Fitting bar ends, to cut or not

On Fri, 08 Aug 2003 11:04:33 +0100, Colin Swan <colin AT nildram DOT
net> scribbled:

Quoted message said:

OK, let's get it clear to start with, I've got bar ends, I had them on my old bike, I use them a
lot and I am going to fit them, so please no debate about the merits or otherwise of them :-)

I say that because Googling for an answer to this showed that someone asked this before and the
only response was "bar ends are [censored], don't fit them!", which isn't very helpful IMO...

Anyway, my question is as follows:

I am fitting clamp-type bar ends to my 03 Rockhopper Disk, which has end caps integral to the
grips. I'm therefore going to have to cut the end of the grips off, but do I cut some of the grip
off too, move the levers and shifters, or both? On my old Marin Hawk Hill, I think I did a
combination, but I just wondered whether there was an accepted correct way of doing it, or whether
it was down to personal preference.

Like everything in life, it all boils down to personal preference. I just chopped the ends off my
grips and slapped some Profile Design bar ends on. They came with plastic end caps to fill the
exposed bar ends. I didn't even move my shifters or brake levers because, in a further fashion
faux pas, I put these bar ends on a riser bar. The hand space is now a little narrower, but it's
still comfortable for me. If you have a flat bar, moving the levers should be fairly easy if you
need to do that.

Quoted message said:

While in a questioning mood, I am new to disk brakes, and while I find them very good, I am a
little disappointed that the front one is a bit noisy, making a regukar metallic scrape that makes
the bike sound cheap. Will this go as the pads bed in? I have only put about 20 road miles on it
so far...

I don't run discs myself, but from what I hear they usually require a bit of break-in period. I'd
run them another 100 miles or so and see if they clear up. Be sure to ride through mud, they like
that. All else failing, EBC Green pads are apparently recommended. I'm sure someone else with actual
experience will fill you in.

Quoted message said:

Any helpful comments gratefully received :-)

Regards,

Colin Swan Nildram Operations

-Slash
--
"Ebert Victorious"

- The Onion

Slash said:

Quoted message said:

I am fitting clamp-type bar ends to my 03 Rockhopper Disk, which has end caps integral to the
grips. I'm therefore going to have to cut the end of the grips off, but do I cut some of the grip
off too, move the levers and shifters, or both? On my old Marin Hawk Hill, I think I did a
combination, but I just wondered whether there was an accepted correct way of doing it, or whether
it was down to personal preference.

Like everything in life, it all boils down to personal preference. I just chopped the ends off my
grips and slapped some Profile Design bar ends on. They came with plastic end caps to fill the
exposed bar ends. I didn't even move my shifters or brake levers because, in a further fashion
faux pas, I put these bar ends on a riser bar. The hand space is now a little narrower, but it's
still comfortable for me. If you have a flat bar, moving the levers should be fairly easy if you
need to do that.

Thanks for that - have the Profile ends too, mainly because they have a thinner clamp. I think I'll
try simply cutting down the grips, after making sure I can still get my hand in. So is it not
fashionable to have ends on riser bars then? :-)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

While in a questioning mood, I am new to disk brakes, and while I find them very good, I am a
little disappointed that the front one is a bit noisy, making a regukar metallic scrape that makes
the bike sound cheap. Will this go as the pads bed in? I have only put about 20 road miles on it
so far...

I don't run discs myself, but from what I hear they usually require a bit of break-in period. I'd
run them another 100 miles or so and see if they clear up. Be sure to ride through mud, they like
that. All else failing, EBC Green pads are apparently recommended. I'm sure someone else with
actual experience will fill you in.

As I thought - good excuse to get some miles in though. I have some friends with run sports cars
(Lotus Elise, Noble M12), their brake pad of choice is EBC Greenstuff, and they were quite amused to
see that I can get the same for my bike!

Regards,

Colin Swan Nildram Operations

"Colin Swan" <colin AT nildram DOT net> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

OK, let's get it clear to start with, I've got bar ends, I had them on my old bike, I use them a
lot and I am going to fit them, so please no debate about the merits or otherwise of them :-)

I say that because Googling for an answer to this showed that someone asked this before and the
only response was "bar ends are [censored], don't fit them!", which isn't very helpful IMO...

