Pairing dropbars levers with a flat-bar bike

[wtherapy]

Hello,

I am interested in buying a fitness Canyon bike that can be seen at:

https://www.canyon.com/en-ro/fitness/roadlite/2016/roadlite-al-7-0.html

My primary goal with it is to use it with drop handlebars and I'm not interested in a regular road bike since this one supports wider tires (I'm about 95 kg weight), hydraulic disc brakes and I also want a big top tube to get a big seat post angle (with a Profile Design Fast-Forward seat post, the seat post angle can be increased by about 5 deg). My question is - can I use one of them:

https://www.bike24.com/p2141894.html
https://www.bike24.com/p2152044.html

with my own drop-handlebar and have it work without problems with the bike? If yes, can I use them with the brakes provided with the bike at canyon or do I need new brakes?

Thank you.

[DaveM]

You would need bars, stem, brake levers and shifters. I don't think there would be any compatibility issues getting brakes/shifters that would work. But I'd double check specifics before buying anything.

Given the cost of these part swaps have you checked out what you can get in cyclocross, gravel, etc. bikes? There are a lot more choices for wider tire road bikes nowadays. Seems like there'd be something closer to what you want without having to immediately start swapping out parts.

[Joe_W]

(05-17-2016, 04:21 AM)wtherapy Wrote:  Hello,

I am interested in buying a fitness Canyon bike that can be seen at:

https://www.canyon.com/en-ro/fitness/roadlite/2016/roadlite-al-7-0.html

My primary goal with it is to use it with drop handlebars and I'm not interested in a regular road bike since this one supports wider tires (I'm about 95 kg weight), hydraulic disc brakes and I also want a big top tube to get a big seat post angle (with a Profile Design Fast-Forward seat post, the seat post angle can be increased by about 5 deg). My question is - can I use one of them:

https://www.bike24.com/p2141894.html
https://www.bike24.com/p2152044.html

with my own drop-handlebar and have it work without problems with the bike? If yes, can I use them with the brakes provided with the bike at canyon or do I need new brakes?

Thank you.

The Shimano Road components are compatible (the brake levers you linked first are 105 (or 105-level)) when staying at the same "speed" (with some odd exceptions), and these 505 levers will work with the Ultegra stuff on the bike.
I'm not sure about the brake compatibility. Check Shimano's website...

However, a general thing about the flat-to-drop-conversion: Carefully check the top tube length (or better: stack and reach) of the bike. Look at your own target coordinates for the handlebar clamp and think whether this can be achieved. Usually flat bar bikes have a longer frame. On drop / road bars, the frame is shorter because the bars sweep forward. The contact point is the brake hood or the drop position (depends on use, personal preference and who you ask), which sits about 10cm further forward than the handlebar clamp. Note that while you can use a shorter stem this might change handling. Also the weight distribution can be different...

TL;DR: not always advisable + what Dave said