conversion to flat bar

These days you have a bigger choice in stems if you go unthreaded. Unthreaded stems also have removable face plates, which makes swapping stems out becomes nice and easy.

A key question is how many gears you have right now, and to a lesser degree which brand. If you want flat bar shifters they need to match the no of gears to run cleanly.
If you get "MTB" shifters also note that the front derailer for road/MTB often have a different amount of pull, so some tinkering may be required.
Or you can get top mount friction shifter together with pretty any canti/caliper compatible brake lever.

dabac said:

These days you have a bigger choice in stems if you go unthreaded. Unthreaded stems also have removable face plates, which makes swapping stems out becomes nice and easy.

A key question is how many gears you have right now, and to a lesser degree which brand. If you want flat bar shifters they need to match the no of gears to run cleanly.
If you get "MTB" shifters also note that the front derailer for road/MTB often have a different amount of pull, so some tinkering may be required.
Or you can get top mount friction shifter together with pretty any canti/caliper compatible brake lever.

I have a 7 speed shimano 105 sis rear derailer and hub. the down tube levers are shimano 600 if that makes a difference.

Ya i'm torn on what shifters to go with.
be real cheap and stick to down tube. or try and find bar shifters that work.

Whats the deal with grip v trigger? I figure my budget for the whole conversion will be about 300 bucks.

I'd like to get some heavier duty 36 spoke wheels. (current is 32 bladed spoke).

Maybe just the back wheel since I basicly have to true is after every ride. but the front is fine. Also would like to go from my current tire from 25c to 28 or 32 if it fits. (new england roads).

Also thinking about moving to single chainring crank for cleaner look and simplicty only needing one shifter.

the other option is spend 400 bucks for a new bike but i have a feeling i'm not going to end up with what I will be happy with.

Any advice on threaded to threadless adaptors? any to stay away from? will 9 buck one work as well as 30 buck one?

I was thinking a simple 90 mm with 7 degree rise would put me about the right spot?

thanks for info

ctchrisf said:

looking for on the cheap bank for buck.

The absolute least expensive option which you may-or-may-not want to try is to simply adjust your handlebars into the "ghetto" position ...
[INDENT]Loosen the handlebar's clamp and (while standing over the top tube ... for orientation ... you can actually be next to OR in front of the bike when you do this) rotate the handlebars up-and-back toward you so that the PLUGS are facing forward & the brake levers are upside-down and facing toward you.

VOILA!

Your cost -- less than 5 minutes of your time.
[/INDENT]Otherwise, get a pair of MTB handlebars + BMX brake levers (or, non-V-brake brake levers) + handlebar grips -- your cost is anywhere from about $30-to-$300.

What is your actual budget?

ctchrisf said:

I have a 7 speed shimano 105 sis rear derailer and hub. the down tube levers are shimano 600 if that makes a difference.

Ya i'm torn on what shifters to go with.
be real cheap and stick to down tube. or try and find bar shifters that work.

Whats the deal with grip v trigger? I figure my budget for the whole conversion will be about 300 bucks.

I'd like to get some heavier duty 36 spoke wheels. (current is 32 bladed spoke).

Maybe just the back wheel since I basicly have to true is after every ride. but the front is fine. Also would like to go from my current tire from 25c to 28 or 32 if it fits. (new england roads).

Also thinking about moving to single chainring crank for cleaner look and simplicty only needing one shifter.

the other option is spend 400 bucks for a new bike but i have a feeling i'm not going to end up with what I will be happy with.

Any advice on threaded to threadless adaptors? any to stay away from? will 9 buck one work as well as 30 buck one?

I was thinking a simple 90 mm with 7 degree rise would put me about the right spot?

Trigger shifters allow you to change ONLY ONE cog at a time ... it is apparently the preferred shifter type for Flat bars.

Grip shifts let you change as many gears as your wrist motion can turn the "grip" -- I think they are great (I have trigger shifters, too).

You could get a pair of 6-speed (?) thumb shifters ... the right shifter usually has a friction mode ...

I think, but am not sure, that you could theoretically use the thumb shifter mounting boss to remount your 7-speed SIS shifters on -- that is, use the thumb shifter's mounting assembly as a DIY PAUL THUMBIES type of setup.

BTW. If you only need a 7-speed RIGHT shifter, then I'm sure you should be able to get a USED one for a modest cost.

Threadless adapters are fine ... I don't know if there is any difference between a $10 adapter and one that costs $30 other than the amount of profit the retailer makes.

wow i really like that idea of using my current shifter as a thumb shifter.

how exactly would that work?

ya i'm not going to go ghetto style upside down drop bar. lol

thanks for the idea

ctchrisf said:

wow i really like that idea of using my current shifter as a thumb shifter.

how exactly would that work?

This might be a can-of-worms for you ... but, here goes ...

Feasibility depends on the design of the particular thumb shifters which you will be cannibalizing -- the one I looked at was on someone else's bike and it was only for a moment a long time ago ...

The particular thumb shifter which I looked at was assembled the same way a downtube shifter is -- a bolt held the shift lever onto a stem/boss which did-indeed look similar to the mounting boss/stem/post on a downtube clamp and/or frame braze-on on the particular shifter, but I only did a visual inspection. If the diameter of the post has a different diameter, a shim can certainly be fabricated with some thin brass sheet OR the "hole" in the shift lever could be enlarged.

Now, what I don't recall is whether the cable housing "stop" was integrated in/on the body of the shifter or if it was a part of a separate plate ... if it is integrated in/on the body of the shifter, then a separate plate needs to be fabricated which you would install before sleeving the shift lever onto the mounting post ... if it is already separate, then it should just be a matter of taking the original mechanism off the post & putting your 7-speed SIS mechanism in its place -- a direct swap.

I think that if you look-for-and-find a set of thumb shifters which have a D-ring toggle to allow the "right" shifter to switch between friction & indexed modes that its mounting post will probably be suitable for your downtube shifters ...

No guarantees!

BTW. The last time I looked (a few years ago), you could get a set of NOS thumb shifters for under $20 (including the shipping) ... that's certainly better than ~$80 for a set of PAUL THUMBIE mounts.