Anyway, my question is as follows:

I am fitting clamp-type bar ends to my 03 Rockhopper Disk, which has end caps integral to the
grips. I'm therefore going to have to cut the end of the grips off, but do I cut some of the grip
off too, move the levers and shifters, or both? On my old Marin Hawk Hill, I think I did a
combination, but I just wondered whether there was an accepted correct way of doing it, or whether
it was down to personal preference.

If there is no plug in the end of your handlebars, all you have to do is gently (okay start gently
and work up) tap the end of the grip against the end of the bar with a hammer. This should easily
cut out a nice hole which fits the bar prefectly. Move your brakes/shifters in board half an inch,
push the grips up and fit bar-ends. Voila.

Quoted message said:

While in a questioning mood, I am new to disk brakes, and while I find them very good, I am a
little disappointed that the front one is a bit noisy, making a regukar metallic scrape that makes
the bike sound cheap. Will this go as the pads bed in? I have only put about 20 road miles on it
so far...

You will need to use them for longer to properly bed them in, however if they are scraping you may
need to fuss about with shims etc to re-align the disc within the caliper.

Quoted message said:

Any helpful comments gratefully received :-)

No problem,

Steve.

spademan o---) * said:

If there is no plug in the end of your handlebars, all you have to do is gently (okay start gently
and work up) tap the end of the grip against the end of the bar with a hammer. This should easily
cut out a nice hole which fits the bar prefectly. Move your brakes/shifters in board half an inch,
push the grips up and fit bar-ends. Voila.

This is the way to do it, but depends on you having enough room inboard to shift everything in
(everything's a bit cramped on my narrow bars). Also, bear in mind that in this situation, your
natural hand position will be further towards the middle, so you'll lose a bit of control. Wider
bars are the order of the day.

--
a.m-b FAQ: t-online.deambfaq.htmOpen ↗

b.bmx FAQ: t-online.debmx faq.htmOpen ↗

bomba said:

spademan o---) * said:

If there is no plug in the end of your handlebars, all you have to do is gently (okay start
gently and work up) tap the end of the grip against the end of the bar with a hammer. This should
easily cut out a nice hole which fits the bar prefectly. Move your brakes/shifters in board half
an inch, push the grips up and fit bar-ends. Voila.

This is the way to do it, but depends on you having enough room inboard to shift everything in
(everything's a bit cramped on my narrow bars). Also, bear in mind that in this situation, your
natural hand position will be further towards the middle, so you'll lose a bit of control. Wider
bars are the order of the day.

Would you lose control or gain control? It makes sense to me that you steer slower with wider bars
and faster with narrower bars. If "control" means that you want slower response to steering input,
then go for wider bars.

--
Bob M in CT Remove 'x.' to reply

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

spademan o---) * said:

If there is no plug in the end of your handlebars, all you have to do

is

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

gently (okay start gently and work up) tap the end of the grip against the end of the bar with
a hammer. This should easily cut out a nice hole which fits the bar prefectly. Move your
brakes/shifters in board half an

inch,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

push the grips up and fit bar-ends. Voila.

This is the way to do it, but depends on you having enough room inboard to shift everything in
(everything's a bit cramped on my narrow bars). Also, bear in mind that in this situation, your
natural hand position will be further towards the middle, so you'll lose a bit of control. Wider
bars are the order of the day.

Would you lose control or gain control? It makes sense to me that you steer slower with wider bars
and faster with narrower bars. If "control" means that you want slower response to steering input,
then go for wider bars.

That's a question I have frequently asked myself. My HT has a closer grip and seems to respond
quicker on the technical single track, my FS has a wider grip and seems to not. However on
fast downhill I prefer the wider grip, might be totally psychological but I feel I have more
control then.

Quoted message said:

That's a question I have frequently asked myself. My HT has a closer grip and seems to respond
quicker on the technical single track, my FS has a wider grip and seems to not. However on
fast downhill I prefer the wider grip, might be totally psychological but I feel I have more
control then.

It's not psychological. It's physics.

Take your front wheel. Spin it with your hand on the spokes, close to the hub. You had to exert some
effort. Now, stop the wheel and then spin it again, but this time at the rim. You had to exert less
effort, no? It's torque. The farther you are away from the axis of rotation, the more force you have
on the system and the more angular acceleration you will have.

