I did exactly that on my hardtail except with a rigid fork and a surly corner bar. I'm just motivated to build a cheap gravel bike using bin parts. Turns out to be a keeper.
Cheapskate Gravel ftw :) I'm going in the same direction with a Zniino carbon bar. I might add a pair of GRX -BL-RX812 brake levers to my mountain bike setup and still end up with a lower price than a full GRX brake and shifter set!
My son has just done the same thing. Rigid fork, corner bar, and some ENVE wheels we got from a mate of mine who no longer rides QRs! He's thrilled with the build.
Just 2 hours ago I agreed the details of dropbar MTB transformation with my service shop. My "monster" shall be ready hopefully by end of February. GRX combination with XT derailleur and SLX 4 pistons. I am so excited... 😂 Litteraly all of friends think that I am crazy.
Bike looks great. In the Netherlands and Belgium people do "beachracing",, They use a mix of hardtails with Flatbars or Dropbars. WIde rims and tyres. We also use a rigid fork 27 for a more "aero" position. So you can ride with very low tyre pressure. Check out brands like "storm"or "imming" or "wikkit" beachracers. But also converted MTB`s are used for it. Might be interesting to check this out
Seeing the look on face when you were test riding your bike reminded me of the first time I rode my hardtail with the drop bars on it , like you I find this setup to be easier on the injury laiden body , grade 5 collar bone brake and a dislocated shoulder makes the rotation of the shoulder joint for a flat bar painful , drop bars and a.120 mm travel fork makes for happy days riding , great channel enjoy your content heaps 👍👍👍
Yeah honestly I was feeling pretty depressed about not being comfortable for ages and this bike changed that massively. Awesome to hear another person having a similar successful story
Cool 😎 music, very cool " conversion " 😎......Saddleback + Enve + Cervelo = one very cool bike there, Chris ! Viewers will be well envious ! And it stands up on its own! 😉
@@ChrisHallRides the change in your handlebars stem etc Chris, might make other reconsider their own set ups.....sometimes we ( wrongly).....have a bike set up and that's it.........that should be the case? We should keep an open mind.......its magical! 🙂
been dealing with some arthritis in the thumb joints. I've got those same bar extenders on my hardtail. love them. about to switch to the same ergons to see if I can get more relief. If not, i'm heavily considering converting mine to a drop bar for better hand positioning.
I love this, if it works for you, do it. Years ago I had bar ends on a full susser, and my mates laughed at it, until I flew up the climbs on it. The bar ends also stopped my hands sliding off the grips on wet descents. It never looked as good as this bike though, the orange forks do set it off well.
Hey looks great. What I was looking for is information on what to do if you want a dropper bar but still want to remote control the fork and a dropper post. Any info on that really welcome.
Enve do a dropper post and bar switch which you could use. Here's the seatpost: saddleback.co.uk/collections/enve/products/enve-g-series-alloy-dropper-post-zero-offset Here's the lever: saddleback.co.uk/collections/enve/products/enve-g-series-drop-bar-dual-action-dropper-lever
Yep you could! You’d need to run a drop bar dropper lever which I know Enve, PRO and Wolf Tooth make. It basicallly would run inside the shifter on the drops. We recently installed a dropper on an Argon 18 Grey Matter build which you can watch on this channel
Your video inspired me to create my own one iam fighting between trek and specialized to build one .. trek said they couldn't build and specialized said that this idea will change the form and balance of mtb but who care it looks badass 😎
Hi Chris, thanks for all the nice videos. Much appreciated 😘I have one question regarding the fork lockout. I wonder whether the manual lockout works with a fully stuffed bike (e.g. with a handlebar roll, food pouches..) or a remote lockout solution would be a better solution. What is your experience? Thanks and greetz from Berlin, André
Thanks for watching! I had a remote lockout on it when it was a hardtail and yes with a big roll it definitely helps. But with most of the smaller bar bags I’ve not found it an issue to reach it and use it
No problem! It’s GRX di2 shifters, xtr crankset with a 32t chainring and an xtr di2 rear mech (11 speed, they’re quite hard to get hold of now) with an 11-46 cassette
Love a drop bar mountain bike. Question, what tire width did you go with? I've been trying to figure out what the best width and tread for my bike since it's mainly used for trail a gravel.
