Wolf Tooth Locked-in Bar Ends aim to reduce arm pump and protect your hands

The new Wolf Tooth Locked-in Bar Ends aim to reduce arm pump for DH riders and protect hands, and are designed to work with most standard grips.
By Jeff Barber
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A close-up of a hand gripping a black Wolf Tooth component attached to a bicycle handlebar, featuring a circular adjustment dial marked with "PATENT PENDING" and a torque limit indicator. The background shows parts of a bicycle, suggesting an outdoor setting.
Photos and animation provided by Wolf Tooth.

Bar ends have long been used by mountain bikers for an additional hand position while riding, particularly among cross-country racers and bikepackers. Now, downhill riders can get in on the action too with the release of the Wolf Tooth Locked-in Bar Ends. However, these bar ends aren’t meant for gripping with your hands.

Close-up of a textured motorcycle grip featuring the word "WOLF," with a portion of the handlebar and an orange throttle adjustment lever in the background.

Developed with World Cup DH racer Joe Breeden

Locked-in Bar Ends feature a design that “drastically reduces rider fatigue and arm pump,” according to Wolf Tooth. This mostly applies to high-speed cornering, where riders are pushing perpendicular to the bars. By leaning into the bar ends, the idea is that riders can relax their grip. At the highest levels, even a small reduction in fatigue can make a big difference.

Another advantage of the Locked-in Bar Ends is protection against scrapes from rocks and trees. Pinkie fingers are particularly vulnerable to injury, and the Wolf Tooth bar ends look to provide a good amount of protection.

They’re also much burlier than normal handlebar plugs for protecting bars from damage. This is especially welcome for those with carbon bars, or those who tend to rest their bikes on the ground. The large, semi-rectangular shape should also blunt the impact from bar to body in case of a crash. (Always plug your bar ends, kids.)

As with all bar ends, there’s a risk that the Locked-in Bar Ends could get snagged by branches along the trail.

Image of a Wolf Tooth component featuring a black plastic base with a textured surface and a central adjustment knob. The knob is labeled with torque specifications, and another cylindrical black piece is positioned beside it. This component is likely part of a bicycle accessory designed for enhanced functionality or adjustments.

Designed to work with existing grips

The Locked-in Bar Ends are designed to work with most standard mountain bike grips. The grips need to have an open end, and for those that don’t — like many single-sided lock-on grips — Wolf Tooth sells a punch tool for opening a hole. Foam grips and others that rely on friction alone work too, though double-sided lock-on grips generally will not.

Wolf Tooth uses a patent-pending lobed interface to keep the bar ends secure. Grips need to be moved inward slightly to expose a short section of the bar, which the bar ends overlap as you can see in the animation above.

Wolf Tooth Locked-in Bar Ends feature an 80A Durometer Rubber covering over an aluminum base and weigh 93g for the pair. Priced at $34.95, they’re already sold out, though buyers can lock in a pre-order for the next batch.

Is this a product you’d like to try? Tell us in the comments below!

 
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