These Are Not the Bar End Plugs You Are Looking For

At least that's what they would have told me at Obi Wan's Cyclery about these ODI bar end plugs. After a Summer distracted by many things velo related, I've returned to the web log about the building of a Soma Smoothie bicycle. Today I relate my experience with the fancy, fine-crafted ODI aluminum bar end plugs. They are a lovely sight to behold with their shimmering aluminum finish, BUT disappointingly do not fit a standard road bar. The problem? The adjustable wedge system which secures the plug to the inside of the bar end is not wide enough, therefore requiring a shim in the remaining gap assuring a tight fit. Ah, yet another shim on this bike.

What's more is the diameter of the cap of the plug is so wide that if you aren't using a thick bar tape, like cork (which I happen to prefer anyhow), there will be overhang (for lack of a better term). In fact I needed to apply a small strip of tape on the end of the bar under the wrap in order for the tape to be flush with the plug. If I were using a bar with a smaller diameter there would be even more overhang! Would I have needed a triple layer of tape on the end?

The little imperfections I must endure. All part of the adventure of building a bicycle.

God Is In The Details

The Soma Smoothie build is now getting down to the details. Decisions about these aren't as little as the parts themselves. For example, the dimensions of the steel tubing of this frame are traditional which means sorting through a selection predominantly comprised of parts designed for the over-sized tubing of carbon frames. It's like a treasure hunt in the case of finding a proper front derailleur clamp. Campagnolo unfortunately - foolishly - does not make a 27.2mm size clamp. Therefore I had to find another viable option, and didn't. There are a couple of companies I discovered that make an alloy clamp in the size I need but the design of these is primitive. I found them unacceptable. So I bought the 32mm size Campagnolo clamp and will have to adapt it to fit. No problem. Call me superficial if you will but I also like the fact that there will be a Campy brand clamp to accommodate the Campy brand derailleur.

The other seemingly simple choice I had to make was on a pair of bar end plugs. Some are content with the plastic pair that come with most packs of bar tape. Once again, unacceptable. Adhering with the rest of the detailing scheme on the bike I want alloy. Lucky for me Soma makes just these very sort of bar end plugs. But after some shopping around I learned that the plugs are simply plastic with some kind of alloy looking finish. Fortunately I found this lovely pair of aluminum plugs made by ODI that compliment the bike nicely. It really is all in the details.