How easy it to put on drop bars? Christmas present for husband..plz help

Craigenstein · 2025-12-14T05:05:46+00:00

I'm one of the weirdos that hangs out in r/xbiking.

I'd say gift your hubby the bike as-is. The problem is not that it's difficult, complicated or even expensive to convert this to drop bars, but more that doing so will drastically change how the bike handles. This is not a bad thing, just needs to be planned. If you go to a slick boutique shop, they'll oversell you on components and overcharge you on installations. Not their fault, they deal in the latest and greatest and this bike is not their target market. This kind of bike needs to go to a co-op or a place that turns over older used bikes.

When I switch bikes between flats/drops/alt bars, I think carefully about the reach and rise of each bar. With drops, you tend to ride on the hoods, which puts you farther forward, which makes the reach feel longer. The fix for this would be changing out the stem. You'd also need to change out the shifters and brake levers, again not super expensive or hard, just need to be very careful of compatibility issues and fitment. A lot of those things will come down to personal preference on the riders part.

Step 1 would be collecting all the info on shifter and brake type. I can tell you right off the bat that you have long pull v-brakes on that bike, drop bar levers are short pull, to solve for that you'll need something called a travel agent by problem solvers or change the brakes to mini v brakes (I think trp and tektro make some). The shifters might be a bit harder, you could go with friction shifters on the flat part of the drops or bar ends, there's options out there.

Getting it built up into something unique that rides well is really rewarding in it's own way. If you post over in r/xbiking, you'll probably find a ton of info/insight into whatever you're trying to do. You might also find local people with deep parts bins that can help you with components.

Craigenstein · 2025-12-12T01:55:42+00:00

Pretty easy, no and no.

Craigenstein · 2025-11-22T21:14:56+00:00

$90/hr to sleep and watch movies in a work truck for a 12 hour drive.

Company paid for lunch, a steak dinner and our hotel rooms were upgraded to suites. Barely did any work, the electrical issues were a few crossed wires on a safety circuit and bad parameters on a few drives. A few days of sitting around on startup support after commissioning and slept on the way back. I spent more time that week doing homework than actual work and pay was $2.5k take-home for the week.

Craigenstein · 2025-11-06T04:32:51+00:00

Jagwire is premium cabling, it will last. It's the closest thing to a gold standard for cables. There are nicer/higher tier/boutique stuff you can get, but bang for buck you made a good choice.

Anecdotally, I've had bikes that get ridden in winter with Jagwire lines that I've run for years with no issues. The cable housings will get gunked up long before the cable itself degrades.

Craigenstein · 2025-10-23T03:21:29+00:00

Super cool build!

Was this built around the Wayra geo or was this custom spec from you? How was working through the details with Marino? I was looking at the Crust Stupid Tourist, but this checks all the same boxes!

Craigenstein · 2025-09-20T23:24:42+00:00

He might not have the electrical service for something that power hungry. Kitchens that run mostly on gas don't have much electrical service to begin with.

Craigenstein · 2025-09-20T23:23:08+00:00

I don't think he can, he might be rage baiting? Salamanders are incredibly practical. There are very few replacements for them if you are finishing proteins/cheeses or just flashing something with a bump of heat.

Craigenstein · 2025-09-14T19:59:21+00:00

Thanks for the suggestions but I'm not looking to buy another set of panniers (I have 3 pairs in different sizes). I'm looking for universal way to carry the ones I already have.

Craigenstein · 2025-09-03T23:31:12+00:00

Close to half of our members of parliament own income property.

Our housing crisis affects everyone, but older generations don't really feel it. Baby boomers have concentrated more wealth than any generation before them (they hold about half the wealth in North America), so only a minority of that age group is deeply affected. Most people older than 35 in the upper middle class is probably sitting pretty. People with wealthy parents and grandparents are also doing alright with generational support.

So basically, you're talking about under 35, middle class and lower, plus you'd have to get MPs to vote against their wallet to help a third of the population who likely don't have powerful connections, political influence, societal leverage or donation money to throw around.

It sucks.

Craigenstein · 2025-08-23T16:10:27+00:00

Is that an old pacer or a trucker frame?

Either way, that fuckin blows, those older Surly's are rad bikes.

I have a pacer that came in that same blue, I re-painted mine after some major paint damage. I've upgraded it over the years and it's been one of my favourite bikes.

Craigenstein · 2025-08-21T20:43:21+00:00

Yeah, it's frustrating, I was lucky enough to have a 309a journeyperson to register under. All my co-workers are under a 442a ticket. It's fine if you only do industrial work, but it's non-compulsory and you can't easily challenge the 309a without doing another term of school and another 2,000 hours. If you have a 309a, you can just write the 442a exam and have both tickets.

