Where along these tapered grips do people generally position their hands? On the outside (wider) ends of the grip, in the middle or as close inboard (thinnest end) as possible?
Riding the other day I suddenly realised that when I have my hands positioned right up against the lock ring on the inside of the grips a further 10/12mm inboard the bike just felt a whole lot better being thrown around twisty windy stuff. Normally I’ve been riding around with my hands further towards the outside which equates to around 20+mm difference in effective bar width.
It made me wonder is that to do with the shape of the grip in that area that I just prefer? Which makes me ride with more confidence or is it a good indication that I’d prefer a slightly narrower bar.
I’ve now shifted the brake levers and all other controls further inboard to run that position for a while to see how i get on. My concern is as it’s quite thin with less cushioning around there, over prolonged use my hands may start feeling uncomfortable.
But if it’s more indicative that my bars could just do with a trim, by shortening the bars 20mm I could be at that ideal width but have my hands back on the outside ends of the grip with the better cushioning.
Does anyone have any experience to lead them to believe whether it is bar width or grip shape that is the key factor here to improved feel of handling and confidence on the bike?