 By Matt Hulgan
KHE really seems to be improving lately. Of the parts
I received most were well above average. These bar ends are among
the winners.
As the photos show these are "In-the-bar" style bar ends.
This is great if you've cut your bars too narrow and want to buy
back a bit of grip space. One of the problems people have had with
this type of bar end is that it doesn't fit some types of bars that
use thicker tubing. Not so with this design. In fact they work equally
well with 1" and 7/8" bars. I popped them in and out of
8 different sets of handlebars
including Graveyard, S&M, Odyssey, KHE and custom bars and they
tightened firmly into each set of bars with no pounding or prying
necessary.
I tested these babies with 1" KHE Dolan bars and 7/8"
Odyssey bars with no problems with installation or performance.
Many inner bar end loosen up and need to be tightened periodically.
I'm not sure what part of this design makes them hold tight but
it works.
More common outer-clamping style bar ends feature several, typically
small, bolts to tighten onto the bar. It's easy for their hex bolts
to get stripped due to their small size and they frequently get
ground over since they are located in the frequently damaged areas
of the bar end. Not so with the KHE design. The tightening bolt
is on the end and recessed making removal of a worn out bar end
as easy as the installation of a new one. The bolt's hex head is
also large so it'sunlikely that you'll strip out the head, a common
problem with smaller bolts. Finally KHE is nice enough to include
an allen wrench for installation. You probably already have a 6mm
key in your toolbox but hey... free tools are always good.
Finally- they're not heavy. They weigh in at .1 lbs each. I really
should get a scale that measures in ounces huh?
Summary
Overall I'm partial to the in-the-bar style bar ends and these are
by far the best I've ever used. They've held tighter and lasted
longer that the Perigrine, Primo, and kink ends I've used and they
are by far easier to remove than any of the outer clamping bar ends
I've used.
In a nutshell. They're the best I've used.
Matt |
