Mountain Biking - People who ride with their bar ends sticking straight up:

Are they idiots or is there some secret that I don't know about?

No secret that I know of.

What an insteresting thread - you guys wait here while I go type out the laws of physics 20x for fun.
I'll be back with popcorn!:D

On mountain bikes? Never seen it, or just not something done around here.
http://www.funfilesandsmiles.com/smileys2/dancingfruits0nm.gif

I see it alot, but never on the trail. It seems to be a phenomenon restricted to $150 Walmart bikes and people who never intend to ride on a trail. It does look silly. Best I can gather, they bought/found a bike that didn't fit well and this was a relatively cheap way to ride more upright. I've also seen cheap roadbikes with the drops turned up so that the brake levers are facing up. Go figure.

been living in japan for a bit now, and its seems after coming from australia to be the biking capital of the world, you see some really different stuff, plus getting over all the guys riding "step throus" as i call em

Ive seen it on some road bikes around chicago but it doesnt seem very popular I think it is so that you can sit more upright also. Maybe a trend not real sure but I have seen it to

some people want body piercings, but don't want to pay upfront for them. They would rather take the passive/surprise route & have thier bike do the piercing for them.

hahaha awesome

xxx

Are they idiots or is there some secret that I don't know about?

It's done as a protest in favor of states rights.

Are they idiots or is there some secret that I don't know about?

you mean like this?

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/2508/img6804bk7.jpg

It provides 78% more leverage, therefore it increases rear traction by 42%, and front traction by 24%. There is also the increased risk of injury in the event of a crash, so it motivates you, and improves your awareness. Bottom line, it makes you a better and a faster rider.

I remember talking to a bike mechanic in a favorite shop. He strongly condemned them . He'd seen way too many accidents with them. Hit them at the right angle with a little too much force. You might as well have knives attached to your handlebars.

It provides 78% more leverage, therefore it increases rear traction by 42%, and front traction by 24%. There is also the increased risk of injury in the event of a crash, so it motivates you, and improves your awareness. Bottom line, it makes you a better and a faster rider.

Is my sarcasm detector on the fritz or did you actually mean that?

DUI guys ususally.

Hit them at the right angle with a little too much force. You might as well have knives attached to your handlebars.

+1

In my town the streets are littered with the disemboweled carcasses of riders who had their bar ends sticking up too far.

you mean like this?

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/2508/img6804bk7.jpg

It provides 78% more leverage, therefore it increases rear traction by 42%, and front traction by 24%. There is also the increased risk of injury in the event of a crash, so it motivates you, and improves your awareness. Bottom line, it makes you a better and a faster rider.

While the numbers are pure bogus, you'll find the leverage/traction and wrist comfort the reasons Ned Overend used them during his career (5 national xc and won the first World xc championships). He recommends setting the angle for zero wrist angle for out of the saddle climbing on very steep climbs.

On the injury issue, I've never heard a first-hand account of an injury. That said, I use the longer, curved carbon fiber ends. The "longer curved" part allows them to bounce off trees (and push aside vines) rather than hook on to them (they curve over about half of the grip) and the carbon fiber because the ends are nicely rounded to cause less injury. Then there's the lighter weight. The Aluminum versions slow the steering while the carbon fiber are not even noticeable.

A very rough order of magnitude of leverage gain would probably be something between the ratio of distances between the grip position and the bottom bracket (with and with out ends) and the ration of distances between the hand position and the rear axle. I hated kinematics, so that's as far as I can guesstimate.

On the other hand, it might be more of a force/acceleration vector problem than kinematics.

Al

I couldn't imagine riding without my singletrack bar ends. I tried the bull horn type and thought they sucked. The singletrack ends are where it's at if your looking for bar ends.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1079/967445751_e63ac39caf_b.jpg

The singletrack ends are where it's at if your looking for bar ends.

[

Where it's at? Is that the best you can do?

Al

sorry guys, that was a little sarcasm. I have no idea how much extra leverage some properly set up bar ends would give. This is the original picture...

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/694/img68041vk9.jpg

On a side note, I no longer use bar ends. It feels more free (hard to explain, it's just mentally i guess) without them, and the steering feels quicker as Al mentioned above (although I had really light bar ends).

:)

I couldn't imagine riding without my singletrack bar ends. I tried the bull horn type and thought they sucked. The singletrack ends are where it's at if your looking for bar ends.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1079/967445751_e63ac39caf_b.jpg

Rico:
I heard monkeyboy uses those bar ends too.
Lets work on putting that ride together at rays soon.

I dont get it are bar ends really helpful or just a nuisance??? and how are those singletracks they look interesting...

I dont get it are bar ends really helpful or just a nuisance??? and how are those singletracks they look interesting...

some people like em, some people don't. Like most things in MTB and life.

HAHAHA ok well i guess i'll try 'em

some people like em, some people don't. Like most things in MTB and life.

Exactly. There is no need to call people idiots if they disagree with you.

Are they idiots or is there some secret that I don't know about?

They're just idiots who don't know that they can get a riser bar or a different stem to achieve the riding position they get from having their bar-ends in moron impalement position. It's a bad idea from a number of stand points


Riding with the "bent in" style perpendicular (or nearly) takes your hands away from your controls (brakes mainly) which is a Bad Thing™ in a "oh ****" situation. Not that the straight stick ones are much better in this position
Risk of impalement increases. This too is a Bad Thing™ unless you're trying to get some fake "Rodeo champ" scars to impress the local trailer trash skanks
You look like a friggen rocket scientist who lost their license due to too many DUI's. Same can be applied to those Mensa members who rotate the drop bars on old bike boom 10 speeds to where the brake levers face the rear of the bike

Just a few to get you started

*Quietly stands in front of his handlebars*

On a side note, I no longer use bar ends. It feels more free (hard to explain, it's just mentally i guess) without them, and the steering feels quicker as Al mentioned above (although I had really light bar ends).

:)

Until a couple of years ago, I only got to ride in the mountains 5 or 6 weeks a year. I decided that in the flat-lands on N Florida, the aluminum bar-ends where more of a hindrance, so I took them off. Then we bought a house in N Georgia, and I started biking in the mountains a lot. I really missed the bar-ends on the climbs. That's when I went with the carbon fiber ones.

As far as I'm concerned they have no value except on climbs. Even on long moderate climbs, I rally like the more stretched-forward position. And on the steep ones, the increased rear wheel traction is noticeable as is the more comfortable wrist angle. It does take some practice to steer on the technical climbs from the bar-ends.

Al

They have the bar ends sticking up like that so they can hang clothes on them in the corner of the bedroom, because that's the only use they generally get.