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Who's ditching bar-ends?

Aug 17, 2004
40
0
Va Beach
Ok. I've seen more and more people with riser bars and no bar-ends. I have my straight Titec 118's and Answer ends. I still use mine and like them. What's the general consensus out there?

You still use any ends?
 

ito

Mr. Schwinn Effing Armstrong
Oct 3, 2003
1,709
0
Avoiding the nine to five
Got them on my single-speed. Cane Creek bar ends to be exact. They are nice, make climbing less painful and offer more hand positions which is good. They do however make me look like a dork.

It's a fair trade-off though.

The Ito
 

GravityFreakTJ

leg shavin roadie
Jul 14, 2003
2,947
0
at a road race near you
ito said:
Got them on my single-speed. Cane Creek bar ends to be exact. They are nice, make climbing less painful and offer more hand positions which is good. They do however make me look like a dork.

It's a fair trade-off though.

The Ito

Well i look like a dork regardless so i'm running 'em :p
 

sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
17,373
0
SF
Funny, my shop is ordering a demo Seven Ti hardtail according to my specs, and I am getting a straight bar and bar ends. One thing, I am going with a Salsa Pro Moto bar, the widest available at 660mm, the length of many risers. 580mm is the length of most straight bars, and I feel compacted on them.

I might also go with a 10 degree rise stem to get the same height as riser.
 

mtnbikej

Monkey
Sep 13, 2001
168
0
So. CAL.
I have them on my bike.....along with 28" Azonic 1.5" risers. Do they look dumb? Maybe.....but I don't give a *hit what people think.

Gotta love the extra hand positions.

mtnbikej
 

zahgurim

Underwater monkey
Mar 9, 2005
1,100
12
lolAsia
I'm going the opposite way...

Am building a new XC bike up after a few years off of one, doing the gravity racer thing. Am adding barends after many years without. Since '94 or so?
 

douglas

Chocolate Milk Doug
May 15, 2002
9,887
6
Shut up and Ride
I thought I would like these for climbing, which I did..but they seemed to not let me rip up the dh sections

so add one more bike part/accessory I need to sell

 

BikeGeek

BrewMonkey
Jul 2, 2001
4,573
273
Hershey, PA
Heidi said:
But will they look good with the outfit I'm wearing?
That depends. Evening or casual outfit?

For evening attire I'd recommend something classy like these carbon-fiber "stubbies:"


For casual, go with something fun like these big swoopy purple things:
 

BikeGeek

BrewMonkey
Jul 2, 2001
4,573
273
Hershey, PA
douglas said:
I thought I would like these for climbing, which I did..but they seemed to not let me rip up the dh sections
I have those and really like them. How are they hurting you on DH...clipping trees and stuff?
 

MikeD

Leader and Demogogue of the Ridemonkey Satinists
Oct 26, 2001
11,669
1,713
chez moi
I built an XC bike with flat bar and barends a while back...bar was a very wide Titus flat-tracker. Loved the barends for long climbs on fireroads, etc., but once I started taking it on singletrack, I ditched them. Didn't find the time on techy stuff to switch between the ends and the grips, and they hooked brush from time to time. Honestly, they sorta started to scare me. Maybe if my bar was narrower it wouldn't have been so bad. But the width of the bar made climbing more comfortable in and of itself...lots of leverage and non-twitchy steering, with an opened-up riding position.

MD
 

Zark

Hey little girl, do you want some candy?
Oct 18, 2001
6,254
7
Reno 911
After almost losing my kidney to bar ends, I've kinda steered clear of 'em. Good luck! ;)
 

ito

Mr. Schwinn Effing Armstrong
Oct 3, 2003
1,709
0
Avoiding the nine to five
stinsonblvd said:
Anybody remember those scott bars from the early 90s that had the barends built in? Bitchin
Had a pair until I bent them in half this year at sea otter. I would love another set of them.

Too bad I won't trust a used set and I think I found the last new set in the basement of Velo Pro in Santa Barbara last year. They rocked until they bent in half.

The Ito
 

Zutroy

Turbo Monkey
Dec 9, 2004
2,443
0
Ventura,CA
I'm still using them, love them on short steep climbs and they help keep my hand from going numb. I've had the same Control Tech Stubbies since about 95 i think.
 

GumbaFish

Turbo Monkey
Oct 5, 2004
1,747
0
Rochester N.Y.
If you like em run em. I don't personally use them because I don't like switching my hand position up during rides, but if they are your bag rock em.
 