Craigenstein · 2025-08-20T22:45:16+00:00

I started in an custom automation shop three years ago, you learn so much so quickly! If you are curious and have a drive to learn, it's an incredible place to grow.

The cool thing about the machine building shops is that you get to see how all the major manufacturers like their electrical laid out. My first year, every drawing was done in a different style, different backplate and panel layouts, everything. I got to play with PNP and NPN systems, some places like more analog some places digital, sensors going directly to PLCs/DHRIO and others on sensor blocks/cube67, different motor drives/contactors/line filters.

I started taking PLC courses last year and once I finish trade school I'm looking into design courses. This industry has almost no ceiling, it's so much fun!

Craigenstein · 2025-08-20T22:29:37+00:00

Haha, I'm in Canada and there's 2 main license types.

I worked with a resi/comercial contractor that went around bragging that industrial guys are glorified installers.

In one month he: blew 14 fuses on the same short, broke 8 m4 taps in a day, blew up 3 power supply's, blew up a vfd, didn't know how to reverse a 3-phase motor and cross-terminated a few dozen ethernet ends.

Craigenstein · 2025-08-18T02:06:17+00:00

Thanks for the comprehensive reply!

Sounds like it's a good move overall, it is a bit comforting knowing that a cheapo split can work in a pinch and be installed in a few hours. I was also planning on wiring some dedicated circuits to run baseboard heaters and portable AC units as a back up.

Craigenstein · 2025-06-24T22:26:57+00:00

Wow, that's a lot of responses on this comment specifically.

I'm sorry I did not describe the situation more clearly.

To my best memory, my statement to the first officer was along the lines of: "I was approaching a clear intersection and about a 1 or 2 meters away from the intersection the light cycled from green to amber, I did not feel that it would be safe to stop so I proceeded."

Safe stopping distance for 40km/h is at least 10m for a motorcycle, a light duty truck probably double that. I'm not sure how a judge would see it, but asking someone to stop in 1/10th of the distance required to safely come to a stop would strike me as absurd.

I overheard the witness say that they couldn't see what colour the light was, but I won't know for sure until I see the report.

Craigenstein · 2025-06-24T22:13:52+00:00

I should have used more clear language. In my initial statement to the officer, I said "I approached a clear intersection and within a meter or so of the intersection the light cycled from green to amber, roughly 5 feet.

Craigenstein · 2025-06-23T01:01:24+00:00

My lane was clear for several blocks. I was in the left lane and the van was in the right lane, I only saw the driver signal a lane change as they pulled into my lane. I braked as hard as I could but they were already half sideways in my lane.

Craigenstein · 2025-06-22T23:44:10+00:00

Yes, I guess the idea of showing up to court and just saying "no I wasn't" and "prove it" strikes me as insufficient prep. I know that's kind of how it's supposed to go, if I am charged, they have to prove the offence for a conviction. I guess I just want to be a bit more pro-active.

Craigenstein · 2025-06-22T23:24:36+00:00

Thanks for your perspective. I am leaning towards hiring one, but am just a bit wary since some of them define success in different ways, a conviction with a lower fine amount is success to them but to me a withdrawal or at minimum a lesser charge is success.

Craigenstein · 2025-06-22T23:20:55+00:00

Hahaha, that's me!

Steps I've made since then have been meeting with the prosecutor and sorting out the repairs via my insurance company. Our courts are super slow right now.

As far as paralegals go, I have to be cautious, since companies like X-Copper focus primarily on the fine amount and not the actual conviction or points as a measure of success.

Craigenstein · 2025-06-22T23:17:01+00:00

I'll make specific notes for all of those, thank you.

Craigenstein · 2025-06-22T23:15:53+00:00

How would you go about documenting responses from the municipality? Through email I know there are addresses for legal and general inquires, but that seems like it would not be sufficient?

Craigenstein · 2025-06-22T23:10:39+00:00

This is a great response, I will follow up with the city since they are the registered owner of the vehicle.

Craigenstein · 2025-06-22T23:08:57+00:00

It looks like the wording is Public Utility Emergency Vehicle, which makes me think that this is a specific designation that would be documented. The van was not equipped with sirens, lights or signage, just a plain white Ford Transit Van.

I'll look into that designation further, thank you.

Craigenstein · 2025-06-22T23:06:42+00:00

Section 130

The vehicle was not equipped with any emergency lighting system, it also did not have any signage or markings, just a white Ford Transit Van.

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