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> too much risk of hooking another rider I don't think so. Freak accidents aside, I think it would have been well documented if that were the case. Think abou

> too much risk of hooking another rider I don't think so. Freak accidents aside, I think it would have been well documented if that were the case. Think about it, in any scenario where someone is being hit forcefully by a bar-end there's also another rider and a bike behind that bar-end. At speed, a bruise from bar-end is the least of their problems. > Or perhaps aesthetics play more a part of mtnbike design than functionality? Oh, hell yes. There was a time from the mid-90's up through a some years ago when almost every mass-market bike had to have "suspension". What this meant in practice was a crappy useless fork suspension that did nothing but add weight and subtract from the overall quality of the bike. Ironically the category of "mountain bike" had the perception of toughness when it was anything but tough especially for street riding. In the last decade or so, it seems more people are using bikes for real practical uses. They realize they don't want a 45lb "mountain bike" with flimsy doodads like fork suspension and cheap grip shifters. It's now possible to get a simple street bike in the mass-market with not too many frills that is good quality and will last longer and have easier maintenance than a "mountain bike".

vladvasiliu 5y ago
> Think about it, in any scenario where someone is being hit forcefully by bar-end there's also another rider and a bike behind that bar-end. At speed, a bruise from bar-end is the least of their problems. I think GP's point about hooking another rider might be about the bar end acting as a hook and getting caught in something, as opposed to just hitting. So yeah, of course behind the bar end there's the rest of the bike and the rider, but what could be just two riders "touching" (and, granted, possibly falling), can turn into a worse situation if the bars of one bike catch something on the other bike (say a backpack strap) causing the first bike to steer abruptly and bringing both bikes down together. Not sure how often this happens, but I wouldn't be surprised of this possibly happening when I see the way people ride bikes around my city, bunching up one against the other, turning unpredictably, etc.
- hinkley 5y ago
  Road bike handlebars have the same problems due to the brake hoods. That got a little safer when cables started routing under the handlebar tape instead of sticking up and slightly out. The consequences of entangling might be a little higher on a mountain bike, but that depends on the situation. Mountain bikers aren't being crowded by semi trailers as often as road bikes, but road bikes aren't flying off embankments into trees very often. I see that there are more than a couple of models of MTB bar-ends that look like brake hoods. That's probably pretty close to the best compromise you can do, without staging a major educational campaign about how human grip strength works (middle, ring and thumb do nearly all of the work)
mgarfias 5y ago
Me and the kids race BMX bikes, and you’re actually far more likely to take a bar end to your own self, rather than another rider. You typically bang elbows more than you’re hitting a bar on a competitor. I’ve actually seen a kid get impaled in the chest from his own bar end. And the comment about aesthetics is 100% spot on with a majority of the bike crowd.

vladvasiliu 5y ago

> Think about it, in any scenario where someone is being hit forcefully by bar-end there's also another rider and a bike behind that bar-end. At speed, a bruise from bar-end is the least of their problems. I think GP's point about hooking another rider might be about the bar end acting as a hook and getting caught in something, as opposed to just hitting. So yeah, of course behind the bar end there's the rest of the bike and the rider, but what could be just two riders "touching" (and, granted, possibly falling), can turn into a worse situation if the bars of one bike catch something on the other bike (say a backpack strap) causing the first bike to steer abruptly and bringing both bikes down together. Not sure how often this happens, but I wouldn't be surprised of this possibly happening when I see the way people ride bikes around my city, bunching up one against the other, turning unpredictably, etc.

hinkley 5y ago
Road bike handlebars have the same problems due to the brake hoods. That got a little safer when cables started routing under the handlebar tape instead of sticking up and slightly out. The consequences of entangling might be a little higher on a mountain bike, but that depends on the situation. Mountain bikers aren't being crowded by semi trailers as often as road bikes, but road bikes aren't flying off embankments into trees very often. I see that there are more than a couple of models of MTB bar-ends that look like brake hoods. That's probably pretty close to the best compromise you can do, without staging a major educational campaign about how human grip strength works (middle, ring and thumb do nearly all of the work)

mgarfias 5y ago

Me and the kids race BMX bikes, and you’re actually far more likely to take a bar end to your own self, rather than another rider. You typically bang elbows more than you’re hitting a bar on a competitor. I’ve actually seen a kid get impaled in the chest from his own bar end. And the comment about aesthetics is 100% spot on with a majority of the bike crowd.