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[Cardio Goth]

5 hours ago, Prince Albert Cycles said:

Interesting dilemma the OP has .

am in a similar position and going to follow this

I have a build up On One steel frame running 1 x 11 with a suspension fork.

Itching to do something with it .

considering a monster cross build as I have a ht and a full suss  and a road bike .

but then thinking if I fit a set of gravel tyres and leave it as it is I would save a lot of money and I will have the same effect as on a gravel bike . I am long past racing and prefer comfort to speed . 
except a gravel bike look is so cool 😇

From personal experience of long gravel rides, the comfort and aero options of drop bars motivate for a monstercross build

[Bub Marley]

52 minutes ago, droo said:

N + 2 then.

Eish.

52 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

I've built a lot of bikes. A lot of ugly frankenmonsters and some less so.

There is always a compromise.

The 'numbers' might make sense, but the bars catch the TT, or the stem is too short and the hands land up way behind the front axle which makes it twitch in the drops etc

A flat bar rigid MTB with big gears will ride better than a MTB with drop bars. Others will say 'nonsense, look at my beauty' and proceed to show you a picture of the ugliest hybrid MTB frankencross you have ever seen.

BUT, home made bikes are like babies. Everyone thinks theirs are wonderful, to everyone else they just look like some version of Winston Churchill

Point taken.

 

Just based on the advice here then, it seems that a conversion is not preferable. So either get a gravel bike and get better on the hardtail at tech stuff. Or get a full sus and use the hardtail for gravel events.

 

Still doesn’t feel like im anywhere closer to a decision 😂

[cadenceblur]

I reckon a conversion is not a no-no - perhaps biased though as I have one and I am happy with it.

[RobertWhitehead]

43 minutes ago, Bub Marley said:

Eish.

Point taken.

 

Just based on the advice here then, it seems that a conversion is not preferable. So either get a gravel bike and get better on the hardtail at tech stuff. Or get a full sus and use the hardtail for gravel events.

 

Still doesn’t feel like im anywhere closer to a decision 😂

I would definitely convert the HT and get a dual. From a riders point of view a dual is way more forgiving and comfortable than a HT. 

Thank you very much for all the inputs, I think I am going to go with a flat bar (just because I have everything & I'll be able to increase the stopping power with proper brakes), rigid with tubeless gravel tires and some ZTRs with Hope hubs. I think I am going to gooi a 38T oval (if it fits the frame) with 12 speed at the back. Think it will break 9kg

[RobertWhitehead]

Just now, RobertWhitehead said:

I would definitely convert the HT and get a dual. From a riders point of view a dual is way more forgiving and comfortable than a HT. 

Thank you very much for all the inputs, I think I am going to go with a flat bar (just because I have everything & I'll be able to increase the stopping power with proper brakes), rigid with tubeless gravel tires and some ZTRs with Hope hubs. I think I am going to gooi a 38T oval (if it fits the frame) with 12 speed at the back. Think it will break 9kg

Wait, scratch that, I have some carbon wheels. 

[TyronLab]

I've delved into this many many times before, and drop bar MTBs are awesome but inevitably either a huge compromise/faff and relatively expensive OR horrendously expensive and easy as pie.

Go out and buy an AXS drop bar shifter set and an AXS derailleur and bob's-your-uncle, super simple drop bar setup on a MTB (if you can find a frame where the geo works). It'll cost an arm and a leg though...

I'm bang-on between a M and a L mtb at 1.78m tall, and to get the right reach/stack I often run into a L frame with a 35mm stem still being 15mm too long with a drop bar, or a M frame with too much exposed seatpost and a lot of spacers to get the stack right.

Flat bar rigid MTBs with gravel tyres are a fracking hoot. Gooi some cheapo bar ends in-board of the grips and you've got a relatively aero position too. My current rig:

(this is getting skinnier wheels and rubber soon, so don't think I'm proposing a 3" tyre as a "gravel" mtb)

Edited November 1, 2023 by TyronLab

[Zebra]

Tyron Lab wrote:

“Gooi some cheapo bar ends in-board of the grips and you've got a relatively aero position too. My current rig:”

…or better yet; put on some not-AS cheap SQLab inner-bar-ends ; same Aero comfort/position, but multiple times more comfortable. 

Edited November 2, 2023 by Zebra
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[ChrisF]

7 hours ago, Bub Marley said:

Eish.

Point taken.

 

Just based on the advice here then, it seems that a conversion is not preferable. So either get a gravel bike and get better on the hardtail at tech stuff. Or get a full sus and use the hardtail for gravel events.

 

Still doesn’t feel like im anywhere closer to a decision 😂

 

put a 40 or 42 ring on that hardtail, then go visit @Prince Albert Cycles and do some of the routes in his backyard ....

 

Nice set of gravel tyres, and the right gearing for the terrain, and the hardtail can be a nice "gravel rider".

 

 

If it is the look and feel of drop bars you want .... enough posts about the technical issues of doing this to a hardtail.  From various similar threads, it would seem that the costs of the getting drop bar mounted brakes and gear selector to work with normal hardtail equipment ..... sure it can be done, but this is for those that truly love custom builds.

 

 

 

I went the hardtail route, kept the flat bars, and current run a 40 ring and fast rolling gravel tyres.  LOVE my frankenmonster .... ❤️

[NotSoBigBen]

Ai ai ai some Philistines here 😝

But build whatever blows your hair back ...

[Toasted marshmallows]

Honestly if a 26er. go gravel wheels 40c, a fox fork clears up to a 45c gravel tyre with decent mud clearance and cut the airspring down to 80mm ... run a 80-100mm stem that era bike was when we ran 110-130mm stems short ass reach figure and our contemporary gravel numbers.... 

 

Built myself a merida 0.9 26er. Running maxxis rambler 700x40c front on a dt swiss 26 carbon fork cut to 60mm, sram force 1 with a 50t and 11-52 currently... its a blast and sub 9kg hardtail with speed for days

[Cardio Goth]

16 hours ago, Zebra said:

Tyron Lab wrote:

“Good some cheapo bar ends in-board of the grips and you've got a relatively aero position too. My current rig:”

…or better yet; put on some not-AS cheap SQLab inner-bar-ends ; same Aero comfort/position, but multiple times more comfortable. 

Yeah, I love mine. Not cheap, but so comfy.

[Vaultboy]

On 11/1/2023 at 12:09 PM, TyronLab said:

I'm bang-on between a M and a L mtb at 1.78m tall, and to get the right reach/stack I often run into a L frame with a 35mm stem still being 15mm too long with a drop bar, or a M frame with too much exposed seatpost and a lot of spacers to get the stack right.

I'm 1.79, and this is exactly my problem. I am partial to a smaller frame though, so even on my current gravel bike my seatpost is at max extension and I have 4 spacers, so I have the fugly bar ticked already.

I am still leaning towards the increased comfort of a rigid hardtail with drop bars, but in terms of compromise, the big question is just exactly how much worse is it at climbing than a gravel bike? I guess I'll only know if/once I do it. 😅