Thanks. It's headed out to the new owner this week. It will be well travelled.

 

Here's my first attempt at a drop bar mountain bike. I just finished it last night, so i only have a day's commute to base my first impression on. It seems very well mannered, but we'll see how it behaves when pushed. Hopefully it'll see some dirt tomorrow night.

 

That looks well sorted out and i like how you placed the brake levers low on the hbar. I see most of the time dirt drops w/ brake levers like it was a road bike and it bugs me.
back to your bike.. you can even raise that stem so you can rock the technical and steep w/out fear.

 

Hope the ride report is better than Speckles. Visually came out terrific!

 

Salut,
Modolo
Philippe

 

Eric, I know I haven't met any of you yet, but this will be a good chance. BTW, though you've probably heard, this Saturday there's a bike swap in Petaluma (Bruce Gordon bikes). I talked to Paul Sadoff and he's bringing an old rigid fork for my Lobster, not sure but there might be other like minded folk. Oh and damn that OG is an elegant one. Cheers and I'll keep my eye out for the ride, north Bay Area I suppose, didn't you do one at China Camp in 2010 (yes I trolled your photos, they're just too nice and envy inducing!). Cheers, Ben

 

My commuter / light touring / all around fun bike...

 

nice ibis... curious about the ride of those szasbos.

 

That's my friend Steve's bike. He's owned three of them over the years, plus a Bow Ti. I haven't ridden it yet, but he loves it. He says it's more plush than you'd expect a URT bike to be, and upgrading to a shock with a platform damper made it almost as good as his modern full suspension Giant Anthem. He sold the Giant, and now has an Ibis Mojo 3 on order.

 

93 (?) Bianchi Project 5 fell into my lap recently. Seemed lightly used so all I did was clean it up and get the Origin 8 Gary bars from the lbs. Are most dirt drops essentially upside down Schwinn cruiser bars or just these? Have some fatter tires on the way to replace the original 700cx45s, could use some more cush.

Haven't been able to find much info about these, if anyone could help I'd appreciate it! Also would love recommendations for better stem and straight blade forks

 

93 (?) Bianchi Project 5 fell into my lap recently. Seemed lightly used so all I did was clean it up and get the Origin 8 Gary bars from the lbs. Are most dirt drops essentially upside down Schwinn cruiser bars or just these? Have some fatter tires on the way to replace the original 700cx45s, could use some more cush.

View attachment 1087554

Haven't been able to find much info about these, if anyone could help I'd appreciate it! Also would love recommendations for better stem and straight blade forks

Looks like you have a threaded steerer fork, which is different from the current system. They do make an adpapter that allows you to use a threadless stem with your threaded headset/fork. Replacing the fork with a new one will require a new headset, stem and fork. Frankly it's a pretty cool bike and I would just ride it as is, replace parts as they wear out and enjoy it!

 

The Bianchi Project bikes are VERY cool and are in the line that led to the 29er bikes today. I agree with rockcrusher and I would run the original fork. Nothing wrong with the set up you have now. I'm not sure about the Project 5, but I've seen the Project 7 bikes with a Ritchey Logic unicrown fork.

About half way down there's a discussion of the Bianchi Project bikes at this link GT Tachyon, Bianchi Project 7, and the Tire Standard That Wasn?t - Bike Hugger

And some discussion here as to why the Bianchi Project bikes are NOT 29ers. Hint: max tire width clearance. Guitar Ted Productions: The Beginnings Of The Modern 29"er: A History

Little bit of the history of development from Dirt Rag here The Big Wheel Mountain Bike Story | Dirt Rag

And some interesting bits from MOMBAT MOMBAT: History of the 29" wheel bicycle by Adam Hunt

 

The original fork is no problem and in no way inhibits my enjoyment of the bike, I just think it would look killer with a straight blade fork! I know finding one pre-existing that is 1" threaded w/ canti bosses and clearance for 700c x 2" tires is probably a dream and I doubt I'll ever get a custom fork made for it, but if anyone has any ideas of something fitting the bill (steel or carbon or other) I'd love to know what to look for.

As for the 29r question, I did manage to squeeze in a pair of Clement 29x2.1 tires. A cat's whisker of clearance but I'll take it! I have heard bikes like this described as "28r", I'll leave the semantics to others.

