worldtraveller

how come no one uses bar ends any more

for xc.

i still use mine and find them useful

just curious as to why people stopped using them,
as on a straight bar, your wrists go all funny on those steep climbs?

or whats the take on this please explain

Dilberto

People still use them. The current trends in XC racing lean more towards a short riser bar, as climbs can be done with both thumbs above the bar without any loss of stability.

commo_soulja

They're not so popular in the States but here in Europe you'll still see them out on a ride and on racers bikes.

I still use bar ends and a couple of my bikes have them. Great for SS when you're crankin' on the pedals uphill.

jolly_ross

I never tried them because I was always worried about getting them getting snagged as I brushed past trees and the like. Has this happened to anyone? fwiw - I've never seen it.

IthaDan 

Happened to me, I too a corner too tight and hooked a sapling don't think I hurt myself too bad, honestly I don't remember, it was a long time ago and slams were a pretty regular thing. I had those tiny control stix ones that were just a post though, soon after that I went to a pair of purple anodized Onza raw bars (it was the 90s after all). The experience didn't dissuade me, I still have a bike with them. They're a great second option for climbing.

dminor 

Nobody uses them because of the shift from plastic to reuseable grocery bags - - handles are longer and the bags drag on the front wheel.

Daspydyr 

I prefer bar ends though I haven't had any for @18 months. I like my CF mustache bar. When I replace it I want to go flat bar with ends. I like the variety of positions, feeling like I'm getting a touch more torque on a climb and some security using it as a bash guard getting through trees. With a nod to dminor, I have hauled a ton of plastic grocery bags trusting the bar ends to keeps things secure. But I now have a couple of nifty backpacks for Milk and Cherrios.

CharleyGnarly

I think for a while it was a style thing. Cool, serious riders just didn't use bar ends. That and the fact that all of the dept. bikes came with them added to the doofus factor.
I, for one, like them even though I haven't used them in a while. I plan on getting some ergo grips with bar ends real quick like.
As far as whacking trees and being a dangerous protrusion... I don't buy it. Its no worse than any other protruding part.

jimc101

Mountain biking has changed since the '90's when bar ends were common, even a bike from a few years a go will ride differently to a current bike, unless your racing now, most people will have a bike which is more of the All Mountain type than XC.

Riser bars are the main reason don't use them, they are still great on an XC bike w/560mm flat bar, but with risers going from 680-900mm wide, you get so much leverage from the bar, there is no need for any more at the end. Also, with wider and wider bars, having bar ends is a liability when going through tight singletrack; they also they just look wrong with riser which doesn't help them.

Stealthammer

When I was riding a lot of SoCal/NorCal fireroads and single tracks in the arroyos snags were rare, all of my MTBs had barends for improved weight transfer when climbing and more variations for hand positions on longer rides. Most of my MTBs still get used on more open trails or for urban assaults/commuting so they have them, but now I have a 29er that I use primarily on really tight trails and in the woods so it has no barends.

There are times that I miss them when riding the 29er to the trailhead, but it never bothers me that they are there when I don't need them on the other bikes, and since it only takes two allen bolts and about 30 seconds to remove them, I see no reason not to take advantage of them.

Pamestique 

Take a bad fall, drive one into the inner meat of your thigh which caused a massive hematoma and severe leg pain for almost a year... the reason I don't ride with bar ends anymore... that and riser bars...

Daspydyr 

Yeah Pam, I've done that as well on a roll over, just not as severe. I almost lost my left ring finger in a tumble. I didn't have a plug in the bar end. The end of my finger got stuck in the tubing as I tumbled. That got me a couple stitches.

vik 

My all mtn bike uses a riser bar and my XC bike uses bar ends. They work just like they did 10yrs ago.

krobinson103

I don't go off road all that much and find them great when I'm on a level stretch and just want to cruise for a bit. You can sit up a bit higher and relax.

thenomad

UCI World XC race in South Africa just finished - Winner had flat bar and barends.

Zephyr11

I did that with regular ol' risers without barends. Not nearly as bad apparently, since it went away in about two weeks, but still looked pretty gross.

I think it would have happened with flat bars too though, just slightly lower.

I tried them a couple of times and my steering got worse. I guess you could just chalk that up to not being used to them, but I didn't feel it was worth the effort. I guess you're supposed to use them as leverage while climbing, but I wasn't even getting more of that. The only good they seemed to do was protect my shifters/brakes from me destroying them when I fell.

samburger

A barend is just one more object protruding from my bike, waiting to stab me in the ribs if I do something stupid.

Crazydad

I still have them and find them useful for giving me more positions to rest my hands. Yeti was in town this weekend for demos (I drank the 29er koolaid and now have to find a way to get Big Top) and after riding all weekend without I have to say I didn't miss them for the climbing since the bars are wider now, but my hands did get tired and I missed the extra hand positions. My friend from the lbs suggested the Ergon grips to help with that.

Zephyr11

I seem to see a lot of people that like Ergons. Am I really in the minority in hating them? I feel like my hand is stuck in one position, and if I try to move it, it feels awkward. If I'm shifting my weight around, particularly forward and backward, the position of my hands tends to rotate around the bars. Feels kind of awkward with Ergons. Give me Ruffians or Yetis any day.

vik 

There are a variety of Ergon grips. On my All Mtn rig I use the rounder model that allows more movement. They are still comfier than any other grips I've tried. On my commuter/touring bikes I use the wider style Ergons since I'm not moving around the bike as much.

samburger

I don't hate them, but I dislike them for the same reasons. I guess some people like having their hands in the same position for the entirety of their ride, but I don't.

dminor 

I think you're seeing that on this forum lately because there are a lot of casual/recreational/commuter MTB riders here. You mountain bike on your mountain bike, so are likely to find them unsuitable.

vik 

Wide Ergon with bar end...commuting/touring.



Medium Ergon no bar end...XC performance.



Narrow Ergon...AM/DH.

I use all three styles depending what bike they are going on.

frankenmike 

I really liked bar-ends, but they aggravated nerves on the sides of my hands, sending shooting pains up my wrist- otherwise I'd still be using them. I switched to riser bars for years, but now use an h-bar on my main ride.

Mr IGH

D-bag, making this place suck as if its his job!