Hey Chris! I have a question, does a 29” tire compatible with a 700x38c tire? i’m trying to build a drop bar mtb and want it to try it with a tire like that. I wanna know if is a good idea or if is it worth trying
Hello. I'm planning to install drop bars on my Cannondale Scalpel. My question is: Are the Shimano GRX 610 1x12 shifters compatible with the Shimano XT 12v rear derailleur? Likewise, I assume that the GRX 610 brake housings fit on the Deore mountain bike calipers. Big questions...
Brakes would be absolutely fine but I’m pretty sure the mechanical groupsets have different pull rates for the cables and wouldn’t work. This was built up using di2 so the shifters and mech work great
Hi, what are the bar extenders on the flatbars? They look a bit like the hoods of racing bike brake levers... and what's the music in this vid? Cheers.
Would it be good for a road ride? Say, after some slicks and a mini aero set up.. I have a ZHT and I’m thinking about the conversion but also have a 150 mile road ride which I might use the same bike for
thinking of doing the same bud, wanted to ask you, when it comes to the brake housing did you have to replace all of the cables or did you use the original ones to use on the shifters? or did you have to replace the whole brake housing to accommodate the shifters?
@@ChrisHallRides nice bro, did they work with the shifters ok? did you need to use an adapter to connect them to the shifters or are they the same connections?
Getting a bad ass tire off the bead, you need to wear thick gardening gloves with the rubberized fingers, and use v clamps around the tire then grab the tread to firmly slide it off at 6 inches apart
Hey man, love the idea and will likely be making a build like this myself soon.. how did you find the reach? That seems like the one issue that might arise? Noticed you have a shorter stem on there though, guessing that’s to counteract that?
@@ChrisHallRides thanks for the quick response, really appreciate it! Yeah assuming I’ll probably need to find 40-60mm to make it feel nice. All the best!
fantastic project, but in the end, when it comes to brakes do you recommend 2 or 4 piston calipers? (because I understand that the GRX manages 2 pistons)
If you think you need more 'braking', size up on rotor(s). FWIW while I've a 4-piston on the front of my enduro bike, still use a 2-piston on the rear - both on 203mm rotors.
I absolutely love it. I’ve had it set up like this for a while now. Took it to Sri Lanka. Used it for grinduro and for the global bike festival, all are filmed as vlogs here so worth having a watch back
@@ChrisHallRides Thanks for feedback.. One other question for you. When you did the conversion, were you able to just swap out brake levers and leave calipers or did you have to swap levers and calipers to work the brakes. Just trying to figure out if I need purchase an entire kit to covert my hard tail..
Kindly can you also share how to get the original fox suspension as many are fake and you want a good investment in your bike so if there any link you could share
@@ChrisHallRides it was easier to shorten my mtb handlerbar than use dropbars, too much work and struggle, and too much money. And I didn't feel stable, as I never had a road bike.
Yes, it's cool but why does no one actually make these? Tis is what a gravel bike should be and with a lowest climbing gear below 20 gear inches. Come on lets have a production version please?
All that just to put on a drop bar. If the clamps of the MTB levers could accommodate 23.8mm bars putting on a drop bar would take a half hour. True, there'd be no hoods to ride but that wouldn't bother me.
Yup I’ve been saying this for years, why not just use a hardtail Mtb for gravel bikes…. Sigh, it was all just a $$$ marketing scheme from manufacturers. We are now coming full circle.
understod i just realized that you prefer ride long distans gravel road ,but i thought about i can't imagine that ride mtb style with dropbar@@ChrisHallRides
Beautiful bike. I love the elegant non-drop seatstays, the sloping top tube and almost everything else, but: - the handlebars: I much prefer flattop / ergonomic dropbars . - The frame is beautiful, but in practice the longer top tube means a 5-10cm excessive reach.