Thanks for those links, reading that Dirt Rag history is what got me into looking for a vintage big wheel MTB in the first place, it must have been synchronicity because I feel like this bike found me rather than the other way around.

What would be great to see is original Bianchi catalogs with this model, I was surprised that they weren't around the web already.

 

There's a few that I found online and have linked here https://repartodirt.wordpress.com/bianchi-mountain-bike-catalogs/ but nothing really in the VRC category. I could spend a mint on catalogs on ebay, but I'm still hoping there's someone out there that has scans I can host.

 

Drop Bar advice, yay, nay on my plan?

Hope you all had a good weekend of riding, good ride with the BTCEB folks in JMP, now on topic

I scored a real deal on a pair of WTB RM-2s recently (think a good lunch) and also might have a stem that would work, but probably not. I'm thinking of giving drop bars a shot and re-purpose/reconfigure my 99" Ritchey NiTi. A couple questions...

a) Think the NiTi has geometry that would lend itself to drop bars?

b) I would rather not use barcons, are there any other options out there besides the elusive/pricey WTBs? Is there anyway you can make thumb shifters work? I saw these Paul's on a bike today, no-go right?

c) My fork is currently a Surly big dummy (sus corrected threadless), are there threadless drop bar stems that are decent? If not I might be able to have Paul Sadoff make a custom stem, I'm guessing if I did that I would need to barrow someone's stem fitter, as I'd be going all-in as it were.

d) I currently have M900 V-brakes on there, what would be a compatible brake lever?

Before I dive in, maybe someone could let me tool around a bit on a drop bar bike at the VRC ride later this month?

Here are the Paul shifters I recently saw, any chance they could be altered to work, I'm moderately handy? I know I'm gonna get the duh on this one.

Any sage advice would be helpful, and yes of course you could say "do your own homework and go down the google hole", I'll do that as well.

Dig it,

 

A) I don't have enough experience on dirt drops yet to make an educated answer, but my gut feeling is that a NiTi's have too long of a front end (mid-late 90's geometry) to make dirt drops work effectively.

B) Kelly made some. Text me and I'll tell you where I saw a pair for $40.

C) I saw somewhere (probably earlier in this thread) that Velo Orange is coming out with a copy of the LD stem. If you're going to have a stem made, I have a Salsa Size-o-Matic fit stem you are welcome to borrow. That's how I figured out my setup.

D) Tektro makes long pull drop bar brake levers. Others probably do as well. That's assuming you meant M95* v-brakes. M900 was cantilever.

E) Feel free to borrow my drop bar OG at the get together. Bring SPD compatible shoes if you want the full experience.

 

You want a tall head tube for drop bars. Basically your hands will be at the same distance from the saddle as in a flat bar when your hands are in the drops. Ritcheys have short head tubes.
I have seen Paul's cx adapter for top of bars but bar cons work well.
Tektro and cane creek have good levers for V brakes.

 

^^ This.

 

The inclination with trying drop bars is to use what you have handy to see if you like it before really committing. It's generally a good plan since people either seem to love or hate riding off road drops.
The rub is that if you don't really get the set up right, it makes a big difference in your off road drop riding experience.
I was fortunate in that I was able to borrow a buddies drop bar (P-23) to try out the platform first. While was bike was a little small for me, I loved it and set out to build my own drop bar project bike. My first several were failures and it took me time to get the right frame/stem set up. Once that happened, I've never felt so comfortable on a bike.

I think your NiTi/Paul/V-Brake proposal will create enough hurdles that negate any time/money you'd save using that bike as a test sled for off road drops.

Definitely try Lee's Otis at the vintage ride. I'm considering bringing my red/white 85 drop bar Otis as well. That'll give you an early and late vintage mtb drop set up to pedal around on. If you think you might like it, we can dork out on options.

 

Lee and Colker,

Thanks for the insight, looks like the consensus might be that "this is not the bike I am looking for", I do still ride it, but it is the less ridden on my modest staple at the moment. I'll do a little more research, see if anyone else replies. I suppose at the least I saved myself some money, time and effort, oh and then I might have a pair of WTB RM-2's for the taking or trade. I heard about the Kelly's, if I do end up building it up DB anyways I'll contact you on that deal.

Lee, I will take you up on the offer to test ride the OG. I'm thinking of doing both rides on the 28th too, depending on the "course", the lobster and the P-22.

