Handlebar Modification to Specialized Sirrus Elite

Endless tinkering with my bikes, and I just can't ever get things perfect.

After getting my "new to me" 1974 Raleigh DL-1 three-speed back in January, I've become a big fan of the comfortable posture of what's called the "sit up and beg" riding style. Sitting upright on a large all-steel bike with relaxed geometry, North Roads handlebars, easy rolling.

So much so that I've almost completely neglected my other bikes. And once nicer weather hits (and it's nearly here), I'm going to want to put in some serious mileage. For many reasons, that means I'm going to want to get back to riding either the road bike or my hybrid, since they have the modern amenities that make longer rides such a joy. The hybrid is a 2011 Specialized Sirrus Elite, and it's got almost every feature of a good bike that I could want. But I'm still trying to get the comfort factor right.

But I keep thinking of what it would be like with a set of North Roads handlebars. North Roads are the style of handlebar used on the old English three speeds, and are a variation of a cruiser type handlebar. Upright, curved in. The road bike naturally has drop bars, and that's always been a problem for me, so much so that I'm on the verge of giving up on it.

The Sirrus has a straight mountain bike bar, and I have not gotten totally comfortable with it either. Either type handlebar seems to cause me to crane my neck uncomfortably, and that adds up over many miles. I've come away from rides with bad headaches from the tension in my neck and shoulders.

On the old Raleigh with the North Roads bars, I've gone as far as 20 miles in relative comfort. My concern is that what may work well for 20 miles or less may not on longer rides. I think the inward curve on the hands and wrists, and the lack of other hand positions, will be a problem after my 20 miles comes and goes.

I tried putting an adjustable stem on the bike so I could get the bar a bit higher, but that may have been the wrong direction, because now I'm stretching out a bit too far -- the angle of the stem puts the handlebars further away from me.

Possibly a stem riser? Possibly different handlebars entirely?

I stopped by Bike Surgeon in Shiloh, Illinois yesterday to talk about my options. They suggested I bring the bike in, put it up on a trainer where they could try different adjustments. They have more choice of adjustable stems and risers and different handlebars that have less curve, and different degrees of height, and they believe we can solve the problem.

With all the nice features on the Sirrus Elite, that sounds very attractive to me. I'd love to have one good, modern bicycle that I have confidence in for most of my riding. I still want to do a lot of riding on the Raleigh DL-1, but I also know that any kind of mechanical failure or even a flat tire on the road can be a big headache. It's a difficult bike to work on even in my basement bike shop, and is very finicky when trying to get everything back into adjustment.

One other consideration: as I sit more upright, I may need to go with a wider saddle than the Brooks B-17 that's on there now. I've got a Brooks B-72 on the Raleigh -- it's a bit wider and has springs. It's a good candidate. But of course, a brand new B-66 would be fantastic.

1960s Murray slimline tank bike

One of my recent projects was the "rejuvenation" of a circa 1962 Murray slimline tank bike. This is what is known as a "middleweight" bike, popularized during the late 1950s and through the 1960s (and a bit beyond). It has narrower tires (26" x 1.75") than the older balloon tire coaster brake bikes. And the "tank" feature below the top bar is narrower than in the previous decades, more slimline.

I found this in a trash pile about 15 years ago and couldn't resist. Tough to guess the model with no markings remaining, but it could be either a Jet Star, a Sonic Flite, a Meteor Flite...lots of similar models with different names.

This is a new hobby to me, in most respects. As a kid I learned to work on my own bikes, and I was comfortable doing so. Later in life, I started riding coaster brake bikes, and learned how to work on them pretty well. But as an older adult, I was intimidated by the idea of working on my bikes of the "new" generation. I still don't know as much as I'd like about overhauling and working on my road bike or my hybrid.

But working on older bikes has gained my interest. I'm becoming one of those people who enjoys the tinkering on a bike as an enjoyment in itself. It's not just the final project, it's the fun of getting all the parts off of it, getting them cleaned up, cleaning off the dirt and rust, repacking bearings that I like. Once I get to the end of the project, there's a bit of a letdown. I still haven't figured out what I'm going to do with all these bikes.

