Drops conversion on a Giant Rapid 2

Rouleur · 09-09-2011 05:43PM

Hello, I am so happy to have found this forum and this thread! I have a 2010 Giant Rapid 3 that I plan to convert to a drop bar version. Does anyone know if the steering tube is a standard 1 1/8" width? I plan to replace the hefty alloy fork with a carbon one as finances permit. Thanks and glad to be here.

Side Show Bob · 09-09-2011 07:34PM

Rouleur wrote: »

Hello, I am so happy to have found this forum and this thread! I have a 2010 Giant Rapid 3 that I plan to convert to a drop bar version. Does anyone know if the steering tube is a standard 1 1/8" width? I plan to replace the hefty alloy fork with a carbon one as finances permit. Thanks and glad to be here.

The steer tube is standard, you may have to use a shorter stem. I replaced the fork with one that I got from eBay but had to change back because it was poor quality, I'll post pictures later, the rapid fork was good enough anyway, a bit bumpy maybe, but the bike is great when converted

Nhudgell · 12-09-2011 09:20AM

Rouleur - I'm in the middle of this too, having just ordered a pair of shifters and about to order the bars.. check out this:
http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=54152&start=15

Rouleur · 12-09-2011 03:45PM

SideShowBob and Nhudgell thank you for the information and link. I will try to post a photo or two as the project veers along.

Nhudgell · 12-09-2011 04:05PM

I'll update with pics as I get it sorted!

Nhudgell · 03-10-2011 01:29PM

Ok so I got everything I needed finally this weekend, which happened to be the busiest weekend I've had for a while. Still - I managed to strip off the old cables, the old handlebars, install the new handle bars, the new shifters, install the brake cable... and now just need to install gear cable, tweak/adjust everything, tape up the handlebars and I'm done.

See below for a number of images .. from start to where I am now. Just to confirm that I didn't use the old cable outers that are hanging off in the last few photos - they definitely were not long enough.

mlmcelligott · 19-04-2012 03:53PM

@Nhudgell Your Rapid 3 looks good. Im thinking about doing the same thing with my one. Could you give me a list of everything I need to convert it? How much did the whole thing cost?

Nhudgell · 19-04-2012 04:38PM

Probably cost about 150 GBP.

Most expensive thing was the 2nd hand R500 shimano shifters. To make it the easiest swap over, getting some 8 speed triple shifters will help massively. You may have to pay a little more, but I think it was worth it.

The next expensive thing was the bar (& bar tape), which you can spend anything on..

The brake & gear cables, plus housing and adjusters then didn't cost much at all.

You can probably do it for slightly less than 100, but you'd have to find some cheap shifters, and they're probably not going to be 3x8!

Good luck!

p.s. I used it as a fun project as well - was great and love my bike even more now.

merc230ce · 19-04-2012 07:13PM

Happy to find this thread.
I have an '08 Revolution Courier Race and have been cycling a bit more recently (longer distances) for fitness. It doesn't take long to get uncomfortable and I reckon a set of drops would be good.

I priced the parts from Edinburgh and they came in at just over £200 + shipping. I went in to Little Sport in Fairview and they reckoned they could do the job for €150

It was the Shimano 8-speed shifters they were talking about using.

The question I just need to answer for myself now is how much value I'll get out of that €150 before I (inevitably) upgrade

There's just the 8 gears on the bike - how long before that ain't enough? And I'm a tad worried about the reach too - I think changing the stem wutchamacallit to bring the bars back a bit...

Anyway, it's great to see what others have done!

cdaly_ · 19-04-2012 09:34PM

I wouldn't be too stuck on getting 8-speed shifters. A 9-speed cassette will fit in place of your existing 8-speed and 9-speed shifters will be easier to get. Your rear mech will handle this just fine.

merc230ce · 19-04-2012 11:06PM

Ok, but with only one chainring would I still find things a bit limited with just the 9 gears?

cdaly_ · 19-04-2012 11:17PM

No more than with just 8 gears. Use a wide range MTB cassette (assuming your rear mech will accommodate it.

blorg · 20-04-2012 07:38AM

merc230ce wrote: »

Ok, but with only one chainring would I still find things a bit limited with just the 9 gears?

@Merc- it is not worth converting that bike, (it is rarely worth converting any bike, butb particularly not that one.) It looks like a decent cheap hybrid but not worth throwing lots more money into putting drops on it. STI shifters are expensive and you are unlikely to find just the rear cheaply; even if you do you will then have to find a drop brake lever for the other side and the hoods will not match. Matching is important on drops as the levers are your primary contract point with the bike, obviously on flats they are not so matching isn't so important. Also, your current V brakes are not compatible with STI levers and would need changing for cantis, more expense and worse braking. Geometry is unlikely to be optimal either.

If you do want to do it I would just replace the bars and see if your current shifter can be stuck on the top. You can get non STI drop brakes that work with Vs, Tektro make them and they work very well. Would cost a lot less and you would retain decent braking. If the shifter won't fit for whatever reason get a bar end shifter. If you just do bars, tape, brake levers and cables and pick up parts second hand or on sale you might manage around €50-60 for the parts if doing the job yourself. I wouldn't spend €150 (that is however a reasonable price if using STIs including installation.)

The stem thing is also true, drops position you further forward so you really need to shorten the stem by around 20mm, more expense.

merc230ce · 20-04-2012 10:21AM

@cdaly_ I agree there's no significant difference between 8 & 9 gears, what I need to decide is if I will only be satisfied with a multiple of that. If so, then sorting out my handlebars ain't worth it. (I have found myself on a couple of occasions wishing for an in-between gear...)

@blorg Thanks, that's kinda the way I'm thinking now. It seems like one of those situations where sorting out one problem just brings another into sharper focus: Sort out the handlebars and the brakes need changing, sort out the brakes and I don't have enough gears, sort out the gears and guess what? The geometry just ain't right, and there's feck all can be done about that!

So what I think I'd probably be better off doing is holding on to my €150 and putting it towards a road bike later in the year, see what I can get second hand for ~€500...

(Says he sounding all sensible, and then goes straight to t'internet to commence drooling :rolleyes:)

Redzah · 22-06-2012 11:37AM

Hi, i have a giant rapid 2 and have recently got into triathlons, i'm looking to go whole hog and convert the rapid 2 into a TT bike, anybody like to include a list of the required parts or tell me if this is even feasable or practical?

Any advice will be greatly appreciated

Doc Daneeka · 22-06-2012 04:16PM

It's one thing to change from flat bar to drops, I've do everything this myself, but going the 'whole hog' may not be very feasible to get a tri bike.

Start by figuring out how much of tri bike you want and then whether it is practical. For anything other than the most basic conversion of drops and shifters it would likely be cheaper to sell Rapid and buy road / tri bike.

Doc

Drops conversion on a Giant Rapid 2

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