This rig looks fantastic. And you are absolutely right, the perfect bike is the one that makes you happy riding it.
Exactly! And at the moment when still recovering from broken wrists this one is the one I enjoy riding
I did exactly that on my hardtail except with a rigid fork and a surly corner bar. I'm just motivated to build a cheap gravel bike using bin parts. Turns out to be a keeper.
That’s always lovely when that happens
Cheapskate Gravel ftw :)
I'm going in the same direction with a Zniino carbon bar. I might add a pair of GRX -BL-RX812 brake levers to my mountain bike setup and still end up with a lower price than a full GRX brake and shifter set!
My son has just done the same thing. Rigid fork, corner bar, and some ENVE wheels we got from a mate of mine who no longer rides QRs! He's thrilled with the build.
Just 2 hours ago I agreed the details of dropbar MTB transformation with my service shop. My "monster" shall be ready hopefully by end of February. GRX combination with XT derailleur and SLX 4 pistons. I am so excited... 😂 Litteraly all of friends think that I am crazy.
That sounds awesome!! YOU'LL LOVE IT!
Drop bar mt bikes are the best! Especially when made from a hardtail.
Totally agree!
Bike looks great. In the Netherlands and Belgium people do "beachracing",, They use a mix of hardtails with Flatbars or Dropbars. WIde rims and tyres. We also use a rigid fork 27 for a more "aero" position. So you can ride with very low tyre pressure. Check out brands like "storm"or "imming" or "wikkit" beachracers. But also converted MTB`s are used for it. Might be interesting to check this out
I've been aware of beach racing for a few years. Would love to try it out some time! My mate is the dutch national champ!
Did this to my Lynskey Live Wire. Shorter stem , Enve fork, Ritchey Beacon XL bars , Racing Ralph 2.1 tires. Go anywhere fun.
Awesome! 🙌
Seeing the look on face when you were test riding your bike reminded me of the first time I rode my hardtail with the drop bars on it , like you I find this setup to be easier on the injury laiden body , grade 5 collar bone brake and a dislocated shoulder makes the rotation of the shoulder joint for a flat bar painful , drop bars and a.120 mm travel fork makes for happy days riding , great channel enjoy your content heaps 👍👍👍
Yeah honestly I was feeling pretty depressed about not being comfortable for ages and this bike changed that massively. Awesome to hear another person having a similar successful story
Cool 😎 music, very cool " conversion " 😎......Saddleback + Enve + Cervelo = one very cool bike there, Chris ! Viewers will be well envious ! And it stands up on its own! 😉
It’s magical 🧙♂️
@@ChrisHallRides the change in your handlebars stem etc Chris, might make other reconsider their own set ups.....sometimes we ( wrongly).....have a bike set up and that's it.........that should be the case? We should keep an open mind.......its magical! 🙂
Sweet ride Chris. Can't wait for your first ride report.
I’ve had it built up and been using it for a while. Check back on the Sri Lanka and grinduro videos
Great build. Love the attention to detail those guys have. 👌
Totally agree!
This looks as sick as I had imagined it when you first mentioned it! Very curious how it handles !
It rides absolutely amazingly
Definitely makes more sense than gravel bikes
Depends on terrain and n + 1.
For you maybe but will not if you’re mixed surface pie chart is weighted more to road.
I think weight is a major factor in seeing this as an inferior option. But obviously it’s more so the kind of riding one is doing.
As long as you secure your Garmin with the little lanyard, I can see this working out just fine 👌🏼
Absolutely. I always use that
been dealing with some arthritis in the thumb joints. I've got those same bar extenders on my hardtail. love them. about to switch to the same ergons to see if I can get more relief. If not, i'm heavily considering converting mine to a drop bar for better hand positioning.
