In cycling, bar ends are extensions at the ends of the bicycle handlebars. Usually fitted onto mountain bikes with straight handlebars, they extend away from the handlebars and allow the rider to vary the type of grip and posture that they use during a ride. They are especially effective when climbing out of the saddle, because they increase leverage. Bar ends can also improve comfort for the rider due to the neutral position of the hands (palms inward) which places marginally less stress upon the musculature, and by providing more than one place to rest hands on a long journey.
Some handlebars have bar ends welded onto them but most are clamped to the end of the bar. They are available in many shapes and sizes, such as stubby models that are around 100 mm in length to ones that curve around so as to provide even more hand positions. It is also possible to purchase combined ergonomic hand grips with integrated bar-ends
Bar ends were very popular on mountain bikes from the early 1990s until the late 1990s, when upswept "riser bars" came back into fashion; the combination of riser bars and bar ends is rarely seen.
Bar ends can prove troublesome when negotiating twisty tracks between trees as they may hook around branches and cause a crash. They also afford some protection to a rider's hands in a fall or crash. However by moving the hands further from the brake levers, they can increase the time it takes to stop a bicycle.
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