Jimmy Riged Cross Bike

[nil821]

So I was able to get an old Stump Jumper frame and rigid fork for dirt cheap (free). It needs basically all new parts so I am thinking about putting road bars on it, making it a single speed thanks to fine products from our friends at Surly, and attempt to turn it in to a cross bike of sorts. Only problem is I am not sure what to do for brake levers. Any ideas? I would like to have levers that are brake only, not shift/brake combo. Also, would these have enough pull for the old fashion canti brakes? I figure I couldn't use road brakes because they wouldnt fit a 26 inch tire so I would have to go with some cantis I have laying around. Any ideas on how to fix this thing up would be appreciated. Also if anyone has any parts they are looking to dispose off for this project :) . C'mon, help a college guy. E-mail me at howe0141@umn.edu.

[funky-funky-chicken]

You just need some road brake levers if you want to run drop bars. Any decent bike shop should be able to get some for you or might even have something used. Quality Bicycle Products stocks a number of them too:

Here is a sampling from Sheldon Browns link to the QBP special order catalog:
http://harriscyclery.net/site/page.cfm?PageID=49&Category=1065

I would advise going over to One On One Bicycle Studio in Minne and see what you might be able to find. I have found a number of great used parts there, very fairly priced.

[GearDaddy]

Yes, road brake levers should have enough "pull" to work with canti's. One thing I've seen others do is to setup the brake levers so they are turned outward slightly. This allows for a little extra "throw" for the brake lever because the end doesn't bump into the handlebar. If you were using an STI/Ergo lever it is more beneficial, as on these levers the shift lever tends to bump into the handlebar first. I use Ergo levers on my cross bike though, and it seems to work fine. You just have to be sure that you don't set up the brakes to be too "loose". Should be no problem if you're using brake-only levers.

As far as using a road handlebar, it will change your fit on the bike by making you reach further forward. This might not work very well. The flat bar will give you better control in technical stuff, and certainly you can get better braking leverage using MTB brake levers. If you wanted to actually race cross, you can still use it with flat bars.

BTW, at the MN State CX race yesterday there was some poor soul who raced with what appeared to be an old Schwinn Varsity type of bike. He actually put padding around the top tube to protect himself. Well, there was a steep downhill on the course that required some pretty good braking control. He was not setup to well for this and crashed hard trying to make the left turn at the bottom. There were some other strange occurances at the race too. Apparently someone else broke a collarbone in a crash, and another dude was actually tackled by a deer running out of the woods!