seriously just came across this ad http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/onza-ski-bend-140-bar-ends

and it made me wonder , at one point they were as prolific as fidget spinners,……where did it go wrong.for the mr big of the bar end world

I regularly pass a chap on the canal towpath who has bar ends mounted in such a way that they point down and inwards, towards his groin. They have no bar end plugs. What could possibly go wrong?

They are coming back big style. Honestly!!!!

I’m sure of it cos I’ll sell the the set I have and then they will be the next big thing. Just the very reason I’m keeping my mullet and iron maiden denim jacket!!!

Edit. This may be a stealth and on my part. Shameless

Mine help my arthritic hands. Others may also need them sooner or later.

I’m not sure exactly – my first flirt with MTBing was 92 to about 95 and you wouldn’t dare go into battle without a pair, when I returned in 2005 I bought a pair for my first cheapest bike and wondered why no one else did same, when I asked about a pair for my Enduro 12 months later when I bought it the sales guys vomited into his mouth slightly at the thought.

Riser bars.

had some small onza ones, also got a never used pair of crane creek ones

maybe i should fit them

Would use Onza Ti L-bends now if there were any going cheap.

Still being used by Cav’s dad on his old Spesh MTB; i’ve seen them /(and narrow Old Skool bars)

It was riser bars that killed them off. They looked daft on risers. Fashion really.

Fashion.

It started when we all started buying 26″ x-lite (and Easton and Answer) riser bars with braces in the late 90s at the start (rebirth?) of the wide bar thing.

In the search for width and downhill cool they got ditched.

The rise of downhill, then 4X, dual slalom followed by freeride and latterly ENNNNNDUROOOO. None of which were focussed on climbing.

Can’t say I miss mine often off road (I rarely ride all day, more a quick 2-3 hours now) but if I was riding big long epic rides or flat bar touring they would definitely be a consideration.

Per GD above – I have some Easton carbon ones I’ll put on my riser bars whenever I’m doing a multi day or major epic in the hills in Scotland, otherwise I take them off as I’m a victim of “no bar ends on riser bars” fashion.

I use them all the time. Flat bar xc style hard tail. Previously broke wrists from a fall. Left nerve damage that means I need to change hand position regularly even on shorter 1/2 hours ride.

The only bar ends are X-Lite stubbies.

Too wide to hold onto with wider bars. Like hugging a spacehopper.

Never went away as far as I’m concerned. Still got ’em on the flat bars, quickly added ’em to a pair of risers. So called ‘fashion’ can do one, they serve a perfectly good purpose in my book.

Got em on my flat barred 29er mile munching Spearfish, same reason as someone above….. broken wrist and more comfortable to hold for long periods.

Two XC HTs here, flat, narrow bars on each. KCNC bar ends on both too, magic.
Comfortable, effective and used all of the time like second nature.

To answer the thread title directly, they’re all on trail_rat’s turbo bike.

Useless without pics, I know…

Fashion victims thought they needed them back in the day then realiesed they didn’t so they died out 😉

Tiller effect…

Fashion victims ditched them for wide bars and riser bars.
They will come back when riding narrow single tracks up hill is seen as cool.

Suspension.

Back in the day you used them to sprint out the saddle for short hilly bits etc, but you can’t really do that on a full suspension bike nowadays!

They will come back when riding narrow single tracks up hill is seen as cool.

Maybe not cool but all part of modern enduro 😉

My son was running some short, stubby carbon ones on his MTB until this summer. He initially had them because his grandma did, but he grew to love them and wouldn’t accept losing them:

In the end, they’ve only really gone now because they were getting way too battered and probably unsafe and he’d started to realise that noone else is using them any more…

Cane creek bar ends on my bars, love them.

(Jones loops on my other MTB, sometimes put ergon gp3s on these too)

My dad still uses them.

I think it’s part fashion, part wider bars meaning the extra 1″ width could be a problem – that said, I remember getting a 685mm riser bar that was considered wide, so this is probably all in my/our heads.

Looking back, I’m not sure mine were a great benefit really – nothing on a technical climb that they’d help on, it’s just another hand position. Jones bars etc. offer more options and standard bars are a bit wide for them to offer much comfort.

Anyway, I have the next big thing in alternative bar positions going on with my HT these days. Ride with me and I’m bound to mention it.

evolution, when mountain bikers descended from the barren mountains and started riding in the woods it was a simple case of natural selection. The rise of trail centres has had a similar effect on the width of handlebars.

I ran them when I started riding. Even kept them on my first riser bars. Finally came off when I hooked them into the undergrowth in a Berkshire hedge at speed.

Looking back, I’m not sure mine were a great benefit really – nothing on a technical climb that they’d help on, i

Likewise. i don’t think I ever really used them – I didn’t like them for climbing. As much as anything else they protected my hands from hitting trees. But 25mm narrower bar (the effective width they took) would have helped with that anyway.

I’m still running them on my single speed hardtail. Great for out of the saddle honking.
Do occasionally miss having a different hand position when riding with just riser bars as it feels a more natural position for my hands to rest in.

i have a set of cane creek ergo bar ends on my charge duster (also have straight bars).

i am planning on fitting some retro bar ends on my next bike also (a retro marin pine mountain)

i love bar ends i have to say.

I agree with “evolution”.

Back in’t day, XC was king. Manufacturers brought in lads from their road race teams to start winning races and boost sales.

They brought with them a craving for the lightest kit you could find, so we all sawed 1″ off our bars and drilled anything drillable.

They also wanted a setup that mimicked the drop bars they were used to; so someone came up with bar ends.

They were actually really good on fully rigid bikes with narrow bars.

[Health Warning; This may be Bollox]

Always had a set on my commuter, spend a lot of time on them and wouldn’t be without. Can’t get on with drops and flat bars with barends is a much comfier set up for me.

I have these on a wide set of risers, on a hardtail.

Absolutely love them – extra hand position for longer rides and help to open out the chest for better breathing on long climbs.

It’s all a matter of personal preference, though – nobody is forced to have or not have them.

I’ve some of those cane creek rubbery ones that sit in front and behind the bars..still in the box..
I think for mile munching on the rigid SS they’d be great, but I’m scared to clamp them to the end of carbon bars….
Thoughts??

DrP

They’re fine

I’ve had cane creeeks on the end of my Thomson carbon bars ever since I’ve had my Solaris, been on there over 2 years and no sweat – including long bikepacking rides and the odd crash

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