Why does everyone hate them?

They give me an alternative hand position and make my bike look like a cow……

Can you get lock ons that work with bar ends, if so can you recommend some?

Ta

try some Cane Creek Ergo’s – very comfortable and designed to work with lock ons

Why does everyone hate them?

Because they aren’t fashionable, and after all that is all that matters isn’t it?

i remember when they were cool,

Another vote for the Cane Creek´s.
After a long descent it´s good to be able to change position.

Ergo’s here too. Found them comfy and the choice of positions was welcome on longer rides. Now that bike is a single speed it really feels like I can grab them and gurn my way up the steeper hills.

Why does everyone hate them?

They give me an alternative hand position and make my bike look like a cow……

Think you answered your own question there.

They give me an alternative hand position and make my bike look like a cow……

Please don’t do that. My keyboard very nearly got covered in coffee. Totally unhelpful 🙂

Hmmm, I noticed them drop from fashion a long time ago but why, they’re really useful from memory… think I’ll get some for the hard tail now!

love my ergo’s as well 😀 don’t have them on my bike at present though (due to liking my charge thin grips/cannot take off metal end protectors)

IMO they are only really much good on narrower bars (580-620mm) so the bar ends are about shoulder width apart. With so many folk riding much wider bars than that now, there is not much call.

I have a foot in both camps with two different front ends to one of my bikes – one with heavier duty forks, short stem and wider riser bars and the other SID forks, long stem, 620mm flat bars with ergon grip/barend thingies. Horses for courses.

French friend of mine calls them horns 😀

I actually tried mounting them inboard of my grips – I had some plastic sculptured ones so I can just cut away a bit to make them replace the inner lock on grip so they don’t push the shifters and brakes inboard too much. Actually feels quite comfy for cycle paths and road. Not tried them on a climb yet. Means I don’t have to worry about snagging them and ripping the end of my bar off and i have the full grip width when I need it.

i find on riser bars, which tend to be quite wide, bar ends just don’t work for me- the hand position is far too spread out.

On my 600mm flat bars, they work a treat though. just put my flat bar and bar ends back on the xc racer last night 🙂 test ride felt great.

I’d rather be comfy and have far better grip for climbing than be worried about how it looks ( I am 47 though! and may have thought differently when I was younger ) I agree that bikes are aesthetically better without but personally find them pretty much indispensable ..have them on risers too!!
I have cane creek ergo bar ends too but often find that when I stick my elbows out and arms up the part that extends towards the rider catches the palm on the opposite side to the thumb and feels somewhat restrictive particularly on technical stuff.

Big fan of barends.. and big thumps up for ergon 🙂

^^ (cp) this. I was determined to have bar ends on my bike when I first swapped to 630 risers however they simply felt wrong, in much the same way they felt right on a 520 straight bar. I reckon they’ll feel bloody awful on the current 690’s and although I miss the stand up and honkability (if you get my meaning) I’ll stick with the wider bars as I reckon they have more benefits than drawbacks

Agreed about the ergons …so comfy ! although the GX2’s shown above look fantastic (imho) and are a good choice I still prefer the uglier but larger hook of the GC3 ..they’re even popular on segways!

I have Ergons on my hybrid, and really appreciate having another hand position. However, Mrs. Perth caught her bar ends on a tree once and took a very nasty tumble which split her helmet in two, so I won’t have them on my MTB as I do a lot of twisty turny forest tracks.

hate flat grips. I have slight bulge, to one degree or another, on all my bikes. Even my Patriot66.

maybe because i have lanky hands, but get horrendous cramps using straight bars for any length of time.

I have slight bulge, to one degree or another, on all my bikes.

hehe

I have easton EC90 bar ends on one of my bikes and they area thing of carbon beauty. I also have some rather dapper serfas ones as well. for single speed honking up hill they’re ace as you can get more grunt n thrutch. for enduro’s/ big days out they’re ace as they give multiple hand positions, I loved ergons for that purpose but good lord even the top end blingy carbon ones are blinkin heavy!

Another EC90 user here on my 690mm EA70 flats. I didn’t get on with CC Ergos as I like to hands forward of the bars for climbing out of the saddle. As for fitting them with lock-ons, get some of the lock-ons with a clamp inboard only. They hold just as well as the clamps at both ends and bar-ends fit up more snuggly.

Often hear that worry about catching them on trees but I’ve used them for years and never had a problem ( always a first time though I suppose )

I’ve had the odd barend hooking tree moment 🙂

I have them on two bikes, both with flat (685mm) bars.

Ergons here too on my XC bike, just gone back to flat bar too, such fun. Obviously bar ends have no place on my AM/trail bike.

Obviously bar ends have no place on my AM/trail bike.

Why? surely the ability to haul yourself up climbs more easily is a great benefit.