They’re known as bar ends because, remarkably, they attach to the ends of a flat bar.
There was a stage in the 1990s where they were wildly popular, especially among people who raced mountain bikes. They provided an extra hand position that many people found useful for climbing and for going fast on smooth trails like fire roads.
They became less popular as mountain bike handlebars got wider. They worked great with handlebars around 600mm wide or so, but on modern 700mm and wider bars they’re just silly – you end up in a very splayed position.
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They’re known as bar ends because, remarkably, they attach to the ends of a flat bar.
There was a stage in the 1990s where they were wildly popular, especially among people who raced mountain bikes. They provided an extra hand position that many people found useful for climbing and for going fast on smooth trails like fire roads.
They became less popular as mountain bike handlebars got wider. They worked great with handlebars around 600mm wide or so, but on modern 700mm and wider bars they’re just silly – you end up in a very splayed position.