Philadelphia Mountain Biking Association - Forums

Recently I've wanted to replace my stock grips that came with my bike.  Any ideas out there as to what is the best brand? I'm ruling out the egonomic types that are out there, trying to stay conventional because this is what I'm used to.  I bought Oury Grips thinking this manufacturer had a lot of experience with motocross and bmx. These are not the lock-on type, these have a rather wide portion on the bar end itself that looks vulnerable to wear and tear.
Also, my current stock grips never slipped or moved around. These Ourys have a loose fit. If I decide to mount them depending on the feedback I receive, the instructions ask for '3M brand weather stripping adhesive' to prevent slippage. Anyone ever hear of plain old hairspray, sprayed on the bars to prevent a grip from moving around? This is from my bike shop days.  Seems like heavy duty weather stripping adhesive would be a mess if you ever had to remove a grip from a your bar for any reason. Any feedback would be appreciated, thanks.

I've always just used cheap hairspray (without any "conditioning" crap or whatever), like "Hair net". Not too much, and let them sit for 12 or so hours before screwing with them. Never tried the tape but I've tried using 3M spray adhesive and if you're not fast enough it sets up before you get the grip all the way on and becomes impossible. Hair spray is way eaiser and way cheaper. I've had only a few loosen up and when they did I just shoved a screwdriver in there to pry it up, gave it an extra shot and it was fine thereafter.  I have Oury lock-ons on one of my bikes and they're great if there's a chance you might swap your bars out or whatever. As far as durability, all grips I've had that had molded ends broke through eventually, just get some bar end caps.

-pete

Yooooo Riggs! I love the Oury grips and have been using them for 5+ years. I really like how soft they are and how thick they are. Most other grips are too narrow and I feel like I'm gonna slip off the bars... I use this method of putting them on and never have had a problem. First thing is to clean the bar end with Windex, making sure there is NO grease or any lubes on the bars. Make sure not to touch the bars with your bare fingers, because your hands have oils on them. Then I use my air compressor and blow a straight line of air into the grip while pushing the grip on the bar and the air makes a "air bubble" inside the grip and it slides right on and drops into place. You can even blow more air if you want to rotate the grips. I DO NOT use anything to hold the grip on. The combination of the clean metal bar and clean grip make a perfect seal and it can't be moved. The only thing is you need an air comressor. If you don't have access to one use Pete's suggestion, a little plain hair spray and that will help you slide the grips on. The hair spray is alcohol based and will evaporate and you will have the same situation that I use. But make sure you get the bar really clean either way, that's the most important step towards success. Good luck!

Standard grips are too small for me, and even lizard skins, though a little fatter, aren't fat enough. Plus, I stripped the allen bolt in my one set of Lizard skins and it won't stay tight.

Tried Ergon but they bugged me; there was a continual pressure in the same area of my palm.

So now I use crappy thin rubber grips of any kind and put them on with the hairspray method (take them off with windex). Then I take bar tape, the kind that road riders use, or foam bar tape, and wrap a layer over the thin crappy grips, and secure it with the barend plugs. It makes the bar nice and fat and easy to grip.

Because of the tape wrap it also makes the surface completely non-uniform. So as you move your hand around on the bar you continually have different parts of the hand facing the pressure points. With standard grips my hands seem to fatigue much quicker.

Pete's method is the easiest and best if you have the self control to not screw with them overnight.  I've had a pair of Oury's on one of my bikes for 8 years, no problems.  Both ends are cut through and I just keep putting plugs in when they fall out or get smashed in too far when I wreck...

I love the Ergon grips - they give some extra cushioning to your palms on moderate bumps.  Plus they clamp on so they don't move around.  Everyone I know who has tried them (except Jess, I guess) likes them.

Ditto on that.  I bought them and have never used any other grip....then again I have only been riding a little over a year.   ;D

I got them because I have carpal tunnel, and my hands don't get as numb as they did with the stock grips that came with my bike.

My vote is for OURY. I have tried ergon grips and they are comfortable, but I just didn't feel they were suitable for the mountain biking I do.

I've got ODI Rogue Lock-on's. 

I agree the OURY lock ons are pretty darn sweet and last a long time.  I had a pair on for over a year and the only reason I changed them was because they started to actually wear.  They are pretty soft, but within the first 6 months, they're awesome.

Regular Ourys on one bike, and lock ons on the new rig. Will let you know how the lock ons go!

My vote is for "Lock On's". Never a single slip and if you need to fix in the field, just use your multi-tool to loosen, adjust, tighten and then ride on......... ;D

A tip for those of us, including myself, that have stripped the small allen bolt on your lockons: Make sure you get any dirt out of the bolt before you try to loosen them, use something like a dental pic. If the allen key is not seated all the way and straight it will strip. Also when you put them on be careful with the amount of torque you use. It does not take very much torque to lock them. Snug them and then try to spin them. If they still move, snug them a little bit more but don't go too tight or they will strip when you try to take them off. I've made this mistake a couple of times. I love the Ruffians by ODI, very grippy.

Oury Lock on's or Regular, can't go wrong!  Plus lot's of cool color options....

i vote esi silicone grips.

anyone who loves the old oury's really ought to try a set. they are even better! i could never get the regular ourys to stick but i don't have that problem with the esi's.

i had lockons for a while but the stupid metal sides always hurt my hands after a while.

i am another one of the few esi haters out there... they just hurt my hands after a while and i never really felt like i could hang on to them when things really started to go downhill.

