I’ve been keen on single-speed riding for the sake of little to no bike maintenance.
I recently relocated to Germany and purchased what seems like a very solid starter rig to use as my base (Bonvelo Rakede Carbon Drive Belt: [https://bonvelo.de/en/singlespeed-bikes/rakede-gates-carbon-drive/raw](https://bonvelo.de/en/singlespeed-bikes/rakede-gates-carbon-drive/raw)). The first, and most important, upgrades I want to make to this bike include changing the handlebars. Traditional, thin/steep drops just don’t feel too great for me, so I planned on getting some Salsa Cowchippers for the nice flare as well as replacing the stock brakes with Tektro RL340 levers ([https://www.bike24.de/p1328480.html](https://www.bike24.de/p1328480.html) / [https://www.bike24.de/p1314251.html?source=SRP&indexName=production\_SEARCH\_INDEX\_DE&objectId=SAL414068&queryId=31850d18e20d2d704d9cd9361f330bee&userToken=63155f18-0b30-476e-a1a0-26ba25b64502&sku=1096158](https://www.bike24.de/p1314251.html?source=SRP&indexName=production_SEARCH_INDEX_DE&objectId=SAL414068&queryId=31850d18e20d2d704d9cd9361f330bee&userToken=63155f18-0b30-476e-a1a0-26ba25b64502&sku=1096158)).
My questions are as follows:
\- What exactly will I need to purchase on top of the new handlebars, levers, and of course new bar tape? Will I need new brake-line requiring some length changes in order for these to work? If so, what exactly should I pair with these? And is this something an (extreme) novice could tackle?
\- Is it safe to assume these new bars will fit with the stock stem? Looking at sizing, I can only find length measurements rather than actual diameter numbers.
Any tips, tricks, answers, or recommendations are very appreciated. Cheers!
by friesbry
1 Comment
The salsa bars require a 31.8 stem clamp. Not sure what the OEM bar is but if it’s different you’ll need a new stem. You should be able to run the same levers, cable and housing as before, but personally I hate cross top levers and would get a traditional drop bar lever (make sure it has the appropriate cable pull for your brakes) which would mean new cables and housing.
All of these changes are really easy and shouldn’t require anything more than a some hex keys and something to cut the cable and housing. Tutorials for all these can be found on YouTube