Hey guys, first post here, and it is probably a really silly one, but I just have to ask:
Would it at all be possible/comfortable/sane to take a fuji d6, and instead of tri bars, have drop bars and use it as a road bike? Of course everything else would have to be adjusted, but after it is all said and done, would it work? Or is the design of the d6 too aggressive for use as a road bike.
Maybe someone who has tried this can weigh in, or those who have ridden the d6 before?
On the 52 and larger there is 58mm of trail which is fairly good for the change to a road bike. On the 48 and 50 there is 61.5mm of trail which isn’t that bad either.
All of the seat tubes are 76° and that may be a little steep if you don’t have much seat post showing but that really depends on your body proportions.
I was unable to find a front center and rear center measurement so I cannot comment on that. The chainstays are 400mm which is a little on the short side for a 700C bike. I’m not sure how that will affect handling. Perhaps someone else can comment on that. The wheelbase is a little shorter than I would expect and that’s probably from the short chainstays.
So if the bike is the right size for you the geometry should work OK for a road bike.
Hey guys, first post here, and it is probably a really silly one, but I just have to ask: Would it at all be possible/comfortable/sane to take a fuji d6, and instead of tri bars, have drop bars and use it as a road bike? Of course everything else would have to be adjusted, but after it is all said and done, would it work? Or is the design of the d6 too aggressive for use as a road bike? Maybe someone who has tried this can weigh in, or those who have ridden the d6 before?
Not a silly question.
I’m not familiar with the exact geometry of the D6, but it’s 99% likely that this will work fine, assuming the D6 has typical tri bike geometry. I have raced a few tri bikes with drop bars and have had very good luck with that set up. Most tri bikes have pretty tame handling, and this tri bike to road bike conversion has been done many times with perfectly fine results. Some people even race crits on tri bikes. Good tri bikes hold a steady line pretty well, and that’s kind of handy for riding in a pack.
Most people vastly overestimate the handling differences between the frame types. Much of the difference in handling feel is not due to the geometry, but due to the radically different handlebars, i.e., tri bars vs drop bars. (That said, retrofitting a road bike for tri and getting really far forward on a road frame is not a great idea, especially at speed or while descending, that set up can be quite squirrely.) But, back on topic, if it helps, we have a small photo gallery of some tri bikes set up with drop bars here. Depending on how your D6 fits, the main issue for you might be your saddle to handlebar drop. If you ride a really small tri bike, you might have more drop than you need/want.