In terms of your bars, think of your steerer as your axis of rotation (analogous to the hub on the
wheel). Having your hands close to the stem is like rotating the wheel near the hub. It's hard for
you to control the bike when wheel deflections can throw your control off, but if you hold the
bars near the ends, then you've got more control because you can effect more torque per unit of
effort exerted.

Does that make sense? I'm not usually very good at explaining things.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

"Colin Swan" <colin AT nildram DOT net> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

So is it not fashionable to have ends on riser bars then? :-)

People may think you're a "Fred" (I think they call them Barneys now), but if that is what you want,
and what you like, who cares what they think, right? Put those barends on.

Me personally, I loved riding behind my pals with barends, just to watch them take that occasional
sudden exit from the trail when they snagged something, then laugh at them. After all, they had
plenty laughs at my own expense. 🙂

voodoo - who sometimes forgets to unclip when he stops

Quoted message said:

Does that make sense? I'm not usually very good at explaining things.

Of course it makes sense, it was just that my reaction seems quicker with the short grip on tight
stuff, and I feel more in control with a wider grip on faster, a bit wider, wreck and die stuff.

T_Blood said:

Quoted message said:

Does that make sense? I'm not usually very good at explaining things.

Of course it makes sense, it was just that my reaction seems quicker with the short grip on tight
stuff, and I feel more in control with a wider grip on faster, a bit wider, wreck and die stuff.

I think you're right. Perhaps longer bars but with long grips would suffice? Then, when it's fast
and nasty, you put your hands on the ends; when it's slow but tight, you switch toward the middle.

--
Bob M in CT Remove 'x.' to reply

Colin Swan colin AT nildram DOT net said:

I'm therefore going to have to cut the end of the grips off, but do I cut some of the grip off
too, move the levers and shifters, or both? On my old Marin Hawk Hill, I think I did a
combination, but I just wondered whether there was an accepted correct way of doing it, or whether
it was down to personal preference.

I'd leave it at personal preference. When I used to do more dodging trees in the relatively flat and
fast northeastern US, I liked the bars short. That gave me more margin between the trees (still, not
always enough... ouch), and it really didn't seem to inhibit the control of the bike.

Here in the more technical, steeper, rockier southwestern US, I like wider bars. They allow me to
exert more force on the front end when a rock is telling me to go one way and my head disagrees.

And I personally like bar ends, if that matters (I know it really doesn't). I run my bars "XC low",
and like the lower, longer position on fast fire roads and when climbing long, steep sections. I
could just hunker forward more and bend my elbows more - but where's the fun in that? ;-)

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles habcycles.comhabcycles.comOpen ↗ Home of the $695 ti frame

voodoo said:

"Colin Swan" <colin AT nildram DOT net> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

So is it not fashionable to have ends on riser bars then? :-)

People may think you're a "Fred" (I think they call them Barneys now), but if that is what you
want, and what you like, who cares what they think, right? Put those barends on.

Not sure what a "Fred" or a "Barney" is - perhaps an American term that hasn't made it over to the
UK? Anyway, I fitted them at the weekend by cutting the very ends of the grips off, moving the
brakes and shifters in and sliding the grips. Haven't had a chance to ride it like this yet as I
didn't get time (and it was too hot), but should be about the same setup that I'm used to. Does make
the front of the bike look quite wide though, so maybe I'll try a flat bar at some point...

Quoted message said:

Me personally, I loved riding behind my pals with barends, just to watch them take that occasional
sudden exit from the trail when they snagged something, then laugh at them. After all, they had
plenty laughs at my own expense. 🙂

voodoo - who sometimes forgets to unclip when he stops

That's always a good one :-)

Regards,

Colin Swan Nildram Operations

"Colin Swan" <colin AT nildram DOT net> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

voodoo said:

"Colin Swan" <colin AT nildram DOT net> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

So is it not fashionable to have ends on riser bars then? :-)

People may think you're a "Fred" (I think they call them Barneys now),

but

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

if that is what you want, and what you like, who cares what they think, right? Put those
barends on.

Not sure what a "Fred" or a "Barney" is - perhaps an American term that hasn't made it over to the
UK? Anyway, I fitted them at the weekend by cutting the very ends of the grips off, moving the
brakes and shifters in and sliding the grips. Haven't had a chance to ride it like this yet as I
didn't get time (and it was too hot), but should be about the same setup that I'm used to. Does
make the front of the bike look quite wide though, so maybe I'll try a flat bar at some point...

