We’ve all lost a bar-end and thought “I really should replace that”. That’s what Hoffman’s Del Shepherd thought until it was too late… I bumped into him the other day right after he’d built up a new bike. He can’t ride it for another few weeks because he almost cut his finger tip off with his bars. Yes you read that right – it’s pretty savage. Read on to find out more.

What on earth did you do Del?
I was at motion ramp park, thought I’ll have a quick little ride, a friend suggested a little gap to try, first go I bailed and landed flat, second go thought I was going to case, next minute I was on the floor with half my finger hanging off.

How did it happen?
I was in mid air when I knew something is going to go wrong. My hand moved to where my bar-ends should have been and remained there when I crashed.

My hand moved to where my bar-ends should have been and remained there when I crashed

What was the damage and did you have surgery?
The damage was pretty serous, I chopped through the bone and the fingertip was almost amputated right there, I had surgery 2 days later. They had to remove my nail which was ripped in half and then straighten the finger back out and then sew it back together and tidy it up.

Did it hurt?
To be honest it didn’t it was mostly numb. Now and again I have shooting pains go through but never really did hurt until they took my stitches out, that was the most painful bit.

How long till you’re riding again?
Been off for 3 weeks now, I say another 2-3 weeks, that’s if I can stay off for that long!

What lessons Have you learned?
I learned that I’m an idiot haha. I should have invested in bar-ends sooner as it could have been a lot worse!

So there you have it kids. Get some bar-ends before your jagged, rusty bars pierce your vital organs and you ruin everyone else’s session!