How hardcore are races about enforcing the no barend rule. I want to race the fox hollow grand prix in Eugene this weekend on my mountain bike but have these grips on which have tiny barends attached: http://www.ergon-bike.com/griffe/r1.html

think i can get away with them or should i swap out grips?

thanks

ive never heard of not being able to use bar ends in a mtb race?

Rules say no bar ends so I'd play it safe if I were you...

Rules say no bar ends so I'd play it safe if I were you...

USCF rules may say no bar ends, but Fox Hollow is in Oregon, and OBRA does not have a bar end rule. Contrary to what USCF's head cheese thinks, OBRA does not copy USCF rules. This was just discussed at length on the OBRA list, and OBRA's position is that bar ends are OK.

Rules aside, it may still be good form to take them off anyway.

The safety aspect can be argued either way. I've been in countless mtb races with mass starts anywhere from 300 to 1700 riders where the start was every bit as packed and frantic as the start of a cross race and then some. Hard to argue that barends are any more or less dangerous in that situation than they are in any part of any cross race I've ever been in or seen.. On the flip side, I can't say that I'd appreciate a kidney punch from somebody's bar end in a pile up.

Bottom line, while technically not against OBRA rule, not everyone may be happy to see bar ends.

If you do take them off, make sure you use a bar end plug or put on a new set of grips. Not doing so would be a far more legitimate safety concern than bar ends.