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Muc-Off Disco Bar End Plugs

8
£20.00

VERDICT:

8
10
Work well, and a great way to add some bling to your bike
Lots of colours!
Decent value
Can scuff easily
Tricky to fit flush with thicker tape
Weight: 
24g
Contact: 

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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The CNC-machined aluminium Muc-Off Disco bar end plugs add colour to your ride and a high-quality finish to any handlebar. They come in five colours and give an attractive and sleek look while doing the job all bar end plugs are designed to do – keeping that pesky bar tape from unravelling.

What makes the Muc-Off Discos different to most conventional plugs is the use of interchangeable silica plugs, which fit neatly onto the bar end. This means when it comes to tightening the bar end to the slightly optimistic figure of 1Nm that Muc-Off recommends (it's pretty challenging to reach this figure without the whole plug turning in the handlebar), the silica plugs expand under the compression, snuggly filling the handlebar.

2023 Muc-Off Disco bar end plugs - close up.jpg

Within the box there are three different sizes of silica plugs, which mean the bar ends can be fitted to almost any handlebar, in case you're in the habit of swapping bar end plugs between bikes...

2023 Muc-Off Disco Bar End Plugs - boxed.jpg

If you do end up putting these on a flat bar bike, keep an eye out when leaning the bike up, as the Disco bar ends can be easy to scuff.

2023 Muc-Off Disco bar end plugs - on drops.jpg

Once in and tightened, they work well. Even when I tried to pull the bar ends out, they stayed firmly in place – provided they were sitting flush to the handlebar – though getting them flush can be a bit tricky as there is no resistance when you first place them into the bar. You need to push them inwards while simultaneously tightening the bolt.

They come in five colours – as well as the pink on test, there's black, red, orange and blue. They're also delivered with a protective silicone cover.

2023 Muc-Off Disco Bar End Plugs - 1.jpg

Coming in at £20, the Discos are reasonably priced compared with other machined aluminium bar end plugs. The Hope Grip Doctors, for example, are £22 and share a very similar design to the Muc-Offs, with the same CNC machined aluminium and the use of an expanding bung to lock them in place. The Discos have the slight advantage of coming with three different silica plugs, 17, 19 and 21mm, whereas Hope's come with two, 15 and 17mm… though Hope's come in six colours, one more than Muc-Off. 

To conclude, the Muc-Off Disco bar end plugs are a great addition to any bike. They look good, work well, and there's a range of colours to choose from.

Verdict

Work well, and a great way to add some bling to your bike

road.cc test report

Make and model: Muc-Off Disco Bar End Plugs

Size tested: One size

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

These are CNC machined bar end plugs with interchangeable silica inserts providing compatibility with most handlebars.

Muc-Off says: "Step up your bar bling with our new precision 6061 CNC Machined Aluminium Bar End Plugs. They are available in a range of epic anodised colours, so you can match or clash with all of our other precision hardware for a total dialled-in style. Compatible with most open-ended MTB, road and gravel handlebar sizes, these lightweight yet super tough end plugs are super-secure, thanks to their expanding silica plugs (supplied in multiple sizes), securing nuts and knurled back-face which prevents any slippage."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

The Muc-Off Disco bar end plugs are made from CNC machined aluminium and weigh in at 24 grams. The silica plugs are designed to expand under the compression from tightening the bolt and in doing so fill the handlebar snugly. The silica plugs can be swapped by unscrewing the back of the bar end and swapping out the different size silica plugs. After doing this you tighten the back of the bar end by hand before pushing it into the handlebar and using a 4mm hex key to tighten up the bar end.

Muc-Off lists these features:

CNC Machined 6061 Aluminium Body

Expanding silica plug fits most MTB, Road, and gravel bike handlebars (with a larger than 17mm diameter) 17mm / 19mm / 21mm plugs provided

Screws into bars using a just a 4mm hex key

Compatible with most open-ended grips and drop bars

Lightweight and durable

Supplied with silicone protective bar end cover

8mm slotted nut for easy removal

Securing nut with knurled back-face to prevent slippage when tightening in the handlebar

Available in a range of anodised colours: Black, Pink, Red, Orange, Blue

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10

Feels high end and has a nice high quality finish.

Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10

Once the plugs are fitted they are very secure and won't fall out, but fitting them snugly can be challenging at times if bar tape is particularly chunky or double wrapped.

Rate the product for durability:
 
6/10

They've kept their high-quality look even after being used in rain and mud, and continue to have a shiny look, but they can be easy to scuff when leaning a bike against a wall, so take care.

Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
8/10

Slightly heavier than some conventional plastic bar ends, but for an aluminium plug they are impressive.

Rate the product for value:
 
5/10

They are reasonably priced for aluminium plugs, and £2 cheaper than the similarly designed Hope Grip Doctors.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

The Disco bar end plugs performed very well. They stayed in place perfectly once fitted, and held the bar tape in well despite being used across rough surfaces and me trying to work them loose to see how secure they were. They were also very easy to swap between different sized handlebars, and the use of the silica plugs made it easy to quickly fit them from bike to bike.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The colours! Muc-Off offers a range of five colours and the pink I had on test stood out very well and is very bright. It added some bling to the bike.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

My only gripe was the difficulty to get it to sit flush when using particularly chunky or double-wrapped bar tape. The plugs then had a tendency to sit slightly to one side unless you really pushed it in very hard while tightening the bolt.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

We haven't tested any similar recently, but they're around the same price as other aluminium ones out there – and £2 cheaper than Hope Grip Doctors.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

I gave these an 8 as they're great! I really like the colour and bling they bring to the bike, as well as the convenient silica plugs that mean the Disco plugs can be fitted to any bike. There's a bit of a fiddle fitting them with chunky bar tape, but overall they're very good.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 20  Height: 171cm  Weight: 72kg

I usually ride: Orbea Terra H3 Gravel bike  My best bike is: Cervelo P3 TT bike

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Semi pro

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo cross, touring, mtb, Gravel and ultra-endurance racing

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