# Bar-ends or No Bar-Ends?



## JD At The Lake (Feb 28, 2010)

I am a newbie becoming a fairly avid cyclist. I have a hybrid Specialized Ariel which I love because I can road bike and also go off road when needed. I find myself leaning forward on my straight handle bars which causes my husband some concern as he says I look unstable when I do that. I am not prepared to cross over to drop bars because of the expense of switching everying up so I am considering adding bar-ends to allow variable grips during longer rides.

I am interested in how they are used and the pros and cons.


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## freighttraininguphill (Jun 7, 2011)

I have bar ends on all my flat bar bikes. They are great for alternate hand positions and climbing power, especially out of the saddle. Even seated climbing is better with the bar ends.

The longer bar ends on my Sirrus allow me to lean forward more on steep climbs or for fast flatland riding. IMHO, those are the best bar ends because they offer the most hand positions.

Auburn, CA bike route sign by kittyz202, on Flickr

I have these short ones on my Dahon folding bike, and I often find myself wishing for longer ones, especially on a bike with such a short reach.

view from top of Monitor Pass by kittyz202, on Flickr


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

> I find myself leaning forward on my straight handle bars which causes my husband some concern as *he says I look unstable when I do that*


Do you FEEL unstable? If not, politely tell him to shut up ;-)

Though it sounds like you could make good use of the bar-ends in any event.


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## subzerolv (Aug 10, 2010)

I never really even thought about bar-ends until I was in the LBS one day and saw them on a rack. It was an impulse buy, but figured what the heck... if I don't like them, no big loss.

Now I couldn't be happier. Being able to change hand positions has made a big difference in comfort. If I had more than one flat bar bike, I'd have bar-ends on all of them.


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## JD At The Lake (Feb 28, 2010)

*Bar-ends or No Bar-ends*

Thank you all for your responses. I think I will go with the bar-ends. I will just have to change from my bar-end mirror to a helmut mirror!:thumbsup:


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## Mel Erickson (Feb 3, 2004)

JD At The Lake said:


> Thank you all for your responses. I think I will go with the bar-ends. I will just have to change from my bar-end mirror to a helmut mirror!:thumbsup:


How does your mirror attach? If it plugs into the end of the bar you can still use it. You could still use it if it clamps around the bar but it would probably be awkward. A bar end, mirror and grip stacked on the bar might be too much.


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## Fireform (Dec 15, 2005)

Get a take-a-look mirror. You'll spend 20 or 30 minutes getting it adjusted right the first time, the years thanking me for the tip. Way better than any bar mirror.


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

I have ski-bend bar ends on my MTB. Love 'em on climbs, and sometimes I use them if I'm cruising on fire roads. Sometimes I wish I had the big honkin' old school bar ends, as in post #2.


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## Ibashii (Oct 23, 2002)

Bar ends rule. Go for it!


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## Jay Strongbow (May 8, 2010)

JD At The Lake said:


> I am a newbie becoming a fairly avid cyclist. I have a hybrid Specialized Ariel which I love because I can road bike and also go off road when needed. I find myself leaning forward on my straight handle bars which causes my husband some concern as he says I look unstable when I do that. * I am not prepared to cross over to drop bars because of the expense of switching everying up *so I am considering adding bar-ends to allow variable grips during longer rides.
> 
> I am interested in how they are used and the pros and cons.


Unrelated to what you asked but if you ever do get to the point where you want to go with a road bike my opinion is you'll be much better off just buying a road bike insead of converting a hybrid. It'll probably cost more but you'll have two bikes instead of one.

Anyway, I have very limited experience with bar ends but I don't see any negative to them.


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## qatarbhoy (Aug 17, 2009)

I have standard bar-ends on my commuter and stubby ones on my MTB. The extra positions are well worth it for added comfort. I rarely use the normal grips on my commute as using the bar-ends feels more natural for the wrists (ie not having to rotate them 90 degrees).

As mentioned already, when the time comes to get drop bars, go for a road bike. Don't mess around switching a flatbar bike to drop bars.


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## gtpharr (Oct 6, 2008)

*Cane Creek Ergo Conrrol IIs for me*










I bought the Cane Creek Ergo Control II bar ends for my flat bar road bike based on the many positive reviews posted on Mtn BIke Reveew.

The Cane Creek Ergo Controls are rubber coated aluminum and very comfortable. They keep your weightt more centered over the handle bar than most other bar ends. I have been extremely pleased with them and would definitely recommmend them for anyone considering bar ends. I would never own another flat bar bike without them unelss the bike was limited to rides under 10 miles.

The only downsides that I see are they are expensive and pretty heavy. I shopped them around and ended up paying about $42.for mine.


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## emdj88 (Aug 16, 2011)

freighttraininguphill said:


> I have bar ends on all my flat bar bikes. They are great for alternate hand positions and climbing power, especially out of the saddle. Even seated climbing is better with the bar ends.
> 
> The longer bar ends on my Sirrus allow me to lean forward more on steep climbs or for fast flatland riding. IMHO, those are the best bar ends because they offer the most hand positions.


what type of bar ends are these on your Sirrus?


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## wcipolli (Aug 17, 2011)

Before I got a road bike I bar ends on my mountain bike. It was nice, and so much more comfortable for those longer rides.


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## goldenstaph (Jul 28, 2011)

One of the first things I did when I got my new hybrid last year was fit some Ergon GC-3 grip/bar ends. They were a bit expensive but I've been very happy with them. The ends provide a heap of different hand positions for longer rides and the grips are really comfy too.


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