cockpit changes for my fixie

[molteniorange]

I'm changing the cockpit of my fixed gear to a more upright position when carrying a messenger bag, but I still want a comfortable semi-drop position for club rides. My fixie is a 1980s road frame, Phil fixed/free hub with Cinelli bar/stem now.

What I want is something like this: http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/mauceri1.htm

I have a Nitto Dirt Drop stem and will look tomorrow for a Nitto road bar that I can flip and cut the ends off (the Cinelli doesn't fit). But like the inspiration fixie above, I want mountain bike levers, probably old ones meant to pull cantis because I'm using road brakes (Campy Deltas for now).

Will I run into a problem fitting mountain levers on a road bar? Any lever recommendations?

Are there two-finger levers available? (It would be nice to keep the tops uncluttered).

Will cutting the bars compromise their strength/safety? (Bar recommendations are welcome, too!)

Thanks, all. More questions later, I'm sure

 

[Tim McNamara]

In article <[email protected]>, molteniorange <[email protected]> wrote:

> I'm changing the cockpit of my fixed gear to a more upright position when carrying a messenger
> bag, but I still want a comfortable semi-drop position for club rides. My fixie is a 1980s road
> frame, Phil fixed/free hub with Cinelli bar/stem now.
>
> What I want is something like this: http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/mauceri1.htm

That's *more* upright than your current setup? Yikes! Why is it fixed gear urban riders tend to have
such ridiculously low bars?

> I have a Nitto Dirt Drop stem and will look tomorrow for a Nitto road bar that I can flip and cut
> the ends off (the Cinelli doesn't fit). But like the inspiration fixie above, I want mountain
> bike levers, probably old ones meant to pull cantis because I'm using road brakes (Campy Deltas
> for now).

There are better brakes on the market. Any sidepull caliper brake for example. Even the cheap ones
from Tektro.

> Are there two-finger levers available? (It would be nice to keep the tops uncluttered).

Those aren't mountain bike levers, they are cyclo-cross "interrupter" levers for use with drop
bars. You can find them in just about any mail order house these days and any LBS catering to
'cross. You can also easily find brake levers that mount in the ends of the cut-off bars, for time
trial/tri bikes.

> Will cutting the bars compromise their strength/safety?

Why would it? You're not sawing the metal in by the stem, are you? BTW, you can use a Nitto bar, of
course, but any 26.0 mm bar will fit. Your old Cinellis are probably 26.4 mm. You can also use a
25.4 mm bar with a shim.

 

[Jay Hill]

Tim McNamara wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>, molteniorange <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>I'm changing the cockpit of my fixed gear to a more upright position when carrying a messenger
>>bag, but I still want a comfortable semi-drop position for club rides. My fixie is a 1980s road
>>frame, Phil fixed/free hub with Cinelli bar/stem now.
>>
>> What I want is something like this: http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/mauceri1.htm
>
>
> That's *more* upright than your current setup? Yikes! Why is it fixed gear urban riders tend to
> have such ridiculously low bars?

I think it's ridiculous to ridicule people's riding positions without seeing how the people are
built or how they ride. Besides, the seat-bar height relationship of the pictured bike is not
extreme. Those bullhorns are where the drops are on my road bikes.

 

[molteniorange]

Thanks for the responses, dudes.

My position will be more upright than the one I linked because of the Dirt Drop stem. Mainly, I liked the simplicity and bar setup on the one I linked to, plus it looks like it still will allow a decent down position on the cutoff 'horns. Guess I'll find out when I get out the hack saw.

I found some Nitto bars at a LBS today, but the brake levers have been a challenge. No one locally has any old-styles in their junk bins, and clamps probably were going to be a problem anyway.

But a mechanic told me today that 'cross in-line levers can be made primary by putting a stopper or washer on the end of the cable. Seems to make sense, but can anybody confirm? If so, that will solve the problem nicely because I would rather have the smallish 'cross levers anyway, and they will fit my bars without any surgery.

Any other advice is welcome, obviously.

 

[molteniorange]

These are the levers I'm considering. I'll keep checking around to see if they can be made into primaries ...

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/cyclocrossworld/irdhinlevnew.html

 

[Tim McNamara]

In article <[email protected]>, molteniorange <[email protected]> wrote:

> But a mechanic told me today that 'cross in-line levers can be made primary by putting a stopper
> or washer on the end of the cable. Seems to make sense, but can anybody confirm? If so, that will
> solve the problem nicely because I would rather have the smallish 'cross levers anyway, and they
> will fit my bars without any surgery.

This should not be a problem. Basically, the ball end of the cable will remain static against the
part of the lever clamped onto the bar, and the lever will push the brake housing. You just need a
washer that will support the ball end and keep it from pulling through.

 

[Tim McNamara]

In article <[email protected]>, Jay Hill <[email protected]> wrote:

> Tim McNamara wrote:

> > That's *more* upright than your current setup? Yikes! Why is it fixed gear urban riders tend to
> > have such ridiculously low bars?
>
> I think it's ridiculous to ridicule people's riding positions without seeing how the people are
> built or how they ride. Besides, the seat-bar height relationship of the pictured bike is not
> extreme. Those bullhorns are where the drops are on my road bikes.

Yah, and you have the option of sitting more upright on your drop bars. Can you ride comfortably for
50 miles in the drops? If so than your bars aren't too low. If not, they are.

It's very commonplace, looking at many photos of fixed gear bikes on the Web and at messengers
around town, for fixie riders to have bikes that are about 5 cm too small for them. The saddles are
jacked up on a mountain bike seat post and the bars are 12 inches or more below the saddle. The bike
shown in the picture doesn't appear that extreme, but it'd still take the proportions of a gorrilla
to be comfortable on it for a reasonably long ride.

 

[molteniorange]

Thanks for the confirmation. I got the same advice from a few others, including Paul at Paul Comp.

I'll post a photo of the rig when it's done, and I'll let you know about the comfort factor, too. Just looking at the Dirt Drop stem in the head tube makes me confident that it will be a success. The frame already fits me well and has been a faithful companion for 18 years and thousands of miles.