Took a nice ride in the sunshine today to try out the new drop bar ends. In the main I was pleased with them. Any problems were caused by the straight bars and my choice of 'bar tape. I think the 'bar ends look good and certainly provide a variety of hand positions. Their shape is ergonomic and their shallow drop is not too much of a shock when "getting down". I do think that placing the Allen bolt on the top of the 'bar ends is a little odd. Putting the bolt underneath would look better and prevent rain water from sitting in there and causing rust.

The 17 mile ride went well but there were some issues to confront. As I mentioned in part one, the centre bulge in the 'bars intrudes some way either side of the stem area and this does restrict just where you can place the twistgrip. I just had room for my right hand but I found that half of my palm was on the 'bar and half on the twistgrip. The difference in the diameter of the two surfaces made for a slightly uncomfortable feel. My choice of 'bar tape was not a good one. I think it looked good but it provided very little padding and was quite slippy to hold. I found my hands sliding about and my grip was not secure. Even wearing padded cycling mitts I could feel the bake cables through the tape and the smaller diameter 'bars made things worse.

Back home I installed another layer of tape (Specialized Phatt) over the one already fitted and this has really improved comfort and grip. There are actually three layers of tape next to the twistgrip (which has cured the height difference) and I ran a piece of tape (under the final wrap) along the length of brake cable under the left side of the bars to cushion that side of things.

I think all should be well now. I am keeping an eye open for some straight bars that have a shorter stretch of bulge in them so I can move the twistgrip closer to the stem. This is something worth keeping in mind if you are planning to try these 'bar ends on your Swift. All in all I like them and I think the bike looks better with them in place.

UPDATE

I found a set of flat bars with a shorter length of bulge in them at SJS Cycles in the UK. They are made to allow a gripshift, 'bar grips, brakes and 'bar ends to be fitted without causing cramped conditions for the hands. They work really well as I have been able to move the gear shift very close to the stem and can now place my right hand comfortably on the bars without touching the gripshift.

The 'bars are [B]Thorn AL7075 Narrow Flat MkII handlebars - 25.4 mm Clamp[B]. I'll give more details and photos in a future post.