I recently came across this article https://dirtmountainbike.com/bike-re...ucts-ever.html which states that bar ends are one of the worst mountain bike products ever.

I've always been a Road Bike/BMXer so maybe I'm missing something, but I always thought bar ends made a MTB look incredibly cool!

Back in the 90's when I had my first MTB, I had bar ends installed. I found them handy as I'd rest my arms on them on long trips, and the couple times I fell off I found they protected my hands and break levers.

Fast forward 20 yrs and I get my slightly older Trek for cheap, and the first thing I'd like to do is install bar ends. Except my LBS doesn't even stock them! They tell me they have to special order them because basically no one wants them.
I even noticed that the handle bars on new bikes seem a tab bit shorter, and bar ends would have trouble fitting.

What's your guys opinions on bar ends?