So, back to the Murray: I didn't "restore" it with authentic old parts, but chose to mix and match some new parts in order to keep it looking appropriate, but very rideable. I think I'm more influenced by the "rat rod" bike people than the vintage bike restoration people. I like to take an old heap and get it rideable again, regardless of what it takes to get there.

It was a tough decision on whether to repaint or not, but I ended up loving the faded patina of the old paint. Lots of bare spots, lots of fading, but a cool old bike. I haven't done a (proper) spray painting of a bike yet, so that's still a lesson to come.

One of the issues I'm facing in fixing up these old bikes is that I'd like to save money by not buying new or replacement parts. I'd prefer to make due with what I have around. But I don't have that many bikes or old parts that I can often find anything. So I end up buying new parts, and that gets expensive.

The fenders were really banged up. But I thought I'd be able to get them to look pretty good. Get the worst of the dents out, and just let it look rough but useful. Unfortunately the paint was about gone, the dents were worst than I thought, and I wasn't planning a repaint. And new fenders are pretty cheap. So I abandoned the idea of using the original fenders.



Now the original Murray would have had a plastic headlight assembly that mounts to the front of the tank, sticking out past the head tube. This bike was missing that, and replacements are rare and expensive.

In addition to stripping off every nut and bolt, I replaced the head bearings, including cups and cones. I found the bottom bracket in reasonably good condition, so I just repacked the bearings in fresh grease. The spokes were completely trashed on the front wheel, and the cost of a new wheel was less than the replacement spokes.

Ultimately, I ended up replacing the fenders, the front wheel, the tires, tubes, rim strips, the handlebars, the pedals, the grips, the seat post and the seat. The seat was an old one that I already had, but it uses a different type of seat post, so I had to change it out.

And all of that adds up to quite a bit. Most of these parts can be purchased online from large online bicycle supplies companies, but you have to factor in shipping costs on everything you buy. A $5 part might cost another $5 to ship. So I try to save up until I have a number of items to buy at one time. Then I try to buy as much as possible from one vendor to save on shipping.

When I read on the various bike restoration web forums, I have to imagine that most of these hobbyists are building these old bikes for fun and to have something to do. There's no way most of these projects can ever be sold for enough to cover the expenses alone.

Here's how things ended up. I've wanted a nice looking 1960s coaster brake bike with tank for a long time, so I'm glad I finally got this project out of the weeds and into the basement.

Upgrading the DL-1 brake pads

On my first test ride of the DL-1 I quickly saw that the rod brakes were going to have to be kept pretty carefully adjusted, or look into some alternate ideas. There was no stopping power during that test ride, and when I coasted into the driveway I was applying my Fred Flintstone brakes -- dragging my feet to stop!

I experimented over the first few weeks. I sanded the brake pads a bit to get the hardened rubber out of the way. I moved the pads a bit closer to the rim. Still, I found myself slowing to a crawl whenever the bike trail crossed a street, in case I needed to make some drastic move.

I then learned about Kool Stops salmon brake pads designed as replacements for rod brake bikes. The price, at $30.00, seemed pretty high, but I'm pleased to say that I've reached a point where I can stop the bike pretty reliably. The toughest job was getting the old brake pads out of their holders. The new ones slid in pretty easily, and I just used a pair of pliers to cinch them in.

I've also gotten more adept at positioning the brakes close enough to the rim that you can get good leverage and more stopping power. One trick that seems to be working for me is to leave the rod adjustment nut loose, get the brakes where I want them, then slightly pull up on the entire brake just a tiny bit before tightening the nut. This seems to keep the brake levers in the tightest position, so that you don't encounter a lot of slack when you begin applying the brake.

I haven't ridden the bike in the rain, or in wet conditions since changing the brake pads, and I probably won't, unless accidental. Regardless of what you do to get the brakes finely tuned, I think that moisture on the rim will always be a problem when braking.