A truly irrefutable fact is that we come in contact with our bikes in only three places; pedals, saddle, and grips. Often these parts seem small and inconsequential, when in reality they are of utmost importance, catering to how comfortable you feel on the bike. In and of itself, comfort is overlooked, but when you alleviate the sore rear end, and battered hands, focusing on the trail ahead becomes an easier task. Below, we’ll go over the details, and our thoughts on a few common grips, keep in mind there’s hundreds of options out there, so don’t feel pressured to purchase only a pair you see in this article. Note that a few of these we’ve reviewed singularly in the past. There’s no winner, just informative info, and our thoughts on each.
Contenders from left to right includes Deity’s ‘Knuckleduster’, Joystick’s ‘X-Logo’, Ergon’s ‘GA2’, Sensus ” Lite ‘, Fabric’ Magic ‘, and Sensus’ ‘Meaty Paws’.
The Deity Knuckleduster grips feature a fairly standard design, with ribbed lines and a waffle pattern. The length, and diameter are both right in the middle of being considered thick or thin, and long or short. The end cap is rubber. so it won’t scratch things (other bikes in a shuttle truck) and held up well during our rides. The compound is quite soft, but not to the point of feeling sticky. The single clamp designs allows riders to edge the hand nearby or even off the end of the grip if desired. A wide alloy clamp kept the grips secure, and unlike others, the inner plastic mold actually is flexible and thin, meaning better resistance to small bump chatter. For ‘average’ sized hands, and those looking for any color imaginable, Deity is a worthy contender.
In the current trend of single clamp grips, we felt a classic dual clamp design had to be invited to the party. The Joystick X-Logo grips are quite traditional in length and diameter. The 135mm length leaves plenty of room to move the hand side to side, despite having an outer clamp to worry about. The rubber compound on the X-Logo grips is dense, so a harsher trail feel is to be expected, but we found it to have adequate stiction nonetheless. Though good single clamp grips don’t twist or move, they can’t match the rigid feeling of a dual clamp design. We liked the single piece alloy end cap / lock ring, and chamfered rubber that meets it. If you’re looking for a newer take on the simple and durable grip you ran in the early 2000’s, and don’t mind the black only option, the X-Logos could be the hot ticket.
Ergon is known for, well, ergonomics. The GA2 grips are a standard size, though they’re left to right specific, and have unique profiling. The contour of the grips fits into the shape of a hand better than a traditional grip, but we found the compound to be a bit uncomfortable, counteracting the ergonomic shape. The built in end caps are plastic, but durable and wear resistant. With gloves, we felt in control, but if riding gloveless, as soon as any moisture came into play, our hands slid around. We feel these grips would be advantageous for someone looking for more support in the center of the hand, especially in a softer compound.
One of our longtime favorite grips, the Sensus Lite’s are minimalistic, yet comfortable. The classic Sensus ribbed pattern is made from a soft compound, and provides a good deal of comfort considering how thin the grips are. Majority of the time we ride in gloves, yet when gloveless, these are a top choice. The hard plastic end caps can crack if you drop your bike accidentally, so be aware of that. Light weight, yet long lasting, & sleek in profile, these are the Moto GP Bike of grips.
Long days in the saddle, rough descents, and wet conditions don’t phase the Magic grips. The raised mushroom center profile creates a nice resting spot for the center of the palm, and the ultra soft compound is forgiving, whether riding with or without gloves. When switching from a bike with a flat grip profile, it often took us a bit to get reacquainted with the Magic grips, but if you had a pair for each bike, you could avoid that issue. The downside to the softer compound is that the grips wear fairly quickly, but if you’re looking for comfort, it’s well worth the tradeoff. At $ 21 the Magic grips won’t put a hole in your wallet either.
After years of custom modifying grips for his ‘meaty’ hands, Kyle Strait and Sensus teamed up to make a grip for larger hands. We have another Sensus grip in this article already yes, but these two models are vastly different from each other. The Meaty Paws are longer and thicker than most any grip out there, hence providing more surface area to squeeze. We do not have particularly massive hands, so we didn’t expect to like the grips all that much. After our first ride, we realized that ‘normal’ size hands can hang on just fine, and that the extra rubber thickness provided a dampened and cushioned feel. The more time we spent on the Meaty Paws, the more we grew to like them, but they’re not for the faint of heart … or should we say hand.
Be on the lookout for more helpful articles and videos that summarize the top contenders in each product category.
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