Looking for advice on the pros and cons of cutting my bars down
I have the Easton Delta Force bas bar - which is awesome - I am not thinking of cutting the base though. I also have the Easton Carbon clip ons and was thinking of cutting an inch to an inch and a half off the upturned ends - where my shifters are located.
I tend to grip the bars lower and would be more comfortable cutting them down slightly.
My reasons for wanting to cut them are not cosmetic based - it is for functionality.
Does anyone foresee a problem with cutting them back?
With some bars, you cannot trim the end where the shifter goes in. On the HED s-bends (which are all carbon), the shifter end is milled out to a polished and even finish that is the exact diameter of the bar-end shifter. However, they are only machined far enough to fit the shifter, so if you cut them, you would be stuck since, generally, molded carbon is not smooth like that on the inside. Some other extensions have an aluminum section molded in that accepts the shifter (standard HED 2-bend extensions for instance). In this case, you would be cutting off the aluminum piece that is machined to fit the bar-end plug.
So, most likely, if you cut the shifter end of your extensions, you will not be able to mount the bar ends back in. If you can put a finger inside and feel around, you should notice the difference.
I’d email Easton. But I’m guessing that you won’t be able to cut them down.
Let me know what they say as I will be getting a pair in the next couple of weeks and will want to do the same thing. I like to ride with just a bit of upturn and the shifters but they always have so much upturn area. I have cut down almost all of my aerobars to fit better like I did with my C2’s.