I have been thinking about how many riders have nice road bikes that they want to keep but no longer ride. In a lot of cases, riders don't want to part with their old rides for sentimental reasons but it seems an awful shame for them just to sit.
Of course, their are a lot of good reasons for this to happen. In some cases former racers don't want to put on the pajamas. Others have lost so much form that a race bike is a bit depressing to ride! In my case, both of these circumstances exist! I suspect that I am no alone in this circumstance!
My thought is that it's a good idea to convert them to cool upright bar bikes that raise the bars to about saddle height and replace the brake levers and shifters over to any number of good configurations. 28c tires can fit in most road frames and some will even fit a 32c tire. To complete the transformation a pair of pedals that work with regular street shoes would finish the basic transformation out.
Now that old race bike is very usable for fun around the town! Frankly, in most cases they would be fine for long rides as well. Add lights and you have something fun to ride at night. Add a rack or basket and lock and you can go get groceries.
The most important aspect of this is that you would have a fun bike to ride. I am going to build one for myself so I am going through the learning process of what parts are available to create really solid conversions.
It's incredible how many bars have been designed for this purpose. Some have the correct outside diameter to fit mountain bike levers and some are designed to have the correct inside diameter for bar end shifters. Quite a few of the bars have attractive shapes.
Levers matching the cable pull for both the brake caliper and shifters is critical to make a nice bike. It's cool how available this equipment is. A few companies have made a component that converts bar end shifters to thumb.
The pedals are also very cool. Low profile, super large and it seems everything in between. Personally, I will skip on the titanium version but I understand the temptation if your old sled was on this level.
For riders who have the clearance and desire aftermarket chain guards, fenders, dynamo hubs are all available and very much improved over former models.
I am not sure if converting the old race bike is really a conversion of the bike or the rider but if you are interested in transforming a bike please let me know. I'd like to help or at the very least we can swap stories!
What ever the case, I am excited to be building something to be on the road again!
Warm regards,
Neil
