Installing barcons on bullhorns? or, Converting my wife from cruiser to tourer

[kbpfister]

I’m fixing up a Mixte for my wife, she has previously only ridden heavy cruisers and the like but I’m hoping that if I can get her on a fast & comfy road-ish bike she might start joining me on longer weekend rides.

I’d like to make the bike as comfortable as I can without turning it into a fully upright city bike, kind of a gateway bike, the saddle on the bike will do for now, we can get her a better one if she takes to riding, but the drop bars with only road levers and down tube shifters are going to be a little awkward for her.

After thinking on it over the weekend and considering that I’m trying to keep it cheap until she actually spends some time on the bike, I think I’d like to chop and flop the drops and install a pair of guidonnet levers I already have and some old suntour bar end shifters I was going to put on my touring bike. This will give her the 2 most comfortable positions of a drop bar (the flats and riding on the hoods), the guidonnet levers will be accessible from both positions and having the bar ends right at the end of the bull horns means she won’t have to move her hands from the bar to shift. Also it doesn’t hurt that with vintage French brake levers and bar end shifters she (and I by extension) will look cool.

Has anyone ever done this or seen it? I’ve seen it done with manufactured bullhorns that have a short straight run of bar at the end, but all of the commercially available bullhorns I’ve seen have too much forward reach. I did see a pair of nitto bars that I could customize, but man new nitto stuff is so spendy.

I think this could be a cool little setup if I can manage to install the bar ends into the curved section of the bar. I’ve never installed bar ends before, but the part that slips into the bar expands and contracts as you twist it, so my question is, will I be able to contract it enough to jamb it into the bar and will I be able to get a good tight fit being that the thing will not be in a section of straight tube but in a curved one?

As I write this, I’m having a hard time imagining it’s going to work, so I also invite you to give me your suggestions about an alternate setup that gives you multiple hand positions with access to the brakes without too much drop or forward reach, and allows you to shift gears without taking your hands off the bars,  that doesn’t involve buying a new bar, inline levers, thumb shifters and some NOS gum hoods. It’s a lot to ask I know, oh yeah and of course it needs to look cool.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

[E-Rock]

I'm pretty sure the chopped bars curve too much for the shifters to fit in...

Depending on which riding position your wife likes most buying some mustache bars might be another good alternative.

[kbpfister]

Have you ever ridden on them?, that was my first thought, but they are kinda spendy and i wasn't sure they would be even worse, the flared out part is level with stem but wider so your a little farther forward than you would be with drops, and the bends are way a head of the stem.

hopefully there is a pair of chopped drops hanging around the bikerowave I could experiment on wiht the bar ends before abandoning this idea

I just found some really cheap inline levers on ebay so If I can also find some really cheap aero levers that will fit her hands I might just keep the existing drops as is

[gamecat]

The way my Trek was set up was vaguely similar to what I'm picturing from the above.



Those are bars from a Redline 925. You'll need something shiny, though. I would think there should be an inexpensive bar you can grab with the right shape for a barend shifter, but finding one that you can cut down and use might require some extensive scavenging. I think you can get by with the parts you have for the rest of it, but the bars may have to be changed.

As long as the shifter fits in the curved section there may be a way to jury rig some kind of collar to secure it if it won't hold by expansion, but that fit is going to be tough to find.

I really liked this set up and intend to do it the same way again.

EDIT: I think Origin8 makes silver bullhorns that are under $25.

[Steve Mattson]

You might want to go back to the northroad/style bars (of your other thread).  I am such not the fan of chopped bars, and even if they fit, I think you are creating a shifting scenario that would be detrimental to your relationship with your wife.  That looks like a finicky/frustrating way to make a gear change.  She's used to a heavy cruiser ( http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/h57000/h57183.jpg my mind wanders there-sorry), make that Mixte a nice transition into a speedier ride with a nice upright position and bar ends facing her instead of away from her.
My 100% copper two cents worth.

[JB]

I think she could figure out the downtube shifters in about 15 minutes.  Why not just keep it original and use those?

[Steve Mattson]

Forgot to mention--love the retro french Mafac brake levers.

[kbpfister]

Thanks for posting the pic, I'm glad to see someone has done it, I think bar ends at the end of bullhorns are def super cool, hopefully I will be able to do this on a bike sometime

I'm def. going to go with the Northroad type bar with bar ends, this bar will be a good transition for her from her cruiser to a geared bike.

I'm not so sure she would be comfortable wiht the DT shifters. Sarah is a very insecure cyclist to put it somewhat gently, my goal with this bike is to make it near as comfy as her cruiser but lighter and faster( not to mention more stylish) so she will be encouraged to go on longer rides with me. We'll see if my plan works, if not at least I'll get a nice city-mixte out of it.

[Steve Mattson]

I think I was telling you about these items from Jtek on Saturday...

http://jtekengineering.com/Jtek_Brake_Levers.htm

[kbpfister]

booya