Was wondering why bar ends have fallen out of fashion. Is it purely aesthetic or do they hamper trail riders?

I have some on my Cube HPT and find them excellent for climbing and getting comfortable after a few miles.

Mainly aesthetic, ‘cos there’s no getting round the fact that they look horrible on riser bars.

I shall soon be fitting some (to some flat bars) though

Fashion. That’s all.

Nino schurter had bar ends on for his world cup win … look gipping on riders. wouldnt be without them personally

as bars have got wider they are less use.

i don’t like having my hands restricted on the outer edges of the bars below about 680mm once i go over 680mm there seems to be less need for bar ends.

ymmv

I have Ergon ones on flat bars, wouldn’t be without them after fracturing my scaphoids 4 times, don’t give a toss if they are fashionable or not!

Carnegies/Mary bars have made them redundant in my case.

i have them on risers with ergo grips sod fashion i have been seen in lycra on the road and it is about comfort

mrs rocket still uses them. She is petite and uses a riser bar cut down to 600mm-ish but still puts her hands on the bar-ends for the climbs.

I think there’s a market for a proper narrow riser but maybe it would get cluttered with controls

I’ve heard that some folk have found that the smaller ones that dont curl around can catch brambles etc on wider bars when riding in enclosed/overgrown trails.

I have some small stubby ones on my riser bars.. Wouldnt be without them..

I stopped using them for fashion reasons but found I didn’t miss them with wide riser bars

honestly I find them great – so good for climbing or for just a change in position. they look great with flats not so good with risers.

I’ve got them on my hardtail, wouldn’t be without them. I’ve also been known to cut my bars down a bit.

Use them too. Easton EC90’s on 580mm flat bar.

When I didn’t use them I always found myself gripping the end of the bars when climbing hence why I now use them.

Sefton’s first pic is a great example of why they have gone out of fashion…

Love mine on the single speed though…

Plenty of folk using them on XC bikes, pay a visit to your local race series for proof. I find the extra hand position makes a noticeable difference to soreness/general fatigue in a 4hr race, less of a worry on a trail ride though as I’m more likely to be stopping regularly. Wouldn’t use them with risers though for fear of a fatwa from the fashion police.

cant believe nobody has linked the rise in full sus bikes = decline in bar ends

rear sus, esp early designs, lending itself less to out the saddle climbing i found i didnt want/ need them any more

If i had a racing hardtail id probly have some (never felt the need on my SS though fo some reason)

Bar ends on both bikes, FS & HT, BOTH with riser bars. My hands get bored not changing position plus gives me a bit of a nudge forwards on the really steep stuff. Screw fashion!

I used them once, but didn’t like them. I need lots of sweep and upreach on my bars, and a short stem, so they end up under me when stood climbing. But when it comes to crashes……a nephew of mine fitted them to his bike after I bought him the bike and built it up but left them off. I said they were dangerous, as seemed too long. He skidded on wet tarmac and went down and couldn’t talk for at least a day after landing on one which jabbed hard into his throat!!!!

Another lover here…. i use mud guards too, how unfashionable am i????.

I don’t use mine very much, I don’t think they’re as effective when combined with wide bars as they used to be with narrower ones. I still put them on for longer rides, just to give more riding positions but I don’t feel like they give the same honk benefit when out of the saddle now that bars are wide enough.

They are useful for ripping testicles off and xc racing.

wouldn’t be without them on my Singlespeeds, with the exception of the jones which has loop bars

Love bar ends on any flat bar bike. They put your arms at an angle where you are using your biceps to pull rather than triceps – a much larger, stronger muscle and therefore a great aid to climbing. Still, prefer drops on the whole.

Sam – Member
Love bar ends on any flat bar bike. They put your arms at an angle where you are using your biceps to pull rather than triceps – a much larger, stronger muscle

No they’re not. A Tricep is almost twice the size of a Bicep – Sorry, I had to…

Lovely bike though.

Sooner or later, narrow flat bars will be back in fashion, and bar ends with them. My archived 1990’s X-Lite ‘Ski-bends’ are on standby! 😀

I used bar ends until early 2009. The last set had cracked my carbon bars at the clamp during a crash. At that point, I got a much wider Al bar and mounted the bar ends to it. When riding, I never used the bar ends at all. So off they came, and I cut the bar to the inside of the bar end clamps.

you mean I spent nearly £40 to look like an idiot
http://www.xcracer.com/shop/viewproduct.php?productid=29

They’re a must on an xc flat bar, ergons here, I find it a relief to have a variety of grip positions on long rides. They just look a bit wrong on AM bikes.

how about with low risers?

I thought there was no way I could get by without them.

Then I tried it and it’s fine.

That said my style of riding has changed from ‘hammer XC’ to ‘Chilled AM’

Pointless on wider bars, but excellent on narrow flats. Not used them for a couple of years, pondered going back.

He skidded on wet tarmac and went down and couldn’t talk for at least a day after landing on one which jabbed hard into his throat!!!!

Because the end of the bar in his throat would’ve been far better 🙄

so they end up under me when stood climbing

Suggest you may like to check your climbing style and/or the angle you’re fitting them! 😕

i always thought they were great…….for taking your spleen out when you come off and the bars spin round 😥

I like mountain bike fashions.
The more people who handicap themselves by refusing to use bar ends, lycra and proper size wheels, the better I look in the results.

why no good with wide flats then?

I like mountain bike fashions.

This from the man in ‘that’ purple lycra picture… 🙂

I stopped using them in about 2000 when I went to riser bars. I put some back on riser bars last year and I couldn’t believe how much difference they made. The risers aren’t particularly high or wide however.

The benefit is particularly noticeable on long rides of 50 miles plus.

why no good with wide flats then?

The sweep of the bars on wider bars (be they flat or risers) means the position isn’t as comfy as it is on a narrow (<600mm) flat bar. IMO. You have more leverage anyway on a wider bar.

I use stubby bar ends on risers, and I don’t give a **** if it seems unstylish to others. I wanted a different hand position on the long road rides to the trails.