Cycling UK Forum

I have a Giant Rapid 1 and during the summer I had a few issues with numbness of my fingers which we discussed on here.

I was wondering what options I have to put bar ends on my bike?

What would you all recommend,it’s just really to give me an alternative position to hold whilst on longer cycles.

Something like this may be of interest :-
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/handlebars/ ... -bar-ends/
These fit inside the bars so you would be able to keep your current grips as is.

What I know as standard bar ends require moving the grips in by about an inch which you might not want to.
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/handlebars/ ... -bar-ends/

Plenty of various bar ends on SJS and other sights.

IIRC there's some bar ends that fit onto bars with that lock on type of grip. I think they might replace the locking part but I've never had to look too closely at them because I prefer drop bars. Ask at a good bike shop that sells hybrids as well as mtb or road bikes (not a specialist shop).

I'm beginning to think that those Ergon type grips are a poor solution to a problem which can be better cured otherwise, and which Ergon type grips might often end up only making worse (rather than reducing the discomfort from keeping the hand in the same position for lengthy periods, it's better to change the hand position more frequently).

The reason why drop bars are so good and so popular with touring riders in the UK, is because of the sheer variety of hand and wrist positions they offer, as well as variation in the amount of upper body lean. No one of the particular positions available with a drop bar is perfect: the human hand is probably not suited to gripping a bar in the same position for long periods with the upper body resting its weight through the hand. It is the ability to keep changing those positions that makes the drop bar 'perfect'.

OP, my suggestion would be to look for a different type of bar that - similar to a drop bar - allows multiple hand positions with different angles of the hand and wrist. I recently bought a pair of these bars https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/handlebars/620-humpert-aerowing-2-handlebars-318mm-clamp-black/, because it seemed to me that they should give a number of different options for hand/wrist/arm position, including

- varying the angle at which the hand grips/rests on the main straight sections at the ends of the bars
- moving the hands up and down those straight sections (from gripping close to the ends of the bars to gripping close to the brake/gear lever clamps)
- placing palms on the forward pointing sections and wrapping fingers around the front of the bars
- gripping the central straight section (i.e. like the central section of the tops of a drop bar)

The angle of these bars is very similar to the much more expensive Jones bars, which are generally very well regarded. The standard version of the Jones bars has an additional loop at the front which gives even more options to vary hand, wrist and arm position/angle and upper body lean, so for some the Humpert Aerowing bar might be a relatively inexpensive way of seeing if the Jones loop bar would be likely to work for them.

I was in the same situation as the OP many years ago and I went along the route of fitting butterfly bars. I like my butterfly bars and the bike is mostly used where I am lugging heavy loads or riding with groups where I am not going to be anywhere near my limits.
For my more challenging rides I have another bike with drop bars.

I often thought that with hindsight I should have fitted some additional aerobars instead, this sort of thing.
https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/HBSELKP56 ... ar---alloy
So on a long ride you can settle into alternative positions on the long boring straights and you can make your life much easier on long hauls into head winds. Most of the other times you just ride in the normal position.

apologies if this seems counterintuitive but if there is a lot of weight on your hands, the cause of this is very often that the saddle is in the wrong place. It is very easy to assume that because your hands hurt, the problem is in the handlebars somewhere. Often there is a problem there for sure, but it isn't the only problem and it may not be the main problem either.

If it is a fair way forwards, try the saddle further back. If the handlebars seem too far away, you probably need a shorter stem. You should always set the saddle first and the handlebars to suit that, not the other way round.

cheers

I see a lot of bar ends fitted so that they are quite horizontal, pointing forwards.

I personally get the most relief when they are pointing quite upwards. I can turn my hands 90 degrees and relieve the pressure on the wrists more effectively, in my experience.

The upshot, if you go down the bar ends route, perhaps experiment with them in a variety of positions and see which feels best best for you.
I much prefer ends that are not attached to the grip for this reason. If you like a chunkier feel, don't be afraid to give them a wrap of bar tape.

My advice would be to change the handlebars for something with a backsweep such Humpert Aerowing:-
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/handlebars/ ... amp-black/
or On One Mary's:- https://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/HBOOMA/on- ... -handlebar
These will help the numb hands as they bring the hands to a more natural position.

The fault I find with bar ends is that when riding on them quick access to the brakelevers is impaired and you still have the problem of the uncomfortable position of a dead straight handlebar.

I ride something very similar to the picture, except that I have bar ends on. I chose bar ends rather than the Ergon with ends so I can fit a mirror in the bars tube hole when touring.

I think all this tosh about not having many hand positions fom the drop bar brigade, is just that.

I can have hands on bars with fingers curled or fingers straight resting on levers. This slight change gives a very different wrist tension. I can also sit up a bit and rest my first knuckles on the bar, palms on Ergons to stretch and flex my back. These are only small variations, but the hand, wrist and fingers take different shape, tension, etc.

And then there are all the different positions I can get on the bar ends: up near top; full grip in middle; and hands cupped over base. Even hands laying flat up along the bar ends.

