NS Bikes Hold Fast Grips

NS Bikes Launch Hold Fast Grips

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Polish brand NS Bikes were originally “Northshore Extreme”, and have been making their own bits since 2003. Their latest are these grips, named Hold Fast after the knuckle tattoos sailors used to have of the same words. The most notable thing about them is not the hexagonal pattern or the colours, but the fact that they’re 148mm long which, considering long means 130mm for many brands, makes these suitable for enormous hands.

NS Bikes Hold Fast Grips
There are five colours: blue, green, orange, black, and the admittedly un-grippy sounding “oil slick black”.

They’re single clamp with an integrated bar end, and the clamp seems to be covered in a tapered rubber cover, making it more comfortable if you ride with your hands nearer the inner clamps, or maybe if locking rings tend to bother your thumbs.

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NS Bikes Hold Fast grips
Can grips with a maritime theme sort out my dead sailor jump technique?

NS Bikes say: “Sailors would tattoo “HOLD FAST” on their fingers in hope, that it would prevent their hands from slipping on ropes. Especially when working aloft in foul weather! We believe that our HOLD FAST grips have the same magical powers. They will let you hold on to your bars and ride out of any trail that you may encounter.

“Perhaps the longest lock-on grips on the planet – these whopping 148mm grips fit modern, wide handlebars perfectly and ensures that your palms are always on the rubber part, not on the clamp or barend. They are are reasonably thin and have a big, smoothly rounded inboard clamps. All this adds up to a great feel with or without gloves. The integrated hard plastic bar ends provide a lot of durability and protect your handlebars ends from cracking in case of a crash.”

RRP bought direct is €29.90, you can read a bit more over at NS Bikes, and UK distributor Hotlines are listing them with an RRP of £19.99.

NS Bikes Hold Fast Grips
His right knuckles indicate gamer, not sailor.
NS Bikes Hold Fast grips
148mm length means that you can also use these to check whether or not a frame is boost spaced, should you find yourself in such an unlikely situation.

David started mountain biking in the 90’s, by which he means “Ineptly jumping a Saracen Kili Racer off anything available in a nearby industrial estate”. After growing up and living in some extremely flat places, David moved to Yorkshire specifically for the mountain biking. This felt like a horrible mistake at first, because the hills are so steep, but you get used to them pretty quickly. Previously, David trifled with road and BMX, but mountain bikes always won. He’s most at peace battering down a rough trail, quietly fixing everything that does to a bike, or trying to figure out if that one click of compression damping has made things marginally better or worse. The inept jumping continues to this day.

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