I tried bar end shifters on a midge bar last year. I run a very short stem and have the midge's set up level. So, yes, I had several instances of bashing my knee with the shifter when doing tight turns. Also was a problem during crashes and when lifter the bike, as the shifter would stab into me. In addition, I did not believe that the bar end shifters are as precise as sti or trigger shifters. I found myself constantly having to trim between shifts.