I know because I was playing about with this today as I rode along, adjusting my grip and hand position to see how many variants I could get. Five hours and no discomfort.

I don't care what people use, I just wish they wouldn't incorrectly say my set up has very few positions. It's interesting that you rarely hear flatters, knocking the droppers.

It's interesting that you rarely hear flatters, knocking the droppers.

Do you really think that cyclists can be divided up like this?
I have three bikes, one with drops one with butterflies and one with flats.
The one with butterflies started with flats but I found I suffered at higher mileages because of the position.
The one with flats, also was getting a bit painful by the end of a 100k Audax so I fitted bar ends which put an end to that.

It isnt as if I was born with an ideological support for drops.

I'd start with Brucey's point about bike fit and ensuring there isn't too much weight on the hands. Once you've got that right, the rest is just personal preference. I like the biggest of the Ergon grips (GP5?) but I don't have any issues when riding bikes with drops or smaller Ergons.
My CTC Group had a 100 mile ride last month and several of the 44 riders had plain straight bars and I didn't hear of anyone complaining of hand problems. I was also flicking through some LEL* photos yesterday and noticed a rider with straight bars without bar ends, despite him being in a minority (Probably of one) it shows there are no rules.

* London - Edinburgh - London, 1,400km Audax

simonhill wrote:I ride something very similar to the picture, except that I have bar ends on. I chose bar ends rather than the Ergon with ends so I can fit a mirror in the bars tube hole when touring.

I think all this tosh about not having many hand positions fom the drop bar brigade, is just that.

I can have hands on bars with fingers curled or fingers straight resting on levers. This slight change gives a very different wrist tension. I can also sit up a bit and rest my first knuckles on the bar, palms on Ergons to stretch and flex my back. These are only small variations, but the hand, wrist and fingers take different shape, tension, etc.

And then there are all the different positions I can get on the bar ends: up near top; full grip in middle; and hands cupped over base. Even hands laying flat up along the bar ends.

I know because I was playing about with this today as I rode along, adjusting my grip and hand position to see how many variants I could get. Five hours and no discomfort.

I don't care what people use, I just wish they wouldn't incorrectly say my set up has very few positions. It's interesting that you rarely hear flatters, knocking the droppers.

I made my comments based on my own experience of the extremely poor choice of hand positions on the fairly standard riser bar fitted to my MTB, combined with the fact that the range of variation in upper body lean with such bars is also poor. Ergons and bar ends look to me like things that have developed to try to overcome the inherent inadequacies of the bars to which they are fitted. Although most of the tape sold nowadays to wrap drop bars offers some slight cushioning, when I started riding the plastic tape then available offered none or almost none, and there was not anything like the number of complaints about discomfort and numbness that repeatedly crop up about flat bars.

They may be fine for you, but clearly there are a lot of people for whom they are not fine, otherwise we would not see posts like the OP.

Nor is it simply a question of drops vs. flat bars. Both Reohn2 and I suggested the Humpert Aerowing, which is a very different shape to straight and riser flat bars, and should give a wider range of positions. I mentioned that these bars are similar to the Jones bar, which is arguably the equivalent of drop bars (even superior to many of them) in the range of positions it offers, as demonstrated in Jeff Jones' own video, especially from 2.20 onwards:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ndt8Di_TjJE

I think straight bars twist the wrist into a slightly unnatural position, compared say with walking along with hands by your side. Like you this makes my hands a bit numb on long rides.

Fix 1: Fit bar ends. this untwists your wrist in the same way that cycling "on the hoods" does on a drop barred bike. I like long bar ends with a kink and two possible positions..giving three positions total.

Fix 2: Fit THICK DIAMETER bar ends. I have only just discovered these (search for Raleigh Outland Bar Ends on ebay for an example). The wider diameter is more comfortable for touring.

Fix 3: Cushioned Bar Tape added to the bar ends. Really comfortable and for winter commuting your gloves do not get cold from freezing cold metal bar ends.

My kids laugh at my bike but believe me its super comfortable to ride.

Fraz101 wrote:I have a Giant Rapid 1 and during the summer I had a few issues with numbness of my fingers which we discussed on here.

I was wondering what options I have to put bar ends on my bike?

What would you all recommend,it’s just really to give me an alternative position to hold whilst on longer cycles.

Mary and I use these outboard of the same grips shown in your picture.

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/handlebars/ ... r/?geoc=AU

Also check the thread on drop handle bars in this forum.

Mike

zenitb wrote:I think straight bars twist the wrist into a slightly unnatural position, compared say with walking along with hands by your side. Like you this makes my hands a bit numb on long rides.

I resolved my numb/tingling fingers problem by switching to bars that allowed a more knuckles outward hand position, rather than the knuckles forward position that you use on straight bars.
I found that bar ends didn't help all that much, as my hands weren't on them enough, not having access to the brakes & gears.

I used On-One Mary bars, fitted upside down so there was a slight drop.
The sweep for Mary bars is about 40°, which is probably near the minimum - you may be better with more sweep, like on the North Road type bars which were the traditional handlebar when everybody used bikes for transport.