Ronsonic 

Hardly see them anymore. Are they now out of style, or just more limited in their appeal?

Dave Cutter

Brifters are king! But... you may want to check out Classic and Vintage

cobba

What do brifters have to do with bar ends?

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/bar-ends

FrozenK

Cutter was thinking of bar end shifters on road bikes. Which are probably more popular than mountainbike bar-ends these days.

jimc101

Very limited use now, as there really aren't needed with the wide handlbars we have today.

If you look at bikes with barends (up to the early 00's), they will probably have a flat bar with a width of between 540-560mm, which was standard till the early 00's, for an XC bike today, will have a low riser, with at least 680mm, upto around 750mm, which you can get far more leverage on than you could with a narrower bar without the need for barends.

They still have a place for endurance riding and other things, just not everyday riding as they did BITD.

bikeme

Some XC racing guys use stubby ones. The old school long ones are considered too heavy and awkward now.

talonwing

Was running long bar ends on my old hybrids for 10 years but not any more they just get in the way. In the city they are not safe if you have your hands on them and a car pulls out in front of you. Really don't miss them on my new hybrid.

cave12man

I thought about getting them until someone mentioned they could get caught on a branch going through a tight spot. Who knows if that would ever happen, but the thought of getting my handlebar caught and yanked sideways while tearing through the woods gives me the willies.

Dave Cutter

Oops! You're correct. I don't know what I was doing in "mountain biking". Sorry.

Standalone 

I like them for old non-suspension MTB's or hybrids converted for commuting and road use. Have some on my Xtracycle. You can get down out of the wind on the long ones, or get some variety in hand positions. Can't comment beyond that.

Wingsprint

For mountain biking?

No, the cool kids are not using bar ends. They stopped 10 years ago. When using bar ends, you risk being assessed major dork points on the trails...

Just kidding...

Other than extra hand positions for super long rides, these days there is really no advantage to using bar ends. Over the past 5 to 10 years, the average bar width has gotten wider with more back and up-sweep, thus giving rider more comfort and leverage when pulling on the grips. You will still get more leverage with bar ends but I think most riders have found a happy balance with just using wider bars with more back and up-sweep.

cobba

If you're in a situation where bar ends get caught on a tree and make you crash, I don't think not having them stop you from crashing.

1Mule

I run 10 speed Sram bar ends on my tourer and 6 speed Suntour barcons on my '89 Allez, don't have a photo of the Allez.

Ronsonic 

Thanks for the input and opinions. I was off the bike for awhile and now redeveloping skills and trying to rebuild the motor. Anyway, I noticed that I don't have those anymore and noticed that they weren't very common now. I'm still very comfortable with the old-school short, flat bars - wide feels twitchy and was wondered if I was missing anything.

I <3 Robots

With the extra width of bars nowadays...I've found that I no longer need them.

jimc101

Those are bar end shifters, not bar ends as you would think of the an MTB

osco53

This guy,, I'm riding with today,, he runs down guys half his age on $5,000 bikes with his single speed, single brake, rigid cyclo bike he built for $700 ish,
He always had and always uses his bar ends..



I'm gonna be so sore tomorrow

CrowSeph

i buyed those for a cheeper price , they are pretty cool and i like the ergal color.
https://pic.imgmarket.net/TH2/201512/65634_2_c.jpg

jimc101

Have seen plenty of these on ebay, would be concerned with getting fingers caught in the hole if you came off, could hurt a lot (I know it's a remote chance, but would prefer not to have it as a possibility)

SpeshulEd 

I bought some ergon gp2s for when I go bikepacking, but just use normal lockon grips for normal riding.

The gp2s are handy for longer flatter sections when you're trying to knock out 30-40 miles in a day. Don't really use them for any technical riding tho.

gsa103

Wide bars don't help for climbing. The handy thing with bar ends is that they give you a forward position for keeping the front end planted on steeper climbs.

osco53

I found this to be true when I had them, and I also found that I was faster going up by dropping my torso and leaving my hands on the grips as opposed to moving my hands at a critical time..

My preference is still a lighter cockpit but I do miss them now and then on those long fire roads...

And they really helped when I found myrself battling nasty head winds.

I <3 Robots

The bar ends for me was for extra leverage when out of the saddle. When I went wider...I found myself not using them anymore.

Paul Barnard

Yeah, but I can attest to the fact that when they are there and wrap around a sappling the crash is spectacular. I think my bud who was behind me hurt himself laughing more than I got hurt in the crash. After I got up, I had to help him off the ground.

Ronsonic 

Once in many years of riding I snagged one on a vine. No crash or drama, so not a concern for me.