F29 hardtail for a particular ride I have planned. Probably flip flop between flat and drop bars if I like the latter on rail trails. I have current xtr 2 pots and race levers and running 1x11 also xtr. Not bothered about matching that level of lever with the drop bar set up but where the hell are people getting suitable drop bar levers from? I cannot find anything that looks even remotely reasonable in price? Ta

 

[Labcanary]

If you want hydro compatible road levers it bumps the price up considerably.

If you are happy to forgo hydro and run cable discs instead, there might be more options. You'll need to use road (short pull) calipers if you decide to take that option.

Sensah and Microshift make fairly affordable road levers.

I'm not totally across MTB vs road derailleur compatibility (or lack thereof). You might need to hot swap a few components to go from flat bars to drops.

 

[Dales Cannon]

If you want hydro compatible road levers it bumps the price up considerably.

If you are happy to forgo hydro and run cable discs instead, there might be more options. You'll need to use road (short pull) calipers if you decide to take that option.

Sensah and Microshift make fairly affordable road levers.

I'm not totally across MTB vs road derailleur compatibility (or lack thereof). You might need to hot swap a few components to go from flat bars to drops.

I guessed as much, I will check piston diameters and pad area. Test rides will be with existing levers on top! Hopefully I hate it...

 

[rowdyflat]

If you can slide them on I have used cable levers in the mtbike position for a drop bar bike. quelle horreur !!!.
Way more powerful and accessible .
Have been riding my roadie during the recent hot weather and yeah the brakes up front , i dont know ?

 

[Chriso_29er]

Part of the comfort of drop bars is hands on the hoods of the brake/shift assembly. You won't get that same feel testing with MTB brakes in either position. Something to keep in mind.

 

[Labcanary]

If you can slide them on I have used cable levers in the mtbike position for a drop bar bike. quelle horreur !!!.
Way more powerful and accessible .
Have been riding my roadie during the recent hot weather and yeah the brakes up front , i dont know ?

Ah, you made me think of the Surly corner bar.
@Dales Cannon if it is interest to you, I've got a set of pseudo corner bars here you could borrow to try out?
These ones.

Part of the comfort of drop bars is hands on the hoods of the brake/shift assembly. You won't get that same feel testing with MTB brakes in either position. Something to keep in mind.

Good point.

 

[Dales Cannon]

I think I can get enough of the experience to see if I want to throw $1k at it. Bike rides absolutely fine as is. So of course I need to stuff with it.

 

[ausdb]

If you want hydro compatible road levers it bumps the price up considerably.

I'm way off the pace as far as roadies go, but recall seeing some sort of cable to hydro master cylinder thingy was on the market at some stage or did that die a lonely death?

 

[bear the bear]

I'm way off the pace as far as roadies go, but recall seeing some sort of cable to hydro master cylinder thingy was on the market at some stage or did that die a lonely death?

Was killed with fire....

 

[Labcanary]

I'm way off the pace as far as roadies go, but recall seeing some sort of cable to hydro master cylinder thingy was on the market at some stage or did that die a lonely death?

There are a couple. Juin are pricey but people seem to like them.
I bought some Zoom calipers from maybe Ali or eBay. They are on hubby's bike and he likes them well enough. As far as I'm concerned they still have the clunky cable feel and the hydro part is only beneficial as far as pad adjustment goes.
Zoom seem to have plenty of adjustment for the cable pull. So theoretically they can be used with MTB (long pull) and road (short pull) levers.
I'm not sure if Juin are short or long pull compatible.

Was killed with fire....

Awww, they aren't that bad!

 

[ozzybmx]

They are expensive and rare to get a good deal secondhand. I posted a WTB on FakeBook 'Aus bicycle buy and sell' and only got 2 replies.
Either people want mega bucks or are holding on to them, though that was about 2yrs ago.
You might get a better result trying now as folk are tight for cash, just need to brave the shit on FB.

 

[The Duckmeister]

10 + more-sp. shifters and derailleurs work on different cable pull ratios for road vs MTB, so if you're switching levers, you need to do derailleurs too.

Edited to add Rd. vs MTB distinction.

 

[rowdyflat]

Yeah I have a 3x 9 set up on my road bike with an XT rear derailleur originally for a 11-34 cassette .
My bikes nothing is normal.
Sacre bleu.
That was for riding up from Talbingo and Tumut pondage.
Never had bullhorns I just use straight bars with those Ergon GP3 which gives you the resting hand position.

 

[Oddjob]

I have 2 setups.

Classic 10s Ultegra with TRP HY/RD cable hydro brakes, SLX 9 speed Rd and a Jtek shiftmate for the FD. Very effective setup for touring but not cheap.

The other is a Shimano GRX hydro brifter setup. Available in 10 or 11s, can work with MTB calipers or use flatmount to PM adapters. Available for reasonable prices from Merlin and Arancee on AliExpress. The only drawback is that there isn't a 3x10 setup for touring.

Sent from my M2012K11AG using Tapatalk

 

[Dales Cannon]

As foreseen in the prophecies or Duck's post cassette spacing and pull ratio is not going to play nice. An unverified forum post I saw suggested that the Shimano brake levers will work fine with the two pot mountain bike calipers. Or not. But probably. In any case if I go for the full gravel drop bar transformation I am up for a cassette, derailleur and levers which at last reckoning wasn't going to be cheap. I could stuff around with 9 or 10 speed and 2x but all up looking at similar $ even using spares on hand. So I will do as I planned and see how it goes...

PS: This is me not wanting to go for mechanical brakes.

 

[Rusty_68]

Just get a set of these...Best mechanical brake on the market and better than most SRAM hydro.
I work on hydro brakes all week and when I saw my first set of these in the flesh and on a bike, they were outstanding.

EQUAL Mechanical Disc Brake Caliper Set

The EQUAL mechanical disc brake caliper set is one of the best in the world for braking power and lightness.They also of

growtac.com

 

[Oddjob]

Just get a set of these...Best mechanical brake on the market and better than most SRAM hydro.
I work on hydro brakes all week and when I saw my first set of these in the flesh and on a bike, they were outstanding.

EQUAL Mechanical Disc Brake Caliper Set

The EQUAL mechanical disc brake caliper set is one of the best in the world for braking power and lightness.They also of

growtac.com

Better than TRP HY/RD? I've TRP sintered pads in mine and they are monsters! Even with so-so Nukeproof sintered pads they are pretty good.

Sent from my M2012K11AG using Tapatalk

 

[Rusty_68]

Better than TRP HY/RD? I've TRP sintered pads in mine and they are monsters! Even with so-so Nukeproof sintered pads they are pretty good.

Sent from my M2012K11AG using Tapatalk

well, the Equals are wholly mechanical, not cable to hydro, so we're not really comparing apples with apples. The TRP's are excellent, but as a pure mechaincal brake the Equals are fantastic. But that's just my oppinion. Others may feel differently. It's each to their own I guess.

 

[Dales Cannon]

Still same $

 

[silentbutdeadly]

Just get a set of these...Best mechanical brake on the market and better than most SRAM hydro.

EQUAL Mechanical Disc Brake Caliper Set

The EQUAL mechanical disc brake caliper set is one of the best in the world for braking power and lightness.They also of

growtac.com

Good Lord, that's still a lot of money!! Not quite Paul Components Klampers money but even at AU$675/set!!! Looks like I'm staying with the BB7's!