I used them loads before when I had flat bars but for two broken wrists this has really helped me
you could try the surely corner bar and still use your old shifters and brakes. I will actually order one today and try it out for myself :)
Thanks Chris...I thought you were going up the stair on the first lap ......the most capable bike ever ? Very cool.
It’s so fun
Smiling all the way ! good for you , Chris @@ChrisHallRides
That rocks... I NEED one...
So good right !?
I love this, if it works for you, do it. Years ago I had bar ends on a full susser, and my mates laughed at it, until I flew up the climbs on it. The bar ends also stopped my hands sliding off the grips on wet descents. It never looked as good as this bike though, the orange forks do set it off well.
Exactly that. If it works for you then definitely worth it isn’t it?
would love to try that bike🚴♂
Absolutely beautiful Bike Build and Color.. Congratulations...
Thank you!
Hey looks great. What I was looking for is information on what to do if you want a dropper bar but still want to remote control the fork and a dropper post. Any info on that really welcome.
Enve do a dropper post and bar switch which you could use. Here's the seatpost: saddleback.co.uk/collections/enve/products/enve-g-series-alloy-dropper-post-zero-offset
Here's the lever: saddleback.co.uk/collections/enve/products/enve-g-series-drop-bar-dual-action-dropper-lever
Can you install a dropper seat post with that set up? How would you set it up with the cable?
Yep you could! You’d need to run a drop bar dropper lever which I know Enve, PRO and Wolf Tooth make. It basicallly would run inside the shifter on the drops. We recently installed a dropper on an Argon 18 Grey Matter build which you can watch on this channel
Great build! Where did the battery go?
Seat post
Your video inspired me to create my own one iam fighting between trek and specialized to build one .. trek said they couldn't build and specialized said that this idea will change the form and balance of mtb but who care it looks badass 😎
Awesome!
Hi Chris, thanks for all the nice videos. Much appreciated 😘I have one question regarding the fork lockout. I wonder whether the manual lockout works with a fully stuffed bike (e.g. with a handlebar roll, food pouches..) or a remote lockout solution would be a better solution. What is your experience? Thanks and greetz from Berlin, André
Thanks for watching! I had a remote lockout on it when it was a hardtail and yes with a big roll it definitely helps. But with most of the smaller bar bags I’ve not found it an issue to reach it and use it
Now I need some parts, to do that on scale940 🤔🤝
It would be nice if you could list the parts and specs for compatibility, looks super cool 😎 I might want to try this on my XC bike, cheers Chris!
No problem! It’s GRX di2 shifters, xtr crankset with a 32t chainring and an xtr di2 rear mech (11 speed, they’re quite hard to get hold of now) with an 11-46 cassette
@@ChrisHallRides Hi! MTB brake caliper with Grx levers, any compatibility issues?
Love a drop bar mountain bike. Question, what tire width did you go with? I've been trying to figure out what the best width and tread for my bike since it's mainly used for trail a gravel.
I’m using 2.35 schwalbe Racing Ray and Racing Ralph combo
Hey Chris! I have a question, does a 29” tire compatible with a 700x38c tire? i’m trying to build a drop bar mtb and want it to try it with a tire like that. I wanna know if is a good idea or if is it worth trying
In theory it would work but I’ve never tried it to be honest!
@@ChrisHallRides I’ll try and tell you how it went! Thanks, good work btw 🤝🏻
Hello. I'm planning to install drop bars on my Cannondale Scalpel. My question is: Are the Shimano GRX 610 1x12 shifters compatible with the Shimano XT 12v rear derailleur? Likewise, I assume that the GRX 610 brake housings fit on the Deore mountain bike calipers. Big questions...
Brakes would be absolutely fine but I’m pretty sure the mechanical groupsets have different pull rates for the cables and wouldn’t work. This was built up using di2 so the shifters and mech work great
Ooohh. 😥 Thank you so much for the info, I won't waste money on something that isn't going to work.
I like that. Nice machine. 👍🇮🇪
Thanks 👍
If it'll benefit from a suspension fork it'll benefit from a dropper.
