is there a way to change the breakpoint where Bootstrap menu becomes responsive and collapse? 979px is far too big for me and I would like the transformation taking place on
Yes, you can do it by redefining @navbarCollapseWidth variable in less/variables.less file. And recompiling css after that.
@navbarCollapseWidth
less/variables.less
Compiling instructions can be found in Compiling Bootstrap with Less section of official documentation.