Zipmounts Lean
DH bar ends. Push, don't squeeze.
Bar ends that let you loosen your grip. Rest the outside of your hand against the Lean and push, instead of holding on with your fingers. Shaped from 3D scans of Finnish downhill racers' hands, clamped to the bar like a lock-on grip, 21 grams each.
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Push, don't squeeze.
At the end of a long run your forearms are done, and your grip is the first thing to go. That's arm pump, and every downhill rider knows it.
The fix that has spread through the World Cup pits is simple: give the outside of your hand something to lean on. With a stop at the end of the bar you can push sideways with your whole hand instead of clamping down with your fingers. A looser grip helps keep the pump away, leaves you more control in the last third of the run, and lets the bike drop into berms more willingly.
I tried it, liked the idea, and didn't like the bar ends on the market. So I made my own.
- Your fingers do all the work
- Arm pump late in the run
- Hands drift outward under braking
- The side of your hand takes the push
- Grip stays looser late in the run
- Hands stay put under braking
A racer's workshop in Vantaa.
Built by a rider.
I race downhill and run the Pelkkää Alamäkeä YouTube channel. I made the Lean because I wanted it on my own bike.
Tested on the hill.
Finnish downhill racers rode the Lean on their own bikes before it went on sale.
Checked by hand.
I print, check and pack every Lean myself. You have 30 days to return it, and if something isn't right, you're talking to me, not a support queue.
Shaped by racers' hands.
I 3D-scanned the hands of Finnish downhill racers and modelled the Lean around them. The curve meets your palm and pinky where you actually load them.
Set once, ride all season.
The Lean clamps onto the bar with a single M3 bolt, like a lock-on grip collar, and stays where you set it.
Fits any bar.
It clamps the standard 22.2 mm grip section of the bar itself, so it works on carbon or alloy, 31.8 or 35. No shims, no compatibility list.
Small on purpose.
The Lean is sized to help you steer, not to protect your hand. At 21 grams each, you won't notice them on the bike.
Stiff and tough.
It's printed from carbon-fibre-reinforced nylon (PAHT-CF). The carbon fibre makes it rigid where you push, and the nylon keeps it from shattering when it gets knocked. It stays that way from frosty mornings to hot summer laps. Every Lean gets a thin automotive clear coat for a smooth, sealed surface.
It takes 10 mm of bar per side.
Most riders don't hold the outermost 10 mm of their grip anyway, so your hands end up in about the same place, now with something to lean on. How much you notice depends on how far out you hold your grips today.
Your grips need an open end.
Most grips are closed, so punch or saw a few millimetres off the outer end so the grip butts up against the Lean. It doesn't have to be pretty: the clamp does the locating, not the grip. Grips with a removable end cap need nothing. Install steps ↓
It's not hand protection.
The Lean is built for comfort and speed. If you want something to fend off trees, this isn't it.
- Open the outer end of your grips (see above and the photo).
- Fit the grips back about 10 mm further in than before. Don't tighten them yet.
- Push each Lean onto the bar end, all the way in, with the flange behind your hand, angled to match your riding position.
- Tighten the Lean just enough that it stays in place, about 2 Nm. Don't overtighten.
- Only then slide each grip out until it sits flush against the Lean, and tighten the grip.
No grease under the clamp. Check the bolts after your first ride.