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What grips are you running?


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On these 20+ mile rides I’m getting some serious hand and wrist discomfort and numbness. 
 

Looking for some opinions. The ESI chunky grips are super cheap, look nice and have great reviews, but seem to lack durability. Which Ergons are people running? Don’t know where to start with those. 

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Two weeks ago I visited BSS at Parmer for new gloves and to try some grips.

The Ergons were available in two sizes, and Specialized had similar grips, also in two sizes. I picked out the gloves, then tried the 4 different grips. For my hands with those gloves, the smaller Specialized Contour grip fit the best. The larger Ergon felt better without gloves.

I'm pretty happy with them. They're lockons, so easy to set and stay.

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I've been using these for years: https://www.competitivecyclist.com/lizard-skins-moab-grip

They're soft sticky rubber so they feel good and are easy to hold.  The grips are longer than typical, so you can move your hands around a little, and they cover the end of the bar so you don't worry about scratching your car in the garage.  They wear out in 6-12 months and you replace them for $9.

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Esi fit XC

That and a proper bar angle help a lot. Ervin grips help solve the bad habits of grip angle that people have which causes the numbness.

Certain trails and speeds are worse than others for causing numbness. Make a conscious effort to ride with a very light grip on the bars.


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1 hour ago, AustinBike said:

I have been running Ergon GP1's on all of my mountain bikes for years, they are great. Last forever.

I first bought the GP1s for my commuter and then got GS1s for my mountain bikes. Both are awesome but the GS1s look better IMO. They pass the Seth test too.

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I've gotten a lot of relief from Ergons over the past decade or longer. My issues were numb hands and forearms and focusing on bars with more sweep and ergonomic grips have really paid off for me.

When purchasing SQLab's handlebars earlier this year I went with their 710 MTB Grips and feel that they are as good and possibly a little better than the Ergons in how they fit the natural curves and proportions of the hand. They come in sizes, so a visit to their website for determining the right one to get is a good place to start. They have a variety of styles to select from.

This is the 710.

61kuCcPUkPL._AC_SL1500_.jpg

Edited by Ridenfool
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7 hours ago, cody said:

I first bought the GP1s for my commuter and then got GS1s for my mountain bikes. Both are awesome but the GS1s look better IMO. They pass the Seth test too.

Yeah, I guess, in looking at the difference I have GS1's on my FS bike and GP1's on my SS. I believe that the GP1's were their first models and later the GS1's were introduced. My GP1's are pretty old, but they take forever to wear out.

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I've run ESI's for years. I tried to go back to the Specialized lock-ons that came on my bike, but that only lasted one ride. ESI's last for a really long time if you don't care that the ends look like they were chewed up by a beaver. That's not the part that contacts your hands anyway. That and those plastic plugs only last one ride. I use wine corks instead. Ghetto, yes, but I don't really care. If that stuff does bother you, Red Monkey Klampz may work better (never tried them personally). https://www.jensonusa.com/Red-Monkey-Klampz-Lock-on-Grips-Orange-W-Black-Clamps?pt_source=googleads&pt_medium=cpc&pt_campaign=shopping_us&pt_keyword=&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_5rtBRDxARIsAJfxvYCmeQSkRygaP--ad5oGVK7thG_BIrT2tqXAS8wXKgsqCzMBtcxod6YaArw5EALw_wcB

I've dealt with a lot of hand/wrist pain and numbness. Having a job where I'm on a computer all day sure doesn't help. A grip can only go so far. I've tried all kinds of things like crazy sweepy bars and Ergon grips. The two things that have really help me are brake lever reach and angle. Rotate the brake lever down so that your pointer finger (while resting on the lever) is in a straight line with your forearm. (i.e. no bend in the wrist) Another thing that has helped me is to adjust the reach or throw of the brake lever as close to the bar as possible. It puts excess strain on your hand to reach out with one finger while maintaining a deathgrip with the other four. The closer you get to making a fist around the bar, the better for your hands.

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When I first started riding again back in '09 I was experiencing numbness. Changed to Ergon GP (not sure if Tour or MTB) and it pretty much stopped. I also started experimenting with different handlebars and found that some rise and backsweep also helped (versus straight flat bars). My wife uses them too... I use the cork, she uses the rubber.

Be careful not to buy the grips with the plastic ends, get the grips metal ends.

And I see that Ergon now has grips specifically for bars with backsweep.

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12 hours ago, FJsnoozer said:

Make a conscious effort to ride with a very light grip on the bars.

This is the right answer for any grip. This gets me to 30-35 miles of even rough terrain without significant hand or wrist pain. After that, it's going to hurt no matter. I know that I have to grip somewhat harder on sketchy downhill or tech sessions, so on easier sections I'll just lightly rest my hands on the grips. 

For grips, I like them fat and soft. I use WolfTooth Fat Paw grips combined with ibuprofen . 

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I run Oury slide on. Will not try anything else. 

I’ve found what cures numbness for me is stretching the wrists/hands along with massaging the shoulders and pecs where they “attach” to shoulder. 

When I ride Brushy, for example, I spend my time on the granite paths and concrete connectors between trails stretching out my upper body. I can feel everything “come alive” and the numbness goes away completely. 

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I've been using the Ergon GE1 EVO Grips and like them a lot. Also have used the Specialized Enduro XL Locking Grips that are normally in stock at BSS. Years ago I had switched to the Ergon winged grips to address numbness issues, but after a while I decided that those wings were just getting in the way of me handling the bike the way I wanted to. Haven't had any issues since switching back to regular rounded grips with a little bit of cushion. Also really like that the grips I'm using lock on the inside but completely cover the end of the bar without the need for any end caps. 

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1 hour ago, Barry said:

I do hate the plastic end cap inserts. My Fat Paw grips have them and they fall out right fast, or get torn up real bad on trees and rocks. I replace them with these cheap things, which are spectacular. 


I agree with you about the plastic end caps... But I was referring to the grips that come with plastic ends. Looking at Ergon's website, it seems that they no longer make grips with plastic ends (not end caps), as all the photos show metal ends.

The grips with the plastic ends would not last long as the screw fittings would come loose over time.

In the photos below the plastic end grips looked like the grip with the black end.

1_630_1120_1_70__insidesport_2015-02-GP1grip.1-625x500.jpg

IMG_1886.jpg

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On 10/16/2019 at 9:55 AM, Barry said:

I do hate the plastic end cap inserts. My Fat Paw grips have them and they fall out right fast, or get torn up real bad on trees and rocks. I replace them with these cheap things, which are spectacular. 

I bought some of these and found them to be too tiny for mtb grips. I prefer something a little broader, that covers most of the end of my grip.

However, they fit perfectly on the drop bar of my CX bike, so they are staying there. YMMV.

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2 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

I bought some of these and found them to be too tiny for mtb grips. I prefer something a little broader, that covers most of the end of my grip.

You mean tiny as in they mostly only cover the bar, and not also the grip, yes? For me, they're only intended to be used as a replacement for the stupid plastic inserts that come with FatPaw or ESI Chunky and the like.  The life expectancy of those inserts even less than the foam grips themselves. But I like something there to protect a carbon bar from getting chipped up when it hits a tree the wrong way and to prevent accidental core sampling in a nightmare scenario. 

But yeah, they work well for holding in grip tape on drop bars as well. I'm glad you found a use for them!

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