Years ago, I’m talking 30 years ago, I entered a local cyclocross race with my Curtlo steel hardtail. This was in the very early 90’s. I didn’t even have a suspension fork yet. I remember having to take my bar ends off, and away I went. I was so desperate to race my killer new bike, that I was looking for anything. It was also the worst mud I’ve ever ridden in. November in Chicago, 34 degrees, and pouring rain for 2 days before, during and after. And it was a blast.

So, over the years I’ve wanted to do a few more. I did one or two in the mid 2000’s with a newer Curtlo hardtail with Manitou fork. Bar ends off, go. I even bought a gravel bike last year thinking I could use it for a few CX races, the drop bars and all.

I see this new contraption from the crazy minds at Zirbel in Europe. This thing looks quite interesting. Use flat bar brakes on a weird kind of drop bar thing. Since Zirbel are masters of making sram AXS alternative shifting parts, the shifting is somehow included, I can’t tell from the photo though how. But it does look like it might work on a XC bike with just a bar swap and moving the controls already on the bike. Assuming your brake hoses are long enough, didn’t think of that until now!

Look it over, it actually is quite interesting. You can reach the brakes from the “drops” but not sure about the shifting. Worth a try?