Bar Ends - why does no-one use them any more?

ste_t

Colintroll wrote:

And it was sheer bliss today .. on par with jizz in the eye

The Big Cheese

TBH I have been thinking about getting some for the Marin.

Back in the day, it was common to see most bikes (top end down to basement models) running bar ends. I had a Claud Butler Vantage back in 1993 and it had them (great bike Btw) and I loved the bar ends. Since then, various bikes I have owned have had them also.

I use the Marin for a lot of road riding, and a lot of riding where I don't have to hover of the brakes, this is where the barends come in, they give a more comfortable riding position for the hauls, and for flat out straight sections. You can get them uber-lightweight (read Tune, and KCNC) and I don't see any reason why not to run them on your XC whip. As mentioned above, many enduro racers use them, they have a purpose. You just have to ask yourself if you would benefit from them and do you need them?

scottgeniusltd2005

bike-a-swan wrote:

scottgeniusltd2005 wrote:

that's why i use ergons and grip shifts, loads of room on the bars and i use carbon wide risers.

I can't get on with ergons or grip shifts on a mountain bike. for a hybrid or flat bar tourer the ergons are fantastic, but they irritate me whenever i've tried them on a mtb.

really? i love em, comfy for long ups and stops the hands aching from bumpy mega descents like gorple road. the ends come in really handy on lee quarry never ending up at the beginning and the nearly impossible climbs on the red route

bike-a-swan

can't explain it, I'd like to like them because they do seem more comfortable, they just annoy me.

Surf-Matt

Got them on my old bike - they are handy for climbing but if you like fairly narrow bars like me, they rob you of "bar space" and also slow you down when trying to get your hands off the bars in a crash! I also seem to break them a lot.

andyp79

Hi folks. I just joined the site this week - lots of info. on here!

I have just restarted mountain biking after a few years away from it. I was actually thinking the exact same thing as the OP. I am making some small mod's to the bike I have as some bits need replaced and some things I want to change - one of which was bar ends.

When I last did off roading, I had bar ends on my bike and loved them. Best mod I made. However, my current bike doesn't have them so I was looking to get some but wondered if they'd get in the way on faster stuff. They'd definitely be great for the climbs but I'm not sure I fancy them for the downhill sections on singletracks. I have seen some small XTX (I think) ones on the Chain Reaction website for around £10. Surely it's worth a punt for that kind of price?

Andy

The Big Cheese

I don't think they get in the way at all when XC riding, or get hooked on wildlife/getting gored etc ..... Im always aware when riding about whats around me etc

Stubbies are OK if you can get on with the, personally I like the full size ones.

Just found out how much the Tune are £53!!!! :shock:

andyp79

It was sort of midi sized ones I had before. They were larger than the stubby style but a lot smaller than some that were around at the time. That's a while ago now though! :oops:

I've got a few things on my list to check out so bar ends may fall down the priority list, depending on how things go.

First thing I've really noticed in returning to mtb is that there's a hell of a lot more of everything around now! I was only away from it for a wee while! Actually, come to think of it, it's more like 10 years... Ouch!

(I'm only 30 by the way, not proper old like my post makes me sound!)

scottgeniusltd2005

colintrav wrote:

I cannablised the ends of my old bike and put em on my new bike ... they has some visable rust on them and took a wire scourer to them and they cleaned up very nice I must admit ..


And it was sheer bliss today .. on par with a cream pie

Here is a couple of pics I took






i cut the end of grip off so i could get em on ..

B4 ^ and after v






I know the bolts has some visable rust will replace them when I get paid ..

fooking massive. do they sell em that big anymore?lol. stick on another set on to the existing bars and have diy trekking bars.

5xcr

I have a pair, would not do without them, mine are topeak, got built in mirrors great for using on the road with all those crap drivers about and fold away mirrors great for offroad climbing.

5xcr

Paul 8v

What about Brahma bars, they were weird
http://www.bikepro.com/products/handleb ... brahma.jpg

Dr S

I think its a position thing, I love them on the Hardtail long and low, thought I'd want to change to them on the Spark, but its a bit shorter and wider and I don't miss them.