Looking for a pair of titanium bar ends – preferably something like Van Nicholas – can anyone help me?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/J-L-Titanium-Bar-ends-Mountain-bike-Handle-51g-2-120mm-/294189564950?

This thread reminds me how rad I felt when I got some top-of-the-range bar ends in the olden days. I bent one in a crash not long after.

Thanks scotroutes – I’ve been looking at those and been dithering. Do they feel solid enough?

Aye – no problem at all. I’ve since cut up a thin (23mm?) inner tube and made two wee sleeves to cover them up as they can get a bit chilly in winter.

TBH I prefer the Cane Creek Ergos as actual bar ends. They’re really comfy. These two Ti ones are just added hand positions for some of my longer bikepacking trips.

Might bung my old X-Lite Enduro Stubbies on to see if I still like bar ends before I go lashing out on new ones.

Yes!! Bar ends are brilliant. I thought I was the only one who believed! Well done all!

@scotroutes Where did you get those? I’ve been looking for replacement ones for ages, the new ones don’t have the bit which locks into the end of a lock-on grip, replacing the outer collar, and I can’t find any of the old ones with that bit anywhere.
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Sorry for the hijack OP.

Cane Creek Ergos are fantastically comfortable bar ends, the best by a long way.

I do wonder why the XCO pros don’t embrace them these days, they’ve a lot to gain from marginal gains in climbing ability.

Oh great, another thing I don’t need but really want for my bike 🙂

Bar ends are great. I’ve got mine in the traditional position but tempted to try the inboard position, but probably not sensible on my current carbon bar (reinforced ends only).

+1 for the Ergos, mine are so old and worn there are hardly any lizards left. Would definitely be in the market for some new ones.

P.s. I meant new, old style ones. The newer design version don’t seem anywhere near as good

Yes!! Bar ends are brilliant. I thought I was the only one who believed! Well done all!

Nope, I am quite happy to get a flat bar 29er avec bar ends as next bike…but it won’t be a head down XC bike.

Nope, I am quite happy to get a flat bar 29er avec bar ends as next bike

Consider a higher sweep bar with Ergon style grips, as this is what makes mine so fantastic.

I do wonder why the XCO pros don’t embrace them these days, they’ve a lot to gain from marginal gains in climbing ability.

illegal in UCI racing I think

Banned by the UCI and probably a liability for the sort of courses we are seeing in XCO racing today (and for the last ~10 years).

Edit:- just checked UCI regs and they don’t appear to have explicitly banned the outer bar ends, just the inner ones.

4.1.040
During MTB races no traditional road handlebars may be used.
Clips-on extensions or inner bar ends are forbidden but traditional bar ends are
authorized.

My Ergos are rather ancient. They’ve only lasted so long as they were in my spares box while I’ve been using Jones Loops bars 😂

As above, I reckon I’d try the Ergons if I was buying now.

SQ Lab inner bars are nice.

Similar feel to resting on the hoods on drop bars

(Might be a bit more spendy than regular bar ends)

What are the SQ Labs like for size? I read several reviews that said they were too small to be comfortable if you have large hands. I do, and find TOGS too small to hang my thumbs round comfortably so thought SQs might be the same.

I wouldn’t say I’ve got large hands, quick measure says 90mm across the knuckles and 190mm from wrist to middle finger.

Anyway, here’s a couple of pics of the size, and how my hands sit on them. I tend not to grip them as much as that, letting the fingers rest/hang over the brake, the “heel” of the palm taking some of the weight on the handlebar

I still get some moderate braking control, and need a little repositioning to use the shifters

interesting. I’ve always run stubbies, and regularly get out the saddle to mash away on the pedals

I recently got a 22 scott spark cos I am old, which doesn’t need such vigorous honking. running them inboard for spinny times is an good idea.

Cyclists all over the world are always hooked to new and trendy bike accessories

.https://www.mountainbikeexpert.com/why-and-how-to-install-bar-ends-on-a-mountain-bike/.
😀

Thanks for that andy5390. My hands are longer and wider but from your pictures I think they should work for me.

(Tl;dr – I like bar-ends a lot, but found SQlabs innerbarends unfit for my hands and purpose/s)

I once tried the SQlabs innerbarends and they lasted one ride.

Reasons:

1. Annoyingly small in both diameter and length (even with my tiny T-Rex digits)

2. Made the bar feel too short and so felt only semi-useful as a ‘rest’ on very straight sections.

As a rule of thumb (!swidt?) subtract about 350mm off the length of your bars ie

135mm x 2 (grips)
+
30mm x 2 (controls clamps)

= 330mm (plus any extra to clear your outer palm from controls clamps)

For comparison – my regular retro drop bars put brake hoods at around 420mm apart, which I find to be too narrow (for my lurch-like shoulders)

innerbarends on a 780mm bar will sit at around 410mm. Incidentally this has put me off splashing out on KOGA Denham bars as their inboard bar-ends sit at 400mm.

That’s enough about inners.

Bar-ends in general (ie installed at the end) though

I’m big bar-end fan in both senses of the word and since 1990ish have tried a fair few. Value of them for me is mostly for a wrist-rest, a little back stretch, and their indispensability for accelerating, honking/climbing.

Funnily enough I just installed some Ergon GP3s (basically narrowish stubbies)via a narrow flat bar on the tourer, and was yesterday comparing their function to the prior road/drop bars.

They give more power/purchase/leverage on (wider) flat bars of course. It’s quite startling how much acceleration and power is available once your thumbs are pointing upwards at 45deg as opposed to them being curled under a grip. My muscle groups are happy. They offer more power than I get from the hoods also as I can make a full fist around a bar-end.

Obviously bar-ends forego that ability for speed-scrubbing/emergency braking offered by drops/hoods (hoods = bar-ends for roadies 🙂), yet this isn’t generally an issue during standing starts, climbs or clear, boring flat sections (optional headwind) – ie three situations where bar-ends shine on MTBs/ATBs/hybrids etc

Sorted. Now I just need disc brakes and 32mm tyre clearance inc guards and hey presto the perfect British Getting Around Bike.

Actually the GP3s still feel too narrow/sharply-ovalised/multi-density/uncomfortable for prolonged use 🤔

These GR2s near* the holy grail for a fast hybrid setup IMO (*always with gloves as the magnesium was cold and unforgiving). Still have a scratched up pair in my spares. Will one day try and coat them with something (self-amalgamating tape maybe?)

I knew they’d come back into fashion one day