Clamp on handlebar "horns".

[Ian Field]

Seems to be suddenly fashionable to have clamp on handlegrips that stick up
at right angles from the bars.

Do they actually serve any useful purpose - or are they just supposed to
look cool?

Thanks.

[AMuzi]

Well, there's always that.

Some riders, as with road bars, prefer the ability to change
wrist angle while riding.

--
Andrew Muzi
<www.yellowjersey.org/>
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

[Lou Holtman]

They make riding with straight handlebars almost bearable.

--
Lou

[Sir Ridesalot]

Right. They're known just about everywhere as "Bar Ends" and come in different lengths. They're extremely useful if they're mounted inboard of the brake levers and shifters. In that position they can also act as mini-aero bars and allow you to ride a lot more comfortable in a semi-aero position or into a headwind.

Cheers

[Gregory Sutter]

Bar ends were fashionable on 1990s mountain bikes. They went out of
style (sorry, you're at least a decade behind the times) when mountain
bike handlebars became wider and started including a bit of rise, and
when cross-country MTBs largely yielded to "all-mountain" or "trail"
MTBs with more suspension and slacker head angles and all kinds of
other disimprovements.

I am extremely fond of bar ends on MTBs (thus showing my own
unstylishness); as others have said, they really improve ergonomics
on flat bars by offering several additional hand positions. But
more than that, they offer a way to get your body more forward for
extremely steep climbs, and also offer hand protection from tree
or wall strikes. The latter point is only with curved or bent bar
ends, rather than the straight ones. I can't recommend the straight
ones due to their tendency to hook onto the struck object instead of
deflecting it.

If you get 'em get the two-position long curved bar ends such
as these:
https://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=5756

Fancy version, if you can find them:
https://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=70270

--
Gregory S. Sutter Mostly Harmless
mailto:gsu...@zer0.org
http://zer0.org/~gsutter/

[DATAKOLL MARINE RESEARCH]

https://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/index.php?category=1678

https://www.universalcycles.com/search.php?q=adjustable+stem

goo.gl/HFIoOg

[John B.]

I found the ability to change hand position more comfortable on rides
of, say one hour, or more.
--
cheers,

John B.

[Sir Ridesalot]

Here are two images showing my bar ends mouted inboard of the brake levers and shifters. As I said upthread, they're very useful there and off a lot of extra positions as John B says.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/BV6H77][img]https://c7.staticflickr.com/6/5622/23573375006_bba42fd614_o.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/BV6H77]MTB On The Trail 01b[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/73832500@N00/]Miele Man[/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/BQ7SFv][img]https://c4.staticflickr.com/1/692/23517019851_96bde22c8e_o.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/BQ7SFv]MTB On The Trail 01a[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/73832500@N00/]Miele Man[/url], on Flickr

Cheers

[John B.]

Out of curiosity, why the mixed wheel sizes?
--
cheers,

John B.

[DATAKOLL MARINE RESEARCH]

Try oval ergo tubing ...

My hands had generally tightened from holding an OEM 10 spd Raleigh bar

A $10 Nbar ergo bar eliminated the ongoing hand pain while riding ...within 10 miles.

[Sir Ridesalot]

On Sunday, September 11, 2016 at 2:07:32 AM UTC-4, John B. wrote:
> On Sat, 10 Sep 2016 21:13:38 -0700 (PDT), Sir Ridesalot
> <i_am_cyc...@yahoo.ca> wrote:

Snipped

> >Here are two images showing my bar ends mouted inboard of the brake levers and shifters. As I said upthread, they're very useful there and off a lot of extra positions as John B says.
> >
> >[url=https://flic.kr/p/BV6H77][img]https://c7.staticflickr.com/6/5622/23573375006_bba42fd614_o.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/BV6H77]MTB On The Trail 01b[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/73832500@N00/]Miele Man[/url], on Flickr
> >
> >[url=https://flic.kr/p/BQ7SFv][img]https://c4.staticflickr.com/1/692/23517019851_96bde22c8e_o.jpg[/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/BQ7SFv]MTB On The Trail 01a[/url] by [url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/73832500@N00/]Miele Man[/url], on Flickr
> >
> >Cheers
>
> Out of curiosity, why the mixed wheel sizes?
> --
> cheers,
>
> John B.

Must be an optical illusion because both wheels are 26" MTB and the tires are the same width. Perhaps it's the snow that's causing them to look like their different sizes.

BTW, I remember back in the 1980s when Cannondale MTBs had a 26" front wheel and a 24" rear wheel because the 24" size gave slightly lower gearing.

Cheers

[Gregory Sutter]

On 2016-09-11, Sir Ridesalot <i_am_cyc...@yahoo.ca> wrote:
>
> BTW, I remember back in the 1980s when Cannondale MTBs had a 26"
> front wheel and a 24" rear wheel because the 24" size gave slightly
> lower gearing.

Ibis Mtn Trials also had the same setup of 26" front and 24" rear.
I owned one for a couple years; it was fun and maneuverable.

[John B.]

On Sun, 11 Sep 2016 23:18:58 -0500, Gregory Sutter <gsu...@zer0.org>
wrote:

>On 2016-09-11, Sir Ridesalot <i_am_cyc...@yahoo.ca> wrote:
>>
>> BTW, I remember back in the 1980s when Cannondale MTBs had a 26"
>> front wheel and a 24" rear wheel because the 24" size gave slightly
>> lower gearing.
>
>Ibis Mtn Trials also had the same setup of 26" front and 24" rear.
>I owned one for a couple years; it was fun and maneuverable.

http://forums.mtbr.com/vintage-retro-classic/1988-ibis-mountain-trials-bike-review-459484.html

I wonder whether the geometry, perhaps shorter chain stays, might have
something to do with the design?
--
cheers,

John B.

[Benderthe.evilrobot]

"Gregory Sutter" <gsu...@zer0.org> wrote in message
news:slrnntcb5i....@zer0.org...

> On 2016-09-11, Sir Ridesalot <i_am_cyc...@yahoo.ca> wrote:
>>
>> BTW, I remember back in the 1980s when Cannondale MTBs had a 26"
>> front wheel and a 24" rear wheel because the 24" size gave slightly
>> lower gearing.
>
> Ibis Mtn Trials also had the same setup of 26" front and 24" rear.
> I owned one for a couple years; it was fun and maneuverable.

In the UK around the 50s & 60s, GPO and many delivery bikes had peculiar
mixed wheel sizes.

Not sure - but the tyres probably weren't available from shops as a
deterrent to nicking the bikes.

[DATAKOLL MARINE RESEARCH]

https://www.google.com/search?site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=982&bih=475&q=BICYCLE+AIR+HORNS&oq=BICYCLE+AIR+HORNS&gs_l=img.12...1195.4396.0.8867.17.11.0.6.6.0.148.1312.0j10.10.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..1.15.1365...0j0i10k1j0i8i30k1j0i24k1.T24AeeldXh4