KCNC Bar ends

Bar ends are a great addition to any flat bar set up and even the heaviest ones don't add much weight to your bike. These impossibly light KCNC sticks do the job just fine, look a bit flash and are more robust than you'd think.

The first thing that happens when you drop these bar ends into your palm is that your arm involuntarily moves upwards, compensating for the weight that just isn't there. At 47g they're stupidly light, CNCed to within an inch of their lives… or indeed a micron. They come with a Scandium alloy bolt to do the fixing and some natty bar end plugs too. Fitting is simple: slip them on, tighten them up. The bolt for all its alloy-ness is a sturdy M8 size and as such is easy to get nice and snug, and the bar ends stay put once they're tight.

On the bars the KCNC bar ends are tilted in slightly at a fairly natural angle for the wrists, and although with my big mitts I'd have preferred them to be half an inch longer they're a very comfortable extra position. The bar end plugs were lost on the first ride – they're not a tight enough fit – but the bar ends themselves were very well behaved, even when I transferred them to the MTB and introduced them to the trails. They've got some form off road too: Julien Absalon used them in his Olympic gold medal winning ride in 2008. If they're good enough for him...

Overall I was pretty impressed. Bar ends aren't ever that heavy but if you want light ones that still work – and I've used plenty of light ones that don't – these are the bar ends for you. they're available in a range of natty anodised colours too, if that's your bag.

Verdict

Impossibly light but still comfy and strong enough for the job