Many thanks,

 

So, Eric, would you say the NiTi is a no-go for drop bar, just a bad fit, or wouldn't really be worth it as it wouldn't perform well as a drop bar? I'm in no rush, I did see a drop bar Ritchey timber comp in Pacifica for sale (don't flag me GOB), though that's a decade or more earlier bike.

 

As Colker said, it really helps to have a taller headtube. If not, you'll need a really tall stem to get yourself in the correct position on the bike. Ritcheys typically have a pretty short headtube. I've found full rigid is the way to go with drop bar bikes as well. It can certainly be done with suspension, but I don't like the way it feels as much.

So to me you've got a much newer frame that is:
- suspension corrected
- has a short head tube
- will require a odd spec custom stem

There's so much out there. So many really neat frames you can try. You don't seem at all afraid to take on a project or track down parts, so I think you have the luxury of being smart about it. I'm confident you'll have a much better sense of direction in a few weeks after trying out some drop bar bikes at the vintage ride.

 

Ahh, that sounds like what I needed to hear, there's no substitute for behind the bar time. I'll shelve the idea for the moment till I get more perspective, I know it's not truly VRC, but I actually like the ride of the NiTi, though it doesn't get a lot of love, even like. Look forward to the big ride. Thanks all

 

Hi guys, my question is somewhat more brake related. Currently I am using XT 732 cantis with Shimano 105 aero levers - I am especially not convinced of the levers. The brakes working fine with Paul levers... Do you have any recommendations on aero levers? Cheers, Marco

 

I run M732 XT cantilevers with Dia-Compe Gran Compe Aero levers with no issues.
So you went from a flat bar set up to drop bar set up? The 105's should work ok.

 

BTW, love that Salsa bike! I totally agree, I look forward to checking out the various drop bar combos out on the VRC ride and maybe being lucky enough to take em on a little spin. I was just looking to monkey with the NiTi, but also like as is. At least I got a good lucky start with the great deal on the RM-2s, who knows what I might scare up at the impromptu parts swap later this month.

I also saw that red Phoenix Lee has in his garage partially built, who knows?? hint? I believe a 18', maybe a tad big (at least Phoenix wise) for me at shy of 6'. Sorry to have "hijacked" the drop bar thread and thanks for advising me (invoice to follow?), back to your normally scheduled programming! Ben,

 

Love old Litespeeds

This was my favorite project. Someone offered me some $$ for it and sadly I sold it....

 

New Velo Orange stem recreates classic dirt drop stem

Have you guys seen this? I noticed this over on the Velo Orange blog...The Cigne stem...looks like it has some potential for those who want that VRC dirt drop stem look when you cant find the original part...per the blog they intend to have an adapter to make it work with threaded forks/headsets in 1" size. In production now and will be offered in 70mm and 90mm extension and black, nickle and raw finishes.

The Velo ORANGE Blog: Projects and Ideas

The Velo ORANGE Blog: More Stem Stuff

 

Have you guys seen this? I noticed this over on the Velo Orange blog...The Cigne stem...looks like it has some potential for those who want that VRC dirt drop stem look when you cant find the original part...per the blog they intend to have an adapter to make it work with threaded forks/headsets in 1" size. In production now and will be offered in 70mm and 90mm extension and black, nickle and raw finishes.

The Velo ORANGE Blog: Projects and Ideas

The Velo ORANGE Blog: More Stem Stuff

Yep! There are a few options out there now, which is great to have.

 

I'm curious what the rise will be. In that proto pic it looks to be about 8"?

 

I don't post pics of this guy often, but I put a temp Ibis LD in there. I need a bit more height and reach, but it's close.

 

I don't post pics of this guy often, but I put a temp Ibis LD in there. I need a bit more height and reach, but it's close.

View attachment 1092739

To me that is perfection in a mountain bike.

 

I can't seem to find the details of geometry for my 1990 Team Marin MTB.

I'd like to see how different the geometry of this bike is versus say a Rawland or other purpose built 26" drop bar tourers.

I think I want to try running some spare drop bars I've got on it. I've got a 1" threaded to 1-1/8" stem adapter that I can raise pretty high, and a shorty stem to decrease the reach.

That being said, it does certainly feel far different than other drop bar bikes (650bm, 700C, or 29x1.9) I've ridden.