I picked up an old Peterson 314 System Standard tobacco pipe that was in really bad condition. I performed the following restorations:

- sanded, polished, and waxed the briar
- polished the silver ring
- restored the stem
- reamed and repaired the tobacco chamber with ash/honey.

Below are before/after pictures of the project:

Before:

After:

I decided to convert my road bike from a racing curly bar to a flat bar. I normally ride mountain bikes, so I’ve grown accustomed to riding with a flat bar. I also feel like I have better control over braking with a flat bar, and prefer the more upright riding style.

My road bike was originally equipped with a 10 speed Ultegra rear derailleur and an Ultegra triple front derailleur (52/39/30t).

To do the conversion, I had to purchase the following:
- Flat handlebar
- Flatbar shifters
- Brake Levers
- Grips
- I had to purchase a derailleur that was compatible with the flatbar shifters. I couldn’t find the triple version of this derailleur anywhere (FD-R773), so I had to order it from a company in England.

Here are the parts I purchased to do the conversion:

Ritchey Pro Rizer OS Bar — $31.49
Shimano 2010 STI 10-Speed Rapidfire FlatBar Bicycle Shifter Set – SL-R770 — $139.97
Shimano Front Derailleur for Flat Bar Shifters – FD-R773, triple 10-speed 28.6 and 31.8 mm 52T — $60.75
Forté Team Brake Levers — $11.69
Ergon GP1 SE Grips — $19.79
Brake/Shifter cables and housings — $30.00

Total: $293.69

Notes:
I cut an inch off of each side of the handlebars using a plumbing tubing cutter.

The Forte brake levers work perfectly with the Ultegra brakes that my bike is equipped with.

If you haven’t tried these Ergon handlebar grips, I highly recommend them. They are incredibly comfortable.

Robert Donovan’s posts that he put up regarding his conversion were very helpful to me:
http://www.robertsdonovan.com/?p=98
http://www.robertsdonovan.com/?p=500

Here are some photos of the finished product.

Before (stock photo):

After: