MTB handguards and bar ends

MTB handguards and bar ends

Two handlebar accessories with very different uses. Handguards take up most of this page; bar ends cater to a rarer need, but one that is returning with touring and bikepacking.

Benefits of handguards

• They protect your hands from branches and brambles on narrow, wooded singletracks — the number one reason to fit them.
• They take the impact with the ground in a crash and protect the levers : a broken brake lever puts an end to the ride.
• In winter, they block part of the wind and trail spray.
• In enduro and downhill, they reduce the risk of your hand slipping off the handlebar during a side impact.

Choosing your handguards

• Two-point mount (bar end plus clamp): the strongest option. It requires open bar ends and single-clamp lock-on grips.
• Single-point or universal mount : much easier to fit and compatible with almost everything, but significantly less protective in a head-on impact.
• Plastic bracket : flexible, it absorbs impacts and springs back into place after contact.
• Aluminium bracket : rigid, better crash protection, but it can bend and will need straightening out.
• Check the clearance with your levers and shifters before choosing: on a crowded handlebar, you quickly run out of space.

Bar ends: are they still useful?

On wide handlebars with pronounced backsweep, they offer a secondary hand position — hands closer together, wrists aligned — that provides genuine relief on long climbs and flat liaison stages. In fact, they are making a comeback on touring and bikepacking bikes, where you spend hours in the same posture. However, they are incompatible with two-point mount handguards, which take up the same space.

When fitting

Observe the specified tightening torque, especially on a carbon handlebar where an over-tightened clamp creates a stress point. Check the position after the first two or three rides: a clamp that has slipped a few degrees won't protect much, and a bar end moving under your hand can catch you off guard at the worst time.

To find out more: How to choose your MTB bar ends

See also: MTB handlebars · MTB grips · MTB disc brake levers