what is the purpose of bar-ends?

[rob_mtb]

Can any of you hard arsed mtbikers please explain the unwritten hub law that you are not allowed to have barends on a riser bar but only on a flat bar?

 

Ive taken some slack for having barends on my riser bar ... I dont get it, what difference does it make whether they are on a flat bar or riser bar? On the flat bar the barends are a couple of mm lower than they would have been on the riser bar ... thats the only difference???

Hi Tankman, this is why I think bar ends are not for riser bars:

 

1 - Unlike flat bars, riser bars have more angular rise and backward sweep. This varies from make to make. If you sit on the bike, you can see that they bend upwards and towards the rider. Now putting bar ends on this will make the bar ends angle outwards, thus making two nice hooks for roots, vines, fynbos etc. Since risers are more geared towards trail riding, AM and DH, and being wider for stability, it will not be long before you hook a plant at speed and have a proper crash.

 

2 - The nature of trail riding and a more upright position facilitated by riser bars does not lend itself to such a need to stand and 'mash' up hills. This way of riding is hardly possible on technical uphills, where being seated is better for control.

 

3 - at some point, you will end up with a bar end in the ribs/nuts/chest. It's only a matter of time. Keep it simple. Wide bars take up a lot of room on the trail.

 

Of course you can do whatever you like. From a style point of view everyone has different tastes. If from a purely functional standpoint they work for you, by all means use them, but as mentioned above, you'll be taking them off as soon as you start to run wider bars. This will happen when you get off the fire roads and ride things with drops, jumps, berms etc where a wider stance is the key to stability and staying on the bike.

Edited January 16, 2012 by rob_mtb

[reteid]

it makes my ride more comfortable.

['Dale]

I took my bar ends off.

My longest MTB rides are no more than 2.0 hrs.

 

If I was doing stage racing or spending more time on my MTB, bar ends are a great alternative grip, which reduces fatique of the upper body.

[rouxtjie]

Love mine...on big days(no OP this isn't three, 6 inch gap jumps in a row) they make my ride / hand position more comfortable.

[Capricorn]

i'm waiting for this 'discussion' to devolve to teh king daddy of topics:

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v179/Safeway/BontragerAeronBarEndMockUp.png

[Wil6]

I ride with bar ends,only got them when I really started doing rides 5-7 hrs plus while training for the Trans Baviaans last year.I'm no pro but man I was glad I had them on when we finished the Baviaans just over 16hrs.

[kamikaze]

Hey Kamikaze what's your scientific name for these babies?

Uranus deep-space probes

[Li Mu Bai]

They are designed to make tree-clipping easier.

The amazing thing is that even when removed, you are still able to ride your mountain bike.

[Seeker911]

I 2 am now in the picture. Think i'll take a drive to my LBS this avie and buy me some bar ends.

[rob_mtb]

i'm waiting for this 'discussion' to devolve to teh king daddy of topics:

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v179/Safeway/BontragerAeronBarEndMockUp.png

...and with this, our trails become more watered down and groomed for the dirt roadies. These should be banned purely for safety reasons.

[The Drongo]

i'm waiting for this 'discussion' to devolve to teh king daddy of topics:

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v179/Safeway/BontragerAeronBarEndMockUp.png

 

Oh, look! Bullbars....

 

Well, that should sort the local cow issue out.

[Guest Omega Man]

i'm waiting for this 'discussion' to devolve to teh king daddy of topics:

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v179/Safeway/BontragerAeronBarEndMockUp.png

 

No. Just NO!

[CatGirl]

ek het finally myne afgehaal en mis hulle nie..sover....

[Iron]

they collect bunches of leaves and long grass , never seen a need for them .

[kamikaze]

i think this

 

belongs on the front of this

 

and could probably be substituted by THIS

Edited January 16, 2012 by kamikaze

[SwissVan]

Hi Tankman, this is why I think bar ends are not for riser bars:

 

1 - Unlike flat bars, riser bars have more angular rise and backward sweep. This varies from make to make. If you sit on the bike, you can see that they bend upwards and towards the rider. Now putting bar ends on this will make the bar ends angle outwards, thus making two nice hooks for roots, vines, fynbos etc. Since risers are more geared towards trail riding, AM and DH, and being wider for stability, it will not be long before you hook a plant at speed and have a proper crash.

 

2 - The nature of trail riding and a more upright position facilitated by riser bars does not lend itself to such a need to stand and 'mash' up hills. This way of riding is hardly possible on technical uphills, where being seated is better for control.

 

3 - at some point, you will end up with a bar end in the ribs/nuts/chest. It's only a matter of time. Keep it simple. Wide bars take up a lot of room on the trail.

 

Of course you can do whatever you like. From a style point of view everyone has different tastes. If from a purely functional standpoint they work for you, by all means use them, but as mentioned above, you'll be taking them off as soon as you start to run wider bars. This will happen when you get off the fire roads and ride things with drops, jumps, berms etc where a wider stance is the key to stability and staying on the bike.

 

Your assuming that anyone with a riser bar only rides AM / DH and that they dont cut the bars down from the original wider than normal size.

TBH I find riser bars more comfortable from a hand perspective as well as the slightly more upright riding position they provide (yes my stem spacers are already maxed out). When i was younger / flexibler / braver flat bars were fine, but one day I put on a riser bar for a XC race that had some very steep decents and then that was it, no more flat bars for me.

Granted the biggest pain with bar ends are their ability to hook branches and stuff resulting in a violent 180 degree turn of the handlebar and resultant hasty "judo roll with bike attached to feet" event...

 

Thats also why I only use them on looong rides with looong climbs