Quote Originally Posted by Aggie_Ama View Post
GLC- Would the SusanB be equivalent? How hard (time and money) was it to convert to drop?
I think the SusanB is the *replacement* for the Classic...or as close as you'll get. It doesn't appear to have front rack mounts, but other that that, I think it's similar. Make sure you check out the buy/sell section on the Terry site...that's where I found my Classic.

The conversion wasn't too hard or expensive at all. BUT, I did kind of create a 'frankenbike'. I exchanged a few emails with Georgena about the conversion and based on what she said, I opted to go with bar end friction shifters for the front deraileur and STI for the rear. I don't know if the SusanB gearing would present a similiar need or not. Luckily, this made the conversion inexpensive. To accomodate a big mirror on the left, I put my front gear bar ends on the right...so it's a little weird. I like it though!

I'd say all told, the conversion was less than $150 with my stem being the most expensive item at like $70. All I needed were the bars, the stem, one STI shifter, one brake lever, cables (I had to replace both brake and shifting cables, but that may not always be necessary), the bar end and tape. I did it in less than a week working in the evenings for a hour or so and I had no prior bike maintenance experience. I did have DH looking over my shoulder to make sure I didn't really screw up!

I really disliked the flat bars and upright stance for that commute (which is funny, since that's the type of bike I now want for my current commute!), and I was VERY pleased with the bike after the conversion.