Converting 2008 Giant FCR3 to from flat bar to drops

Rob87

Hi all,

I'm converting my Giant FCR3 from flats to drops. Was talking to the guys at the lbs and said that I should use a shorter stem than the one already on the bike in order to improve the resulting geometry of the bike. Is this correct?

I can't afford a new bike with drops so this seems like the most cost effective way to achieve it. If it works out in the future I might upgrade to a better chainset (tiagra/105) and make a hobby project to do the conversion myself. Currently the bike has a mismatch of Sora and other parts.

Thanks for your help.

Rob

funkyjebus

Rob87 wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm converting my Giant FCR3 from flats to drops. Was talking to the guys at the lbs and said that I should use a shorter stem than the one already on the bike in order to improve the resulting geometry of the bike. Is this correct?

I can't afford a new bike with drops so this seems like the most cost effective way to achieve it. If it works out in the future I might upgrade to a better chainset (tiagra/105) and make a hobby project to do the conversion myself. Currently the bike has a mismatch of Sora and other parts.

Thanks for your help.

Rob

If you are putting drops on the bike, i would have said you need a longer stem if anything as a hybrid would normally have shorter reach to give a more upright riding position. But I suppose it depends on the length of the stem already on the bike, do you know its length? What size bike.

Does you bike have v brakes or calipers?

Rob87

I'm not sure what length the std stem is however, here are two conversions others have done and they both used 110mm stems. The guy at the lbs recomended 60mm I think.

http://www.pedalroom.com/bike/giant-fcr-commuter-7464
http://velospace.org/node/25492

Might call back tomorrow morning and speak to another of the bike mechanics.

kenmc

I converted fcr2 to drops, never touched the stem....

Rob87

Hi Kenmc,

Thanks for letting me know - what did you have to change out? How was the riding position when you were finished?

kenmc

handlebars, shifters, cables, bar tape. found it fine after, did 2x ww200s, ROK, and plenty of other long distance stuff as well as commuting for a couple of years

Rob87

Thats great to know - I'm changing all the items you did and might get to save some more money by not getting a new stem. Thanks for your help!

Lumen

Would it not be more cost effective to sell the bike you have and buy a second hand bike with drops?

cdaly_

You'll probably need a new stem as it will be hard enough getting 26mm drop bars. I did this conversion a few years ago and it's turned out lovely as a road bike.

I ended up reversing the stem and dropping it to its lowest as the head tube is quite tall. It's a 100mm stem.

I'd suggest you go hunting for second-hand shifters as these will reduce the price a fair bit. Try to get 9-sp or 10-sp shifters as your wheels will happily take 9/10-sp cassette in place of the existing 8-sp. It's a handy enough job to diy and you'll save a bit more that way. I reckon I spent about EUR120 on mine. My story...

Rob87

Lumen wrote: »

Would it not be more cost effective to sell the bike you have and buy a second hand bike with drops?

The current costs I think are as follows
- shifters about 120 for Shimano Sora shifters x 2
- drop handlebar 35 euro
- new stem 35 euro
- tape 15 euro

Just under 200 for it all. I've had my bike for almost 5 years and I'm pretty attached to it so would need a pretty big saving to sell it and purchase another second hand.

Lumen

Rob87 wrote: »

I've had my bike for almost 5 years and I'm pretty attached to it so would need a pretty big saving to sell it and purchase another second hand.

I understand the emotional attachment, but surely if you sold your bike and bought another 5 year old bike it would cost you nothing at all?

Or you could buy a bike that was 200 quid better.

Rob87

cdaly_ wrote: »

You'll probably need a new stem as it will be hard enough getting 26mm drop bars. I did this conversion a few years ago and it's turned out lovely as a road bike.

I ended up reversing the stem and dropping it to its lowest as the head tube is quite tall. It's a 100mm stem.

I'd suggest you go hunting for second-hand shifters as these will reduce the price a fair bit. Try to get 9-sp or 10-sp shifters as your wheels will happily take 9/10-sp cassette in place of the existing 8-sp. It's a handy enough job to diy and you'll save a bit more that way. I reckon I spent about EUR120 on mine. My story...

Thanks for linking to your story, had actually seen it a short whole ago. In terms of what parts to get - the chain an front cassette are also being changed as they are both quite worn. I think it's coming to about 100 for the chain and the front cassette. I was tempted to get a Tiagra group set which can be gotten online for 380 but I don't have the equipment or experience to do it myself and the bike shops price list has it coming in at about 480 which would put it way out of my price range. Also part of the complication with my rear cassette is that it's 8 speed and its only the old Sora shifters I think that match it.