Last night I installed the Ourys after wiping down everything with alcohol, I managed to get them on without hairspay just an air can (used to spray away dust from computers) worked great, haven't used them yet on the trail, nice and soft the ends look like they're vulnerable, so far so good $10 at Performance. Like it.

Thanks Max! Those ESI grips look nice.

I've been using ODI Ruffian lock-ons for the past couple of years, but recently, my hands have really been taking a beating for some reason. Time for a change, and ESI looks like the way to go.

Does anyone in the Center City area stock them?

 Rode tonight I like the Ourys. Soft like butta. Yo stymie what is that engineering picture jigamadoodle..

Hey Riggs

The Ourys are pretty nice. I used to have some, maybe I should try them again.

As for the engineering jigmadoodle, it's the brainchild of some crazy German engineers:

http://www.rohloff.de/en/technical/speedhub/index.html?layout=

A 14-speed internally-geared rear hub. No rear derailleur, no front deraillear, and no pain of singlespeeding! It's pretty cool. You're more than welcome to throw a leg over my bike to see how it works.

Yo stymie, I remember seeing your bike about a year ago after we did Trail Maintenance in between Summit Ave and Wises Mill Road.

That this is sweet.....expensive, but sweet!

That's deep Stymie....another universe - whoa!! Very interesting those Germans

Hey Rico, you're right, it's a little steep up front, but seeing as I was building the bike from scratch, it wasn't too bad. Basically, you don't need to buy:

Front Derailleur
Rear Derailleur
Shifters
Rear Hub
Casette
Two chainrings

So if you are going XTR + Chris King rear hub for instance, the price is not too far removed. It may actually be cheaper! The only thing I need to do for maintenance is lube my chain after a ride and change the hub's oil ($25 kit for cleaning fluid and oil) once a year!

Getting back on topic: Just ordered some ESI Chunky grips from Pricepoint. Looking forward to trying them out!

Thanks again Max for the heads-up.

Grips-wise I'll put a vote in for Oury Lock-ons.  Once you go lock-on I don't think you will ever look back.  You can make changes to brakes or shifters with a quick loosening and removal of the grip.

Oury grips are just the best, I have the non lock-on version on my old bike.  Best 8 or 10 bucks you can spend on a bike.

Rode with the newly installed regular Ourys - very comfortable. I agree so far the best piece of equipment for the money hands down. 

stymie - sorry i'm late i would have recommended the order from pricepoint anyway (that is how i got mine).

i actually just flipped mine because they eventually wore down in the contact spots (they have been ridden A LOT).

looks like they will work good as new!

Saddle and grips are hands down where one should not skip out or fall into false weight-weenieism...  :(

I love my Ergons. Been riding them for few years now on rigid bike no less and my hands couldn't be happier.

dz

Hey Dimitri - I've played with the Ergons out at REI. They're well made and seem comfy. Which ones do you use?

The down-side to the Ergons is that I would have to buy two pairs just to try them. With the Rohloff, I have a gripshift on the right and nothing on the left, so I'd need a regular set and a gripshift-compatible set.

If the ESIs don't thrill my hands, they are next on my list to try.

And what's this about saddles?? I didn't hink you SS'ers needed saddles  ;)

you're complicating your hub, you're complicating your life, you're complicating the grip situation....

simplify!  ;)

just kidding. i see how it would be rather expensive for you to try any "lock-on" type grips...
I have the original basic ones, i think they are called GP1

dz

That's me to a tee - I like to complicate things!  ;D

Stymie,

Read this thread  (http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=434009) and scroll down to some pics. You can get a pair of regulat Ergon grips and "modify" them to fit one-sided twist shifters..

dz

I just replaced my worn out grips last week with the OURY Lock-ons.  So far they are great.

Thanks for all the opinions guys.  This tread was really helpful in helping me choose a new pair. 

The feedback has been real good - The Ourys are very comfortable, no more sore wrists and hands...

Thanks Dimitri! Funny thread :)

For now, I'm going to use the ESI chunkies. They arrived on Friday, so I installed them and let them sit for the recommended 24 hours to ensure they didn't slip off on their maiden voyage. 

Verdict: After a deent, but hot, ride on Sunday, I like them - like Max said, it is nice to get rid of the metal lock-on clamps for those of us who hang onto the outer edge of the bars. I did notice some pinky-finger numbness on the ride home, but it set in much later than when using the ODI lock-ons. It's been a while since I used the Ourys - but from what I have read, the ESI grips are more resistant to slipping which is a big plus for me as my hands sweat about a gallon per hand per mile  :D

I will try the Ergons eventually though - especially now that I know they can be "hacked" for gripshift  ;D

I heard there is a new version of ergons with some sort of plastic or similar clamp instead of aluminum one, might be easire on the hands.

Tho, i also grip on the outside edge and never had any issues, but I do use Specialized gloves with much padding on the pulm where the ulnar nerve is.

dz

Yeah, I've read about the Specialized gloves. My 661's have decent padding there, but I know Specialized make a big deal about protecting the ulnar nerve.