blinky

The simple bar end cap has come a long way - from a simple push on plastic piece or leftover wine cork to several on the market now that expand inside the bar for a solid hold - names like Ciclovation, Kustom Kaps ,Supacaz ,Nitto , and even Campy have fancy looking entries into this market - I recently bought a couple from Kustom Kaps and their design features a rubbery foam sleeve that gets fatter as an internal washer is pulled against it as you turn the hex head screw that runs down the middle of the plug - provides a very tight fit in the bar end .

Problem is they're hard to remove and reinstall - Question : Does anyone have a recommendation for plugs that work in a similar way , provide a tight fit , but are more easily removed ?

Polaris OBark

You tried turning the hex bolt the other way (counter-clockwise)?

The Wolftooth ones come out very easily.

HillRider

Loosen the hex bolt several turns and then tap it flush with the cap. That should "uncompress" the foam and allow the plug's removal. Velox bar end plugs expand with a tightening bolt but loosen easily too.

veganbikes

I have some Hope Grip Doctors and eeBarKeeps that are easy to remove. I have also used the Nitto ones and had no issues either.

Not sure what the issue you are having but HillRider and Polaris OBark had some good ideas to remove it.

jccaclimber

Most of my stuck expanding bar end plug experiences have been on 1970’s bikes with original expanding plugs still in them. On those unthreading nearly all the way is the first start. Then you have to grab the body and twist as you pull. You can’t pull the screw as that just puts the wedge (if present) back in to place.

If you don’t mind causing some damage to the plug, shoving a wood screw into the hole. Or even in to the rubber body of the plug, makes for a nice handle to grab with some pliers. This is especially useful if the plug head breaks off and you’re stuck with a chunk up inside the handlebars.

If the bar tape is being replaced, squirting some oil or soapy water up between the plug and bar helps. You won’t want to use oil unless you’re replacing the bar tape, and you’ll want to clean it off either way so your new plug and tape stay put. Us bar soap and water, not liquid soap. The bar soap will cease being slippery later when it dries out, even if you fail to remove it all.

Troul 

expose the metal end of the handlebar where the end cap is stuck. With quick working ability; spray some CO2 fully on to the section of handlebar that is plugged by the end cap & turn the end cap fastener to lessen the expansion as well as tension of the sleeve. Grasp the end cap; using a twisting motion, pull the end cap away from the handlebar end.

It may take more than one attempt, but it might preserve the end cap to be reused. YMMV

streetsurfer

Do you have access to Compressed air, to employ similarly to how one would remove a bar grip or a coil over spark plug boot?

79pmooney

Velox expanding rubber plugs were very common on mid-priced bike boom bikes. We completely took them for granted in the '70s. Now, I was told early on that HB plugs were like seatbelts; that in a crash they could prevent real injury. When I was 15 I demonstrated that to my satisfaction. (Hit an opening car door. Came forward, planted both thighs hard on the plugs, bike pivoted around and I ended up standing in the middle of the road facing the way I came, unhurt but for two deep 1" circular bruises. Twisted stem and rear brake lever. Twisted the two to roughly straight and rode home. Had I not had those plugs, the bars would have been cookie cutters and my thighs the dough.

So, I've always thought of those plugs as seatbelts. Velox made good ones that were going to be there. Some of the plastic ones I've had from high end bar tape have been cheap plastic toys that I've had to MacGiver with tape. Like needing knots in that seat belt. I admit my bikes are all over the place now. Only one can I recall what I've currently got. My Peter Mooney has the Nittos. Ungodly expensive and heavy, but easily the best plug I've even laid my hands on for both quality and looks.

It was the '80s and '90s where the new bar tapes with miserable plugs became the leading options in bike shops and simple Velox cloth tape and plugs hard to find. It's good to see something that is both an important safety feature and nice unit to work with becoming popular again. (Both Velox and the fancier followers.)

And a plug for the French. It is popular to discount their bikes - different standards, often not the quality of the Italian and Japanese bikes ... but - the French had a loose consortium of bicycle related industries that kept going despite the two biggest wars of mankind's history taking place in their back yard. At times, the front yard also. France was devastated after those wars. The French bike industry restarted after both wars with considerable cooperation between the various companies, simply to survive. Everything was scarce. Labor, materials, roads that hadn't been bombed out ... The companies that made it we now take for granted: Velox, Zephal, Roberdel, Christiophe (now part of Zephal), Mafac, Normandy ... (Yes, recent decades have changed the field as much there as elsewhere. Some of those are no longer but the same can be said for SunTour. Schwinn and Raleigh reduced to barely names now.

I'm going to have to look at my bikes to see how many are Veloxed. And go by some of those plugs. (One real plus of the Velos plugs that makes them superior to everything else; the wide rubber flange. Slightly unsightly but - when you do that bar-end plant, the nicest plug for your thighs by a lot! Padded and big.