[BobbyWilliams]

So I have heard stories many times of people crashing on bikes that did not have the little plastic caps on the ends of the bars and coring themselves in the stomach, leg, ect with the end of the bar! Cutting a nice round plug out just like taking a core out of an apple! Makes for a horrible and gruesome story and I have to admit I went out and spent $0.50 each to put the little end caps on my bars after hearing it, but I have never actually talked to anyone who has seen it happen. Its always one of those friend of a friend sort of things. One of those stories that starts with "I knew a guy who knew a guy who had a friend that said..."

Ever seen it happen first hand? Ever had it happen to you?

 

[Bro]

I once fell low-speed, chest-first onto the end of my bar. I think I had bar plugs in then. It hurt like hell and left a long-lasting bruise. I have bar plugs on my road bikes but not on my mountain bikes any more. I use Ergon grips on my mountain bikes, which are a bit wider than standard grips, especially when looking at them from the end of the bar. I also run the grips just a millimeter or so off the end of the bar, so that if I do catch the bar during a crash, I'll hit the plastic grip, rather than the metal bar.

IME, bar plugs stay in road bars a lot more easily than in mountain bike bars. The tape on road bars helps keep the plug in, but plastic plugs going directly into a metal bar just deform and fall out at the slightest touch.

(Bar plugs are those plastic things you put into the bar, bar ends are the things that go onto the end of the bar to give you an extra hand position. Just FYI.)

 

[evasive]

I have lock-on grips (which I recommend) on both my bikes, so my bars have metal caps on the ends.

I've managed to injure myself with my pedals, chainrings and brake rotors, not to mention all manner of trailside obstacles, but fortunately haven't gored myself with my bars. Yay me!

 

[Trail Ninja]

Yep. Happened to my son when he was about 14. He actually jammed the plug up into the bar. No stiches required but a pretty cool hole right at his sternum. We put bar ends (and plugs) on and he duplicated the accident in the same place about a year later. Got a big bruise but no gash.

 

[motopail]

Us old MX'ers put a nickel at the end of the grip.

 

[IAmHolland]

I've fallen on my bars. It's a good thing I had plugs. It hurt like hell and left a nice deep bruise.

 

[Ricko]

I actually saw a guy rescued off the trail after his thigh was impaled by a brake lever causing him to lose a LOT of blood. Dang, they even rushed him to a trauma center in a helicopter...I'll bet THAT cost him a big wad of cash!

 

[Trail Ninja]

Us old MX'ers put a nickel at the end of the grip.

Thank you! One to add to my list of wise things to tell my kids. :thumbsup:

 

[DIRTJUNKIE]

This thread might make you think about it.
Ride.io Forum - Impaled on handlebars!

 

[GhostRing]

Us old MX'ers put a nickel at the end of the grip.

I've been trying to cleanly install used 12 guage shells into the bars of my beater ride

 

[DavyRay]

I've been trying to cleanly install used 12 gauge shells into the bars of my beater ride

Used meaning reloaded, or empty?

 

[GhostRing]

Used meaning reloaded, or empty?

well, one would be far more interesting than the other...!

 

[Gasp4Air]

I took a fall where my front wheel taco'd on a rock, and as I went over sideways and forward, the wheel flipped so one end of the bar was in the dirt and I came down on the up end of it, cracking a rib. No doubt it would have been worse without end caps.

Little air bags like cars have that would pop out of the bar end would be cool. Wonder how much that would cost?

 

[JRS73]

Be aware you can be seriously hurt even with the caps. Last week a clients grandson took a bar to the abdomen. No puncture, but he hit it so hard his liver was severely bruised. Little guy spent most of last week in the ICU. Luckily the little guys liver is healing. Worst case scenario, he would have went under the knife and a portion of his liver would have been removed.

From what I was told, he was in front of his house and was going fairly slow. Just landed the wrong way.

 

[DIRTJUNKIE]

Be aware you can be seriously hurt even with the caps. Last week a clients grandson took a bar to the abdomen. No puncture, but he hit it so hard his liver was severely bruised. Little guy spent most of last week in the ICU. Luckily the little guys liver is healing. Worst case scenario, he would have went under the knife and a portion of his liver would have been removed.

From what I was told, he was in front of his house and was going fairly slow. Just landed the wrong way.

Hopefully the little dude isn't turned off of bikes now. I'm just glad that he's healing on his own.

 

[Fleas]

Good old Cobra grips for safety!

/jk
And you thought Ergons were a new idea.

-F

 

[rangeriderdave]

I landed on the bar end with a plug . I have calcified lump on my strenum and a 3/4 outline of the bars.

 

[leeboh]

I use the cork stoppers out of my whiskey bottles. The wooden end part snaps off when I brush the trees too close :0)

 

[Finch Platte]

I've been trying to cleanly install used 12 guage shells into the bars of my beater ride

Swell idea! Any mods needed, besides cutting off the plastic?

 

[Finch Platte]

A friend slipped going up a steep little grunty. Fell right on the end of his bar. I think the only thing that saved him from getting a core sample was it was winter & he was layered up. He was on his knees, moaning for a while, tho.

The only thing I could do was stand there & take pics. :thumbsup:

No, I'm not going to post one, too hard to find. It was many, many years ago, when we both rode. :sad: