This is our review of the best bicycle handlebar extensions in 2024.
The best handlebar extension for your bike, whether it’s for bike touring, bikepacking, or biking to work, should provide enough room to attach your needs such as a bag, GPS, or a phone. Naturally, It should last a long time and assure you don’t risk damaging your precious gear on the road.
I’m a bike enthusiast who researched the best bicycle handlebar extender to help you find the best handlebar extender for your bike.
And I found that Baryak Ultra 2023 35mm is the best overall bike handlebar extension.
Obviously, each person has a different bike and therefore a different need. So, I have included reviews of the best products according to all types of needs that one may have when thinking about extending his handlebar.
Let’s get started.
Our Best Bicycle Handlebar Extensions
- BARYAK ULTRA 2023 35MM (Personal favorite)
- BARYAK EXPEDITION SL 2023 (for the bikepackers and adventurous)
- KADDY RACK – T4 ANODIZED (the spacious)
- GUB 31.8MM (the low cost)
- SHOTGUN HANDLEBAR (to bike with your child)
5 Best Bike Handlebar Extenders
BARYAK ULTRA 2023 35MM
- Weight: 4.95 oz. or 141 grams
- Crossbar length:
- Cross bar diameter:
- Clamp Length:
- Price: $175.95
If you didn’t know the Baryak brand yet, let me introduce you. In the world of bicycle touring, Baryak designs and offers many innovative and optimized products for the discipline. Of course, the price is naturally higher than the average you can find in stores or on the internet, but know that if you buy from them, you are investing for the long term.
The bike handlebar extensions are tested to a stress of 150 lbs (about 68 kgs). Obviously, they are not designed to be loaded that much (anyway, 150 lbs on the front wheel, you need to have the legs to keep up), but they will ensure you a solidity to any test. If you happen to fall or hit a tree during your trip, you can be sure that the handlebar extension will not break first.
The BarYak ULTRA 2023 model is very light, made of 6061t aluminum (used in the manufacture of bicycle frames) and carbon, it allows you to keep a smooth ride while loading the front of your beast.
The possibilities are numerous: attach a dry bag, a sleeping bag, or gadgets like your GPS, phone, power bank, or camera. Everything is possible.
Moreover, the visible screw thread in the middle of each clamp allows you to attach the modules that BarYak offers directly to the handlebar extender. Among them, we can find the Garmin GPS mounts, a reference in the cycling world.
The foam tips at the ends of the bar prevent the bag straps from slipping and falling off while riding.
This extension is originally mounted on 35mm diameter handlebars but can be mounted on 31.8mm diameter handlebars using a shim kit offered by the brand in their store.
Finally, the installation of this product on your bike is simple and fast, it is necessary to pay attention to tightening the screws in a uniform way and little by little (for example avoid tightening at the maximum the back, then the front) in order to homogenize the force of tightening on the whole surface of the handlebar in contact with the clamps.
For me, this model is my favorite, the quality and finish are exceptional and in my opinion, the ULTRA 2023 still has no flaws, except for the price, which is not suitable for all budgets.
BARYAK EXPEDITION SL 2023
- Weight: 12.30 oz. or 349 grams
- Crossbar length:
- Cross bar diameter:
- Clamp Length:
- Price: $209.99
Like its little brother, the BARYAK EXPEDITION SL 2023 is a real eye-catcher.
With longer clamps than the previous model, the EXPEDITION offers us more storage space for our touring gear, as well as an additional screw thread on each clamp, increasing the modularity of the extension.
Tested at 150 lbs, it will be heavier (a little more than double) than the ULTRA, but still light enough for a smooth and pleasant ride.
Same as the previous model, foam tips at the ends of the bar prevent the bag straps from slipping and falling off.
Another quality investment for the long term will provide you with a significant gain in storage space on your bike.
Take a look at the picture below to see how space can be optimized on this model:
KADDY RACK – T4 ANODIZED
- Weight :
- Crossbar length: 7 in or 17.78 cm
- Cross bar diameter: 1 in or 2.54 cm
- Clamp Length: 2.5 in or 6.35 cm
- Price: $80
The war machine.
The KADDY Rack T4 offers not 1, not 2, not 3 but 4 bars that can be used as new supports.
This extreme model with a buffalo guard look widens the field of possibilities and allows all the setups you’ve been dreaming of.
With a more affordable price tag of $80, this bicycle handlebar extender will suit the pickiest user who wants more storage space for their gear.
If 4 bars seem like an excessive option, the brand offers an alternative model, the T2, which is a cut-down version of the T4, with 2 bars.
The T4 is designed to be mounted on handlebars of diameters 31.8mm, 25.4mm, and 22.2mm
The installation of the T4 on your bike is quick and easy, you will find a clear diagram on the site that will help you with the mounting.
Finally, the wide range of colors offered in the store leaves you with many possibilities for customization for your bike. A bike optimized for touring is good, a bike optimized but stylish is better.
GUB 31.8MM
- Weight: 3.8 oz or 85 grams
- Crossbar length: 7 ⁶¹/₆₄ in or 20.2 cm
- Cross bar diameter: ⁷/₈ in or 22.2 mm
- Clamp Length: 3 ⁴⁷/₆₄ in or 9.5 cm
- Price: $17.99
With this model, we change entirely the scope. The main argument for this one is its price. For $17.99, it is unbeatable.
With a weight of 3.8 oz, GUB offers us a light and affordable handlebar extension. This one will be perfect for people who use their bike occasionally or on the way to work and want to attach a phone mount or a lamp without overloading their handlebars.
In my opinion, this model is not designed to support too much weight. The announced materials are aluminum for the clamps and carbon fiber for the bar. The promise seems ambitious for 18 bucks.
Moreover, you will have to think about adding stops on the ends of the bar to avoid that what you will hang on it falls. Unlike the BarYak models, foam tips are not provided.
Finally, some people report problems with the bar that is not well maintained by the clamps, which would sometimes slip because of the vibrations caused by the road conditions. These people are forced to put their phone back in place after it has rotated around the bar’s axis of rotation while driving. It is possible to avoid this by blocking the rotation of the bar with adhesive tape or clamps.
This may seem like a lot of negative points, but let’s not forget again that this extension is offered at a price of $17.99, do we have the right to complain?
In addition, the majority of feedback on this product is very positive, many are pleasantly surprised by the good quality of their purchase.
SHOTGUN HANDLEBAR
- Weight: 8 oz or 226 grams
- Crossbar length:
- Cross bar diameter:
- Clamp Length:
- Price: $35
Here, the use changes completely and is more specific. The Shotgun Handlebar extender is designed to be a second handlebar for children when riding with them.
The safety for the little ones to have something they can grab makes the ride more serene and enjoyable for everyone, especially the parents who see their children in greater confidence.
Guide To Buying Bicycle Handlebar Extension
What are handlebar extenders used for?
It is in the practice of backpacking and bicycle touring that we find the most handlebar extensions. Used to gain storage space for your equipment, the handlebar extender allows you to avoid fixing the equipment directly on the handlebars and overloading it, crushing the brake cables that could be blocked in their operation, decreasing your safety.
People using their bikes for occasional rides or to go to work may also wish to have more space to hang all kinds of gadgets on their bikes and have them available and in view. A phone to share its GPS, a power bank, or a camera, the handlebar extender is very useful and at a very affordable price if we think of the product offered by GUB for example.
There is also a system of raising the stem, which is commonly used to raise the position of the cyclist by increasing the height of the stem and therefore the handlebar. This extension in the form of a tube is common and allows to have a handlebar at the height of the saddle.
Finally, there are extensions called aero bars, which we will cover in another article, which have a particular shape, more streamlined to increase the aerodynamics of the cyclist and his position.
Are handlebar extenders designed for mountain bikes or road bikes?
A handlebar extension can be used on any type of bike in theory. The options are numerous. However, be careful with road bikes or bikes with drop handlebars, whose shape is sometimes not adapted to specific models, read the description of the latter carefully.
Don’t forget that the use of a bike handlebar extender is not mandatory nor essential, it is a specific need that riders have.
Our Verdict
Each cyclist has a different need and must choose the option that best suits him.
In addition, investing in quality, solid material that will last over time will save you money in the long run.
Because of its build quality, compactness, reliability, and versatility, the BARYAK ULTRA 2023 is for me the must-have in terms of bicycle handlebar extensions. It is an excellent choice for those who want good equipment that they will keep for life.
