Drop Bar MTB

[sean_iow]

I fancy a singlespeed, big(ish) tyre and drop bar bike as a winter commuter. My Salsa (Jones loops) is my normal first choice but it's geared for riding anywhere on The Island (34/18) and my commute is pretty flat so I could have a higher ratio.

Budget is just slightly over zero so hoping to use mainly parts I have.

My steel Genesis hardtail frame has a toptube that's 40mm longer than the one on the road bike. But the road bike has a 100mm stem so can I just use a shorter stem to get the same reach? Or is there a handling reason for drop bar bikes having long stems?*

* This may not be true of all drop bar bikes as my sample size is one, mine.

[thenorthwind]

The shorter stem will, in theory, make the steering more "positive" or "twitchy", depending on whether you're a glass half full or half empty kind of person.

The (presumably) slacker head angle will counteract that to an extent due to giving it more trail.

...is my simple understanding, could be talking rubbish

[Bearbonesnorm]

My experience of dicking about (technical term) leads me to believe that (a) the figures on paper may not actually mean much in the real world (b) given the usual bar height / width etc they bare little resemblance to road bikes and (c) you probably won't know for sure until you try it.

[Lazarus]

It will get the same reach
Length is for two reasons
1 stretched out position
2 handling longer equals less snappy / twitchy so is easier to control and feels more stable pros are usually 120 ( or used to be )
Personally I think it will be usable but sub optimal esp in fast corners

[fatbikephil]

Short stems are always good. As Dave says, they reduce the effort needed to turn the bars so it can feel a bit twitchy at first but makes the bike more controllable in the rough stuff. My strag has a 50mm stem and it's ace!

[In Reverse]

I swapped my stem for a slighter shorter riser stem for comfort and handling reasons.

You're more flexible and more talented than me though so you'll probably be fine

[sean_iow]

You're more flexible and more talented than me though so you'll probably be fine

I'm not sure about that.

Looks like I need to gather up the parts and give it a go, it may well be ok, certainly for the winter commute. It's mainly so the nice ti bike isn't getting ruined riding it all the time, which usually means it needs servicing when I want to use it on a bigger ride.

Cheers for the help, look out for wanted adds for the missing parts....

[Bearbonesnorm]

I've a pair of Woodchippers with cable levers / tape fitted

[sean_iow]

A not so stealth ad

I have bars I could use, but I'd have to take them off the road bike, but I do need levers... I'll PM you.

[chris n]

Have a read of this: http://www.63xc.com/mattc/midge.htm

Lots of great info about setting up flared drops.

Worth remembering that the primary position for off-road drops should be on the drops themselves, so you need to get the bars high enough and far enough back to get them where your hands would be on flats.