SuspectDevice

Turbo Monkey
Aug 23, 2002
4,157
355
Roanoke, VA
The only bikes i still run barends on are my 700c flatbar commuter, and my real light setup that I use for Southeastern style XC races and shortrack. On both bikes I run Onza pro-cut CWA's and I cut the bars down to 20". I pretty much ride on them all the time, and have the same body position as on my road and cross bikes. After racing as much DH and BMX as I do now, i prefer a good set of 35mm rise 25" wide bars on my normal XC and trail bikes.
 
Aug 17, 2004
40
0
Va Beach
Thanks for everyone chiming in. I was just asking to see what everyone else may be running, cause I like the leverage for climbing.

I still have a set of the Scott bars by the way...
 

Tenchiro

Attention K Mart Shoppers
Jul 19, 2002
5,407
0
New England
Bar Ends = Old and Busted
Triathalon Bars on your Enduro = The new hotness


At least the Specialized I saw on the strret the other day seemed to indicate. :cool:
 

Skookum

bikey's is cool
Jul 26, 2002
10,184
0
in a bear cave
Bar ends do not screw up your technical riding.

If you hook it's your fault for not paying attention. And if you don't have bar ends you're likely to smash your pinky instead of hooking.

Bar ends will require you to have wider bars though, since when you cut them to fit you'll have to give at least another half inch to both sides.

They've always served as the original grip locking mechanism.

And when you get older, and if you ride uphill for more than just an hour or so, it simply helps to reposition. The kinder you are to your arms the stronger they will be for the gnarl descent.

 

MikeD

Leader and Demogogue of the Ridemonkey Satinists
Oct 26, 2001
11,669
1,713
chez moi
Skookum said:
If you hook it's your fault for not paying attention. [/IMG]
That's why I mount a large spike on top of my stem. It looks cool, and if I smash my forehead into it, well, it's my fault for not paying attention... :p

MD
 

Changleen

Paranoid Member
Jan 9, 2004
14,335
2,448
Hypernormality
And God said:

"Today, the only cool way to use bar ends is for couriers to run stumpy ones on straight bar setups.

Everyone else is simply going to Hell, where they shall be eternally anally probed by Luther Vandross in a sparkling catsuit that matches their bar end, because that's how uncool they are.

I don't give a **** if they help you ride faster. Steroids can help you ride faster, and they don't make you look ghey."

So there you have it. You wouldn't want to displease the Lord now would you?
 

Skookum

bikey's is cool
Jul 26, 2002
10,184
0
in a bear cave
MikeD said:
That's why I mount a large spike on top of my stem. It looks cool, and if I smash my forehead into it, well, it's my fault for not paying attention... :p

MD
i may as well get rid of my pedals, i sure wouldn't want to gouge my spleen out with it, in case i crash on one of em.

Changleen said:
And God said:

"Today, the only cool way to use bar ends is for couriers to run stumpy ones on straight bar setups.

Everyone else is simply going to Hell, where they shall be eternally anally probed by Luther Vandross in a sparkling catsuit that matches their bar end, because that's how uncool they are.

I don't give a **** if they help you ride faster. Steroids can help you ride faster, and they don't make you look ghey."

So there you have it. You wouldn't want to displease the Lord now would you?
You're weird...... :monkey:

sanjuro said:
BTW, why didn't you take the harder line to your left? Was it the bar ends ?
Too bad the picture didn't show the 2 straight miles of constant rock garden to get to that point. That was the longest hardest rockiest bastard i've descended. Not the most technical just a rocky bastard straight and simple, no dirt, just rock.
i'm glad i had bar ends to conserve strength in my arms to limit my crashing to a minimum on that stretch. :evil:

Changleen said:
His hair was pulling to the right. :D
If i don't get it cut soon i'm gonna die by getting it caught in my spokes. :dead:
 

MikeD

Leader and Demogogue of the Ridemonkey Satinists
Oct 26, 2001
11,669
1,713
chez moi
bagofdonuts43 said:
That's hair? I thought he had a lemur on his back. :D
I don't think he's really a roofer. If he was, he'd be keeping that mess in a nice queue with roofing tar.

MD
 

kicknitLivE

Monkey
Jul 12, 2004
152
0
Boulder
I pulled some out of a dusty box along with a flat bar and put em on my single. Thought the exta leverage would help, but with a wide riser bar the extra leverage seems negligible. Steering with a narrow stance sucks and bar ends seem to inhibit no-handers.
 

oldfart

Turbo Monkey
Jul 5, 2001
1,206
24
North Van
I think I ditched them in the early 90's simply because I wanted a wider grip. I found that a wider bar did the same for me as a set of bar ends, but was far better for going down some of the stupid shiite we got happening around here.