Crazy Bars Aren't So Crazy After All | Alternative Handlebar Review

Lately I've been riding a pair of uncut Surly Sunrise bars with a pair of barends mounted inside of the grips. Does it look dumb? Yes. Is it comfortable? Yes.

@6:08, regarding liking upright riding position more as we age. I went on vacation recently to Vancouver, BC and rented an urban bike that put me upright. I laughed at the bike but it was the most comfortable position that I have been on a bike. It even had a suspension seatpost. Ever since, I have wondered how the upright position would feel like on singletrack.

I built up a 2023 Ritchey Ascent last year as a bikepacking rig and I keep going back forth between the Jones bar and the Ritchey Max drop bars. I also have the Ritchey Kyote on my emtb, and I love that bar, better than the Jones. I’ve also been thinking about the Crazy bars as well. … will try them out at some point this year. Great review, btw!

I like the one you showed with remote shifters on the forward / aft facing bars ends

Great review. Was just looking at these yesterday along with the Ritchey Kyote and Jones H for my new Ritchey Ascent. Haven't dipped my feet into alt-bar world yet, but at 54yo, my recent foray into road bikes/drop bars after decades of mtb made me realize just how much I prefer or am habituated to being more upright on flat bars.

Been eyeing them for years now. Loved the review, thank you. I think the V2 seem like a genuinely better alternative compared to V1. V1 just seems so "straight" and fixed angles as appeared to the V2 which looks more versatile.

I have the Velo Orange Seine bars which are identical to the crazy bars just without the horns. A good bit cheaper, and then you can add after market horns of any length and customize their position. Great video thanks

I agree with you, having multiple hand positions is a huge advantage when riding off-road. Those are some pretty cool bars you tested but there's another way to achieve that goal-bar ends! They were popular all throughout the '90s but began to disappear in the early 2000s due to not being cool anymore. I think once the tweakers were seen riding around with them pointed straight up in the air on their department store mountain bikes that pretty much cinched their fate. The truth is, you get more power when climbing when your hands are in a supinated position rather than sitting flat on the bar. You can also open your fingers up and rest them on the bar end while riding stretches of trail that don't require a full grip. The proper way to set them up is not to have the ends so high up in the air, I actually have mine closer to being level. Watching some 90's grundig cross country race videos you can see the pros using them quite a bit on the climbs. Obviously wouldn't recommend them for the new style of mountain bike that is designed to do a lot of jumps and stunts but if you're into cross-country with some semi-technical terrain and fast single track they work great and can even act as brush guards if you get a pair like the Ibis Rosie ends. Unfortunately, so many riders will never know the benefit of them because they just aren't seen as cool anymore.

I'm one of those people that can't handle 45° of backsweep. Had a iteration of the Jones H-Bar from M-Wave called Double Bar. Couldn't use it long term, because my wrists kept complaining. Found my sweetspot to be arount 30° or so. Great Review btw. I'm all for Alt-Bars! Thanks

I just add bar ends to every bike. Extra positions, cheap, and great for your SS builds. But...I'm in my 50s and remember how good they worked in the 90s on hybrids.

I've tried alt-bars but I didn't end up using the horns much. Instead, I've found that flat bars cut fairly narrow (25 inches) with the the bars 1-3 inches higher than saddle. was my ideal set up. I found this position ideal for long rides. While wider bars are better for rocky technical twisty singletrack, everywhere else the narrow bars are better. If you wanted an alternate hand position, some small "thumb hooks" just inside the grips might be good. I haven't tried thumb hooks yet but I would like to.

Great review! Thanks!

I have the V2s. I like them, but I think I would prefer the horns to be toed in by a few degrees. I’ve thought about trying to bend them, but I’m afraid that the welds may break. I’ve also thought about cutting the bars down by a couple of cms.

I just got some Ritchey Buzzard bars, they're similar (very similar) to the Kyote, but have a 70mm rise. The rise makes them absolutely perfect for me with a short steerer, excellent bars.

How close would sqlabs innerbar ends get to the horns position on this bar? I like the sweep and rise on my hudski longhorn 16 degree bar, but definitely want that narrower position option

Do you think that you would be able to run pogies on these? I think I'd rather have these than the Jones loop bar, but it would be a deal breaker if I couldn't run bar mitts

I ride the crazies for a season and really liked them. Unfortunately I’m getting old and need even more sweep.

👏👏👏

I bought the v1 of these bars some years back and was frankly a little disappointed. The v1 is very flat and getting the horns to point up very much put the other grips in an odd, downward facing position. But I loved the idea and got on the waitlist for the v2 when they were announced. The changes made a huge difference and the v2 are my favorite all around bars.

Are inner bar ends good or they are just gimmicks? Thanks !