Inner bar ends…Anyone?

Just interested if anyone’s had any experience running inner bar ends. No so much those little thumb over grips type but larger 90s style ones?

I’m thinking a handlebar with a lot of back sweep and some of those old L shaped bar ends mounted inside the brake levers would be similar to a Surly Moloko or Jones H bar but with more adjustment.

This is specifically regarding more of a flat bar Gravel bike or repurposed old MTB.

Edit, wow, who knew?

Have a look at Spirgrips (or the eBay copies), they work great for changing up your hand position on long flat bits, and don’t take up too much space on the bars. Plus you can install them without removing grips, brakes and shifters.

I run some small stubbie ti bar ends ( from the late 90s) between my grips and brakes.

Kind of gives a hood esque hand position whilst also being in easy reach of the brakes. I like it.

I have some on my Genesis longitude which has been converted to cycle touring/commuting duties.

I use them pretty much all the time, apart from on descents as I hover the brakes. Very comfortable for long rides because of multiple hand positions.

“If it looks stupid, but works, then it’s not stupid.”

Also have the short SQ LAB ones on my hard tail which are awesome.

Yes. These: https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/3-position-long-bar-ends/_/R-p-386

The ends rotate on the mounts to make them super-adjustable. Ideal ‘UK gravel’ setup IMO. Pretty much the cheapest things on my bike too.

I have in board bar ends on my hardtail xc bike. I think they are great, as they give you an alternative hand position that is really comfortable for steady long distance cruising and climbing. They are completely out of the way when you have more agressive trails. Would post an image, but forgotten how to do it.

I fit them between the grips and the brake levers, which means they are far enough inboard not to catch on anything. Mine are Brand X ones I bought for £1.99 in their big sell off as an experiment and now stay on.

So the antithesis of bar ends…..

I have the same Brand X ones mentioned above on my gravel/zwifting bike. They work a treat.

I had some tiny wee Ritchie barends that worked great as barmiddles, pretty terrible as barends tbf. But what I really wish I could find is something similar but with a full removable clamp, so you can fit them quickly without removing the grips. I don’t want em on for every ride but for a long one, or the one long race i do every year or two, then it’d be great. Just pop em on as needed

I’m a great fan. I tried the thumb over style but these were far too small for my shovel like hands so just put conventional bar ends ( bar ins?) inboard. These are on my hard tail which has really morphed into a flat bar gravel bike. They give a useful alternative hand position when on the road or long fire road slogs.

Anyone clamped them to carbon bars?

Spinaci!

Have tried with heavily padded Brand-X bars inside the brake levers but I rarely use them like I would use the hoods on my gravel bike, haven’t yet figured out what’s ‘wrong’ with the shape or position.

Would be tempted by some of these though if not so pricey, compact but have proper arm rests

https://www.tradeinn.com/bikeinn/en/ritchey-comp-mini-sliver-clip-on/137710167/p?utm_source=google_products&utm_medium=merchant&id_producte=11467419&country=uk&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwq86wBhDiARIsAJhuphmUPNsGLK3dTCBW_7yQs3IfFDe7w2gMMDKA1X-xPGM86PqccjBbidcaAlcrEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

I run a set of Ritchey Kyote bars with Brand-X bar ends mounted so they are almost touching in the middle.  Foam grips for the outer part and then wrap the inner part with bar tape.

Poor man’s Jones bar, basically.

They’ll be fitting barends to risers next…

I fitted some of the tiny sq labs thumb ends for a bike packing ride.

They should allow covering the brakes. Unfortunately they don’t play well with my long grips so they don’t fit between the grips and brakes. They were good but straight barends would work better for me

New for 2025 – Electric Enduro Tri.

… I am about to get some from Ali-ex for my Kyote though.

Yep, have this setup on my bike – set of 75mm super light alloy things from the 90s this just work for long headwind stretches

Longer ones are handy for bike packing, helps support the front bag.

Or bolt in complete loop

Farr Aero Bolt-On Alloy Bar

I like to ride my cx/road bike with my hands on the flats but with my elbows tucked in and and in quite an aero position. I sometimes like to ride the same position on my mountain bike whem riding fire roads or flatter sections. The inner barends (bar ins?) Provide more comfort and support.

Only use this when riding bigger distances as a rule.

When used with a pair of these ‘expedition’ bars they’re even better for bike packing (you can wrap the front of the bars with cheap bar tape for extra grip and comfort)

Selcof Expedition Handlebar

But I’ve just noticed that their Geoff bars are only £30 so might get myself a pair.

On-One Geoff Handlebar

@didnthurt I’ve got some Geoff bars you’re welcome to!

I can hand them to you through the train doors at Linlithgow some evening 😎

Just last night I did this on my flat bar gravel thing. I’d tried it with the bar ends on the, er, ends of the bars, but bars these days are much wider than they were in 1995, so the bar ends are too far apart really. Moving them inside the grips puts them about the same width apart as the hoods on my road bike, so pretty much bang on where they’re needed for cruising along.

EDIT – I should add I’ve not actually ridden it yet, but from a brief sit on it in the garage it felt good

I run these SQ ones on my xc bike – the alternative hand position really works for me on long rides.

I had some fitted to my (bikepacking) hardtail for a while but recently removed them as they just weren’t being used (I also have Cane Creek Ergo bar ends on it, which DO get used a lot). I also have a drop-bar gravel bike though so perhaps it’s just that I was using that for the routes the bar-mids would have been useful.

I’ve also tried TT clip-ons (surprisingly OK but very route specific) and rode with Jones Loop bars for a few years.

I’ve also fitted those wee TOGS thumb “hooks” to a couple of bikes and like them a lot.

I run a set of Ritchey Kyote bars with Brand-X bar ends mounted so they are almost touching in the middle.  Foam grips for the outer part and then wrap the inner part with bar tape.

Got a picture of that set-up?

My monstercross has a set of Redshift Kitchen Sink bars on it that I like a lot, but find I don’t use the forward loop much (approximates the bolt-on linked by rocketdog above, and was the reason I bought those particular bars).

By contrast, I used the forward loop on some Geoff bars a great deal (on the same bike, both before and after the KS), so it’s clearly a position/angle preference. The basic idea is sound.

@13thfloormonk

Deal!

I ran some Spirgrips ones for a short while and while they were ok, they were in slightly the wrong place. running them on 710mm bars meant that they ended up spaced at about 400mm, a bit narrow, so felt weird.

I run a set of Ritchey Kyote bars with Brand-X bar ends mounted so they are almost touching in the middle.  Foam grips for the outer part and then wrap the inner part with bar tape.

Pretty much exactly what I did for doing the SDW but I didn’t find any need for grips or tape on them. Just a nice alternative for riding along the flatter bits. I’ve also got Geoff bars which my wrists also like and again having different hand positions is nice.

I’ve got stubby bar ends taped up at the apex’s of Ritchey Kyote bars to give alternative position on my bikepacking bike: