Hybrid and Road Bikes?

Question

Would it be possible to turn a Hybrid into a road bike by buying some drop bars and some tri bars as well, what else would I need? I already have slick tyres

Answer 1

As a owner of a hybrid, I realize hybrids have their limitations.

To change to drop bars would require changing over the gear shifters & brakes as well - which would cost more than a few dollars.

The options I came up with was lower the handlebars as low as I could go, put on some curvy barends (trekking bars would also be a good option) and maybe wear clipless shoes.

There is always the possibilty of upgrading the gearing  to allow a higher range of gearing, but an hybrid can only be adapted so far til it becomes not worth the expense.

Answer 2

No. A hybrid will never be a road bike, but you can come closer.

Road bikes have way too many specific characteristics to every be successfully copied by a hybrid. Geometry differences go way beyond just the drop bars. Component differences go way beyond tires and structural differences go way beyond weight.

What you're doing is changing the hybrid from "in-between" to more "road." Good. Customize the bike to your needs and forget about the labels.

On the other hand, you owe it to yourself to test ride a real road bike (and a touring bike too) to see the differences. They are subtle to a novice but they mean the world when you get to appreciate the results those differences make.

Answer 3

Yes, you can do it.  I did it last year for my youngest daughter’s boyfriend.  In addition to the new bars you should flip the stem over, so it that it is level instead of rising for a more aero position – most stems will do this.  The biggest issue is the shifters and brake levers.  If it has V-brakes you’ll need an adapter, known as a “travel agent” (see the Sheldon Brown link below) because road brake levers aren’t designed for your brakes.  Standard cantilevers should work OK with regular levers.

The shifters are the biggest, and most expensive point.  What I did for him was use Shimano Bar-Con’s (bar end shifters).  That way he didn’t have to buy an expensive set of combination shifter/brake levers.  Many tri-athletes use those anyway, mounted on the ends of their aero bars.  See the link below.

Then for the brake levers you can either use standard road brake levers or use the aero bar style.  A link to Nashbar’s house brand is below.  The standard brake levers are very inexpensive.  Always search for online coupon codes before ordering from Nashbar, because they are constantly running sales.

Finally, you’ll need a complete set of cables and probably new housings as well.  Be sure to cleanly cut and debur the housing ends.  I like the Pedro's cable cutting tool best.

Not too hard a job, and a compromise, but it works.  This young man was kicking everyone else’s rear end on the Thursday night ride on his Frankenstein bike before the end of the season last year, so nobody teased him about it.

Good luck.  Now get out there and ride.

Answer 4

One of the biggest differences is gearing. Hybrids typically have mountain bike components. They do not have the "upper end" high speed gears found on road bikes. Talk about all the other things that need to be done -- shifters, brakes, cables, etc., add the labor to get the work done, and pretty soon you're darn close to the cost of a road bike. I'd go for flipping the stem and the bar ends that others have recommended. Save the rest of the money for the other things towards a real road bike.

HTH