I just got a pair of Profile Design Boxer bar ends for my Marin Muirwoods 29er, and I thought I'd post a little review for anyone else considering this accessory. Near as I can tell, the Profile Design Boxers are identical to the Titec L-Bends. I ordered the PD's up from Alfred E. Bike for $18. They arrived yesterday. I put them on the bike last night, and this morning I made my first commute with them.

I ride 11 miles each way, and the main thing I was looking for was more hand positions. After 11 miles, I'm pretty happy with them. I mounted them pretty far forward for a more aggressive riding position. I've got a pair of Lizard Skins bar end grips on order. I'll post pics once they come in.

My first impression was that the bar ends are very comfortable, but they make the bike feel about twice as big as it is. They flex a little, which had me wondering at first if I tightened them enough, but I think it was just flex. I found myself wanting to use them all the time.

The first time I was cruising along at 20 mph with my hands on the bar ends when I needed to make a sudden stop the quick change in hand position made me feel a bit like one of those little Chinese gymnasts doing an exercise on the uneven bars. I was just hoping to avoid the somersault dismount with one and a half twist, because I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to stick the landing. Happily, I managed the transition. I'm guessing that as I get more used to this, I'll either get better at that or learn to avoid that situation.

I did find that moving my hands down to shift gears was reasonably easy. Shifting to higher gears was easier than shifting to lower gears, which isn't such a bad thing.

I was glad that I decided to get the Boxers rather than the Briefs. I like the hand position out toward the end of the bar end. I may use the side position once in a while, but it feels a lot less natural.

The one problem the bar ends present was how to mount my bar-end Mountain Mirrycle mirror, which I can't live without. I ended up swinging it around so that it sticks out forward and below the handle bars. I'm not sure how this will work. It doesn't have lateral swivel in this position. I could see the traffic behind me, but not quite as close to the edge as I like. I also couldn't see the mirror at all when I was using the bar ends. We'll have to see how this works out.