Along with unreleased hubs, WTC had another sneaky new product hanging around their booth. Bar ends. But these aren’t your average bar ends or ‘bark busters.’ Instead, these are meant to help you ride faster with less arm pump and hand fatigue.
Pro DH racer Joe Breeden has been pioneering the DH bar end for a few years now with the idea that something on the end of the bar allows you to push into it with the side of your palm for additional steering input while also acting as a way to loosen your grip on long descents without risking your hands coming off the bars.
Up to this point, Joe has been making his own grips under the AXESS UNLTD banner. The current ‘Get a grip’ bar ends are either full or half circle grip sections that bolt into the end of your bars adding to your current grips.
Now, Joe has partnered with Wolf Tooth Components to take that design to the next level with a fully molded design that looks like it will ‘cup’ the end of your hand for even better control (and provide a bit of protection for your pinky finger/knuckle). The only catch is that you have to have an open ended grip, so you’re either limited in grip choice or you have to figure out how to cut a hole in the end of your non-open ended grips.
While Joe set out to find a solution for top-level DH racing, Wolf Tooth thinks the tech could be useful for e-bike riders pushing around heavier bikes as well. WTC expects these to run $35 a pair and will be available likely by the end of May.
