# Karate Monkey Commuter



## JBH (Apr 11, 2008)

Converted my KM over to a drop bar s/s commuter. Starting a new job 8 miles from the house. Pretty stoked!


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## HomegrownMN (Nov 29, 2004)

Another fine example of the KM's versatility!
Looks great & I'm sure you'll enjoy the ride/commute :thumbup:


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

How difficult was the conversion? I have been thinking of doing the same but not sure what all needs to be done.


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## JBH (Apr 11, 2008)

I guess it all depends on what parts you are changing over to. I had to change the front chain ring and the rear cog to a more road friendly gearing. The stem and bars were swapped out as well. I had to order brake levers for the drop bars that were MTB brake compatible because I did not have a set of road brakes. I re-used some regular MTB rims and went with a pair of Schwalbe Marathon's in the 2.0 variety. Also, I had the shop do the work. It was all fairly simple to do, but with time constraints and being unfamiliar with the road levers for the brakes I figured it was better to have them do it.


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## MaddCelt (Apr 19, 2013)

I am finding that I dislike the mtb bar in my Motobecane for commuting and it is unlikely that I will be able to afford a full road bike for some time, so I have been thinking of swapping parts out to make it as close as I can get. Converting to a drop bar was the first part I want to work on. 

What I have been unsure about is what all would need to be changed, such as derailers. Is there certain derailers that work with road brakes. You may have answered the one on brakes.


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## JBH (Apr 11, 2008)

As far as I know, there are no drop bar compatible shifters that will work with a MTB rear derailleur. (That's the reason I stuck with a s/s vice geared commuter) There are drop bar brake levers that work with MTB brakes though like the ones I put on mine. All personal preference I guess. My commute is pretty flat so I should be able to do fine with a s/s.


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## junior1210 (Sep 9, 2011)

Not true. Supposedly SRAM brifters will work with SRAM MTB rear derailleurs & cassettes, and some Shimano will as well. I'd check over in the 29er forum "Monstercrosser" thread for detailed info on working set-ups. Also, plenty of roadies use MTB RD's with brifters for cassettes with wider gear ratios with climbing and such.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

So what gearing did you end up with? I stuck drops on my 33x18 kona unit and they made the bike feel miserably slow. (even though I'm happy enough puttering along in that gear with my normal bar).

And the dropbar conversion is more work than a normal barswap since you also have to replace the cables and housing.


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## JBH (Apr 11, 2008)

I went with a 36 x 14. Feels ok so far.


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## rjedoaks (Aug 10, 2009)

JBH said:


> As far as I know, there are no drop bar compatible shifters that will work with a MTB rear derailleur. (That's the reason I stuck with a s/s vice geared commuter) There are drop bar brake levers that work with MTB brakes though like the ones I put on mine. All personal preference I guess. My commute is pretty flat so I should be able to do fine with a s/s.


A shimano MTB cassette and rear der work perfect w/ STI shifters. It's the front der that does not play well
Almost forgot- nice build . How is the rubber working out?


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## JBH (Apr 11, 2008)

Good to know there are options for drop bar/MTB derailleur compatibility. If the s/s is not the cat's pajama's I may have to look into those.

Rubber's been nice so far. Rolls well and is pretty comfy.


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## nativeson (Apr 4, 2005)

JBH said:


> As far as I know, there are no drop bar compatible shifters that will work with a MTB rear derailleur. (That's the reason I stuck with a s/s vice geared commuter) There are drop bar brake levers that work with MTB brakes though like the ones I put on mine. All personal preference I guess. My commute is pretty flat so I should be able to do fine with a s/s.


You can use Shimano bar end shifters or Dia Compe for mountain cassettes.


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## nemhed (May 2, 2010)

Nice set up on the KM, I love it!


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

Im using bar con shifters mounted on IRD perches with mountain bb7s and CC V levers. The lever set up works fine but kinda clutters up the tops of my cowbell b/c they have to fit on the segment of the bar that's not oversized.


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## JBH (Apr 11, 2008)

First two commutes this week were great. No issues running it as a s/s. Able to maintain a decent avg speed too. Perfect build for what I need. Gotta throw the cage on though. Water would be nice on the afternoon ride.


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## GTR-33 (Sep 25, 2008)

JBH said:


> As far as I know, there are no drop bar compatible shifters that will work with a MTB rear derailleur.


Not true. Any Shimano 9sp mountain derailleur will work with any 9sp or 10sp STi lever with the appropriate chain and cassette. IE 10sp Shifter, chain, cassette and a mountain bike 9sp rear derailleur. You have to use a 9sp mountain derailleur as the 10sp mountain derailleurs have a different cable pull.

SRAM is interchangeable and they actually market it as such. IE if you want to run a 32t cassette on a road bike you just need the long cage of the mountain derailleur. Or if you want a flat bar bike with road gearing you could get mountain shifters and a road cassette and derailleur.


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## limba (Jan 9, 2004)

Just another guy confirming Shimano road shifters will work with mtn derailleurs and cassettes. I used Ultegra 9 speed shifters with an XTR rear derailleur and an XT cassette when I put together a cross bike. After I few months I switched to a much smaller road cassette. Everything worked perfectly with both setups.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

All right, I've been gone all summer and I demand to see this bike  

There's no picture in the first post showing up for me. I'm on an Ogre (Karate Monkey with more holes in it) with drop bars... bar end shifters and shimano derailleurs on mine. 

The only thing that matters with shifter/derailleur interaction is that the actuation ratio is the same on the derailleur as it is with the shifter. Stay away from a Sram or other 1:1 ratio derailleurs with shimano 2:1 shifters, and you're good.


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