I have one road bike that I use mostly for commuting, sometimes for fast alone rides and infrequently for group rides.
I was thinking that since most of my riding is alone I should put my tri bars back on my bike. I had an extra set of drops in my closet so I chopped them off to make some bull horns. I now have a sweet set of tri bars. I just need to pick up a set of bar end brakes and I will be all set. There is only one kicker:
Since every once and a while I want to do a group ride I would like to be able to swap out my tri bar setup for a drop bar setup. Preferably I would like to keep the brake lines on my bike and just unattach the lines from the break leavers. I had an extra stem lying around so I can just pull out the step from the head set and volla!
Went to my LBS to pick up some bar end brakes but this is what they told me:
With all bar end brakes you have to run the brake line under the tape so you could not switch out the bars without retaping your bars each time. Anyone know of any bar end brakes that the lines run NOT through the bar tape?
Switching between bars frequently (once or twice a month) will cause major wear on your bike and you should pick one thing and stick with it.
Is there any truth to either of these statements? I am somewhat skeptical.