Cool bike man. Love the color. Do you go down a size to compensate for the drpbar, or use the same size as a flatbar bike ?
Same size!
Hi, what are the bar extenders on the flatbars? They look a bit like the hoods of racing bike brake levers... and what's the music in this vid? Cheers.
SQ Labs Inner Barends: www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B083ZN76PH/ref=cm_sw_r_as_gl_api_gl_i_RJB4HSTY45VVS8VRE319?linkCode=ml1&tag=christoph0103-21
Nice Gravelbike.
Thanks!
Would it be good for a road ride? Say, after some slicks and a mini aero set up.. I have a ZHT and I’m thinking about the conversion but also have a 150 mile road ride which I might use the same bike for
It’ll be ok. I wouldn’t necessarily say good though to be honest as it’s very much meant to be a mtb after all
@@ChrisHallRides for sure. Thanks!
What are the handlebars you used here?
Enve gravel bars
Thank you! I wanna do this to my Trek Marlin.
thinking of doing the same bud, wanted to ask you, when it comes to the brake housing did you have to replace all of the cables or did you use the original ones to use on the shifters? or did you have to replace the whole brake housing to accommodate the shifters?
Used the existing break hosing
@@ChrisHallRides nice bro, did they work with the shifters ok? did you need to use an adapter to connect them to the shifters or are they the same connections?
Hoses are the same size and so connected up absolutely perfect. Brake calipers are 2 pot xtr brakes
@@ChrisHallRides perfect thanks for letting me know bud. Well excited to build up a new bike
Getting a bad ass tire off the bead, you need to wear thick gardening gloves with the rubberized fingers, and use v clamps around the tire then grab the tread to firmly slide it off at 6 inches apart
The irony is a week later I did it even with my broken wrists 😅
Hey man, love the idea and will likely be making a build like this myself soon.. how did you find the reach? That seems like the one issue that might arise? Noticed you have a shorter stem on there though, guessing that’s to counteract that?
Yep exactly. I would normally ride a 90mm stem so swapping to a shorter one helps to counteract the longer reach you get from the drop bars
@@ChrisHallRides thanks for the quick response, really appreciate it! Yeah assuming I’ll probably need to find 40-60mm to make it feel nice.
All the best!
My issue with these conversions is getting a bigger chainring than a 38t. A 42t should be possible with a slight variation in the chainline?
A 42 would probably work fine
Did you size differently that you would have with a flat bar bike?
Nope same size
It’s nuts but it’s amazing
fantastic project, but in the end, when it comes to brakes do you recommend 2 or 4 piston calipers?
(because I understand that the GRX manages 2 pistons)
I used 2 piston
@@ChrisHallRides ok, and the braking is good right?
If you think you need more 'braking', size up on rotor(s).
FWIW while I've a 4-piston on the front of my enduro bike, still use a 2-piston on the rear - both on 203mm rotors.
Hey chris, how come you dont go with the Fidlock bottle system?
They’re bloody expensive
I didnt know price still matters for you :P@@ChrisHallRides
This was then exact idea I had to put drops on a hardtail
looks awesome - drop bars on a mountain bike is good enough for Lea Wilcox.
Exactly
Can't wait for specialized to have s-works aero suspension forks😀
😅
Reminds me of Dylan Johnson's Lando
Yeah that’s a great looking bike
way better than a gravel bike
i think we need to call it gravel pro :D
🤙
Will be sticking 100mm suspension on my salsa cutthroat. Same solution just starting at different ends.
Awesome they’re cool bikes
This rig is sweet! Can it take a bigger chainring up front? Needs to be 38-42 tooth for faster gravel!!
Probably 38 but not so sure about much bigger
What covers were mounted? I see them very wide for long routes
Covers?
@@ChrisHallRides the width of the wheel, they are mtb.
what are those brake levers?
Shimano GRX Di2
Curious how you will find riding drop bars on your hardtail. I have been considering this as well for some time. Just a big investment to swap out.