All in all I'm paying about 350 for the parts and labour which includes the new chain and compact double front cassette/bottom bracket. If it was much more then I'd consider either a) a new bike or b) switching over to all Tiagra parts.

I'm currently thinking that in the future I can swap them for higher end parts once have the right tools and preferably another bike to use while its out of action.

If anyone thinks this is too much and that I should just get the Tiagra group set and attempt the change myself I'm open to suggestion. I'm a beginner when it comes to bike maintenance but I think this will be the last time I drop this much for parts and work from my lbs when if I had a bit more know how and tools could do it much cheaper and prob enjoy the process too!

Rob87

Lumen wrote: »

I understand the emotional attachment, but surely if you sold your bike and bought another 5 year old bike it would cost you nothing at all?

Very possibly - haven't really looked into it though maybe I should. Problem is if I was going buying a bike i'd end up going new and getting one from the Giant Defy range, justifying it by calling it a 5 year investment

Lumen

Rob87 wrote: »

Very possibly - haven't really looked into it though maybe I should. Problem is if I was going buying a bike i'd end up going new and getting one from the Giant Defy range, justifying it by calling it a 5 year investment

I'm just playing devil's advocate.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056978213
http://www.adverts.ie/bikes/giant-fcr3-hybrid-bike/3349758

Price difference: €150.

Obviously I've no idea about your sizing requirements.

n-dawg

I did a similar conversion a few years ago. For me it was worth it and makes a great winter training bike. My biggest issue was with the breaks. V-breaks don't really work with STI shifters. I got some cyclecross canti breaks which sorted it though.

Rob87

Lumen wrote: »

I'm just playing devil's advocate.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056978213
http://www.adverts.ie/bikes/giant-fcr3-hybrid-bike/3349758

Price difference: €150.

Obviously I've no idea about your sizing requirements.

The Trek is very tempting although at just under 6ft I think I need the next frame up. It's also strange that ill be a 10 minute drive from Fermoy where the bike is based this weekend. Thanks for letting me know though, lovely bike.

I think either way I'm going to keep my FCR3 until it falls apart some time in the future and will keep fixing/upgrading as parts wear out. After this I'm going to start learning how to do most of it myself.

Rob87

n-dawg wrote: »

I did a similar conversion a few years ago. For me it was worth it and makes a great winter training bike. My biggest issue was with the breaks. V-breaks don't really work with STI shifters. I got some cyclecross canti breaks which sorted it though.

The group set that came with the bike were Shimano Sora so they are fine with a drop bar setup once the right shifters are used.

Rob87

Anyone know about stem length - whether one the same length or shorter should be put on the bike during the conversion?

petethedrummer

funkyjebus wrote: »

If you are putting drops on the bike, i would have said you need a longer stem if anything as a hybrid would normally have shorter reach to give a more upright riding position. But I suppose it depends on the length of the stem already on the bike, do you know its length? What size bike.

It's the opposite for an FCR. It has a longer top tube than the SCR (road bike equivalent). So you would need a shorter stem to maintain a similar riding position when riding on the hoods. The geometry charts will confirm this.

I've owned both and always felt more stretched out on the FCR.

kenmc

petethedrummer wrote: »

It's the opposite for an FCR. It has a longer top tube than the SCR (road bike equivalent). So you would need a shorter stem to maintain a similar riding position when riding on the hoods. The geometry charts will confirm this.

I've owned both and always felt more stretched out on the FCR.

Are you sure? I emailed Giant when I was doing the conversion:

kenmc wrote:

am I right in thinking that the FCR and SCR are the same frame, just different bars and finishing? i.e. same geometry etc? so basically I would be converting the FCR to an SCR?

Giant After-sales wrote:

That’s right, the frame geometry is the same its just the bars and finishing kit that’s different.

Just to add a caveat; mine was a 2007

kenmc

Rob87 wrote: »

Anyone know about stem length - whether one the same length or shorter should be put on the bike during the conversion?

I would leave it as is, and see how it feels. You can always change it afterwards, it's simple and cheap, and you'll know if you need a shorter or a longer one after you ride it a bit.

Did it... But the geometry never felt right.

Rob87

petethedrummer wrote: »

It's the opposite for an FCR. It has a longer top tube than the SCR (road bike equivalent). So you would need a shorter stem to maintain a similar riding position when riding on the hoods. The geometry charts will confirm this.

