Bar-ends are just another place to put your hands for comfort. But you don't _really_ need them even for so-called technical terrain. Cyclocross bikes with wid

Bar-ends are just another place to put your hands for comfort. But you don't _really_ need them even for so-called technical terrain. Cyclocross bikes with wider-than-usual traditional drop bars (like on a road bike) are used all the time in "pee-your-pants" terrain. To be fair, I would say riding "on the hoods" in a traditional drop bar is superior to using bar-ends on a flat bar both in terms of control (because you have immediate access to brakes and shifters), and comfort (you have padding from the tape and hoods).