I absolutely love it. I’ve had it set up like this for a while now. Took it to Sri Lanka. Used it for grinduro and for the global bike festival, all are filmed as vlogs here so worth having a watch back
@@ChrisHallRides Thanks for feedback.. One other question for you. When you did the conversion, were you able to just swap out brake levers and leave calipers or did you have to swap levers and calipers to work the brakes. Just trying to figure out if I need purchase an entire kit to covert my hard tail..
🔥🔥🔥
Does it have better shifting?? Or there's a problem with shifting?
No the shifting is great.
What bars did you install?
Enve gravel bars
Now thats a cyclocross atlast people are building the right after years
👍
Kindly can you also share how to get the original fox suspension as many are fake and you want a good investment in your bike so if there any link you could share
In the UK theyre distributed by Silverfish so I would purchase from them
I've got a 120mm road stem fitted on my mtb, that's as far as I've gone 😂
😂
What size of the Enve dropbar? Its amazing setup
These are the 42cm width
You are John Tomac!!
🫶🙏
We got a mtb with a drop bar before GTA 6
To me it would be no at handlebars touch knees 😁
accomodate that in your fit
@@ChrisHallRides it was easier to shorten my mtb handlerbar than use dropbars, too much work and struggle, and too much money. And I didn't feel stable, as I never had a road bike.
Not to take away from your beautiful build but a Salsa Fargo or a Salsa Cutthroat are factory made drop bar mountain bikes sans suspension fork
Love it! I'll probably do the same when I buy some SRAM parts :)
Wait you’re a SHIMANO person through and through 👀
@@ChrisHallRides haha - perhaps I'll cheat on Shimano next year :) :)
(still mainly Di2 though, no worries!)
How much does it weigh?
I think it weighed like 10kg if I remember right. Maybe less
What about the reach when switching from flat bar to drop bar? Are the hoods not much further away now?
Great build though!!
I used a shorter stem to compensate for this
Is this not the bike you rode in Sri Lanka?
Correct, we just hadn’t got round to getting the video edited
@@ChrisHallRides I passed the test for paying attention then 🤣
Isnt this basically a Salsa Cutthroat with a suspension fork?
Same sort of idea yes
Why not fox 32 instead?
Because I had the 34s already
Yes, it's cool but why does no one actually make these? Tis is what a gravel bike should be and with a lowest climbing gear below 20 gear inches. Come on lets have a production version please?
I think we will start to see changes in the industry over the next year or so
All that just to put on a drop bar. If the clamps of the MTB levers could accommodate 23.8mm bars putting on a drop bar would take a half hour. True, there'd be no hoods to ride but that wouldn't bother me.
If that’s what you fancy doing, there’s bars that allow you to do it. I think maybe curve make them or surley or someone.
@@ChrisHallRides Cheers Chris! The Surly Corner Bar works well.
👍
Why cutting down bars?!
Ahhh... DI2
Yeah exactly that for the junction box
Yup I’ve been saying this for years, why not just use a hardtail Mtb for gravel bikes…. Sigh, it was all just a $$$ marketing scheme from manufacturers. We are now coming full circle.
😂
👀
Cmon….34.s @ 130mm? Too much
it was absolutely perfect
Too much fork.
nope
but but why???
If you’d seen some of my other videos you’d realise I broke both wrists and needed the comfort
understod i just realized that you prefer ride long distans gravel road ,but i thought about i can't imagine that ride mtb style with dropbar@@ChrisHallRides
It rides fantastic
Beautiful bike. I love the elegant non-drop seatstays, the sloping top tube and almost everything else, but:
- the handlebars: I much prefer flattop / ergonomic dropbars .
- The frame is beautiful, but in practice the longer top tube means a 5-10cm excessive reach.
Depends on your fit. This worked fantastic for me
@@ChrisHallRides Does it not feel a tad longer than with the flat bars on? Or is the reach much the same?