Originally Posted by Stubacca
I like them on a flat bar, but not a riser bar. I have broad shoulders and ribcage, so it helps to open me up a bit more for the climbs. Comfy, too.
Okay, this brings up a question that has been bugging me for a long time. I'm far from new to mountain biking ("Why, I've been mountain bikin' since you were just a pup, you young whippersnapper!", says the crotchety old man.) and I've had bar ends on my handle bars since they came out - probably the late '80s. But I've always used flat bars, usually in a very low position. But I have yet to understand why bar ends are so forbidden on riser bars! I mean, after all, riser bars are just a way of having a higher ride position without having a large angle stem.
There is no more stress put on the bars by having bar ends then on conventional straight bars. And I find that riser bars are damned uncomfortable without bar ends. The angle of the risers I've tried is just wrong for riding very far. Bar ends at least allows me to move my hands around a little.
So, are is there really a good reason for not having bar ends on risers or are we just afraid that the kids will laugh at us for being geezers?