I've owned both and always felt more stretched out on the FCR.

Had a quick look at the geometry charts and the FCR top tube length is 10mm longer at 58.5cm.

The stem on the bike is either 110mm or 100mm and they have ordered in one that is 60mm which seems a little on the short side. Will test it out in the shop before taking it away. Based on the top tube difference between the SCR/DEfy and the FCR either a 90mm or 100mm stem would be ideal (I think).

petethedrummer

kenmc wrote: »

Are you sure? I emailed Giant when I was doing the conversion:

Hmm, I'm damn sure I looked this up before and this was the case. I stand corrected.
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-GB/bikes/road/124/14226/#geometry
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-GB/bikes/road/125/15209/#geometry

This is going to bother me all day now, what was I looking at at the time? I may have been comparing Defy and later FCR models. hmmm.

Anyway by adding drop bars you are moving the position you mostly ride on (the hoods) out further away from you by adding drop bars. But then you could argue if ride mostly on the bull bars things, it will even itself out.

Anyway I don't think its a good idea money wise. And brake compatibility wise.

kenmc

petethedrummer wrote: »

Anyway I don't think its a good idea money wise. And brake compatibility wise.

Brakewise should be no issue; the 2007 had vbrakes, the 2008 had calipers, so should be fine with STI levers.

kenmc

Rob87 wrote: »

Had a quick look at the geometry charts and the FCR top tube length is 10mm longer at 58.5cm.

The stem on the bike is either 110mm or 100mm and they have ordered in one that is 60mm which seems a little on the short side. Will test it out in the shop before taking it away. Based on the top tube difference between the SCR/DEfy and the FCR either a 90mm or 100mm stem would be ideal (I think).

10mm is nothing, you can correct that easily by adjusting your saddle position a few mm.

Rob87

Thanks for the idea of adjusting the saddle, I should have really thought about that - think I'll stick with the longer stem if the handlebars fit and adjust it later myself if i need it. That brings the cost down to new shifters, handlebars, cables and bar tape which will come to somewhere between 150 and 200 with the labour included. The other expense is replacing worn out parts on the bike (chain, new compact double crankset, brake pads, wheel repair). All in all not bad.

I'm going picking up the tools here - https://www.aldi.ie/en/specialbuys/sunday-specialbuys-7th-july/ this weekend so i'll finally be able to carry out basic repair work/changes myself from now on with a little practice.

Hope to get the bike back later today - i'll let you know how it turns out.

cdaly_

Rob87 wrote: »

Also part of the complication with my rear cassette is that it's 8 speed and its only the old Sora shifters I think that match it.

Mine was an 8 speed cassette also and I got second hand 9 speed tiagra shifters. I started off using Sheldon Brown's alternate cable routing to work with the 8 speed cassette and then replaced it with a 9 speed when it was due for replacement. Definitely worth doing as you'll find it easier to get 9-sp cassettes later.

mlmcelligott

I converted my giant rapid 3 from flat bars to drops. The bike shop in Fariview called Little Sport did it for me for 150 all in so it might be worth talking to them first.

I used it for a year and clocked about 2k km on it before upgrading to a road bike. I found my lower back would get sore on longer cycles as the geometry wasnt right in the drop position. I also changed the stem to a 70mm one that i got cheap off chain reaction.

Rob87

Done and here are a couple of pictures. Went with a 110mm stem which is the same length as the stock stem. Just did a few Km on it to test it out and feels great.

http://s794.photobucket.com/user/robertfen/media/2013-07-03184306.jpg.html
http://s794.photobucket.com/user/robertfen/media/2013-07-03184315.jpg.html


Only problem is that the back wheel is damaged - the lbs managed to straighten it out however its damaged from a pothole it seems so I need to replace it. Seems okay to cycle it in the short term except it will go through brake pads quicker than normal. Will wait awhile until I can replace it with another Mavic Askium wheel or wheel of similar spec.

Last two questions:

1. The front crankset/bottom bracket they put in is Shimano Tiagra. The guy at the LBS mentioned it was for a 9 speed - however AFAIK this should be the same crankset as I would get if I purchased the Tiagra groupset. Am I correct or does the crankset vary depending on the number of speeds available in the rear cassette?

2. When getting wheels - is going second hand a false economy, especially with back wheels on road bikes?

All in all i'm very happy with my decision, cost 200 to do the conversion and the bike rides great. Thanks for your advice on here - made the decision making process much easier.