Don't know if I would want to give up my riser just because it looked wider. When I first went from
a 22" flat bar, to a 26" riser, it just felt_so_right. I'll never use a flat bar again.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Me personally, I loved riding behind my pals with barends, just to watch them take that
occasional sudden exit from the trail when they snagged something, then laugh at them. After all,
they had plenty laughs at my

own

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

expense. 🙂

voodoo - who sometimes forgets to unclip when he stops

That's always a good one :-)

Even better was the time I forgot to properly torque my new cranks. As I was looking at the crank
arm hanging from my left shoe, I was, for the moment unsure what to do with it, and the thought
never crossed my mind to un-clip with the right, so I just fell right over.

do you have midget hands? cut the end of the grip off, move everything in, shifters et al, then add
bar ends. i gather you will never be asked to work on the space shuttle...

"Colin Swan" <colin AT nildram DOT net> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

OK, let's get it clear to start with, I've got bar ends, I had them on my old bike, I use them a
lot and I am going to fit them, so please no debate about the merits or otherwise of them :-)

I say that because Googling for an answer to this showed that someone asked this before and the
only response was "bar ends are [censored], don't fit them!", which isn't very helpful IMO...

Anyway, my question is as follows:

I am fitting clamp-type bar ends to my 03 Rockhopper Disk, which has end caps integral to the
grips. I'm therefore going to have to cut the end of the grips off, but do I cut some of the grip
off too, move the levers and shifters, or both? On my old Marin Hawk Hill, I think I did a
combination, but I just wondered whether there was an accepted correct way of doing it, or whether
it was down to personal preference.

While in a questioning mood, I am new to disk brakes, and while I find them very good, I am a
little disappointed that the front one is a bit noisy, making a regukar metallic scrape that makes
the bike sound cheap. Will this go as the pads bed in? I have only put about 20 road miles on it
so far...

Any helpful comments gratefully received :-)

Regards,

Colin Swan Nildram Operations

Bob M said:

T_Blood said:

Quoted message said:

Does that make sense? I'm not usually very good at explaining things.

Of course it makes sense, it was just that my reaction seems quicker with the short grip on tight
stuff, and I feel more in control with a wider grip on faster, a bit wider, wreck and die stuff.

I think you're right. Perhaps longer bars but with long grips would suffice? Then, when it's fast
and nasty, you put your hands on the ends; when it's slow but tight, you switch toward the middle.

But you always want to have your hands ideally placed for the brakes and shifters. I switched from
flat and narrow to riser and wide and the difference in control is amazing. Not only is the torque
theory correct but it is much easier to get your hands to do the right amount of steering when they
have to make wide movements. Just like it is much easier to put a piece of string through a one inch
hole than a thread through a needle.

In short, narrow bars are quicker but less accurate and thereby not ideal for technical riding.

--
[email hidden] - Orange Patriot -03

fireflyer said:

"Colin Swan" <colin AT nildram DOT net> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

OK, let's get it clear to start with, I've got bar ends, I had them on my old bike, I use them a
lot and I am going to fit them, so please no debate about the merits or otherwise of them :-)

I say that because Googling for an answer to this showed that someone asked this before and the
only response was "bar ends are [censored], don't fit them!", which isn't very helpful IMO...

Anyway, my question is as follows:

I am fitting clamp-type bar ends to my 03 Rockhopper Disk, which has end caps integral to the
grips. I'm therefore going to have to cut the end of the grips off, but do I cut some of the grip
off too, move the levers and shifters, or both? On my old Marin Hawk Hill, I think I did a
combination, but I just wondered whether there was an accepted correct way of doing it, or
whether it was down to personal preference.

do you have midget hands? cut the end of the grip off, move everything in, shifters et al, then add
bar ends. i gather you will never be asked to work on the space shuttle...

Thanks - that's what I did in the end, and it seems to work OK. I don't have wide hands, but have
very long fingers, which makes it a pain to get gloves that fit. You're probably right about the
Shuttle, but I don't think it will be anything to do with my hands :-)

Regards,

Colin Swan Nildram Operations