I am thinking of trying some foam grips. I have just upgraded my bars and grips to new Joystick ones, but on my rigid i find i am getting hand ache and i think it is because my grips are quite thin and hard.
They are nice and grippy but as i am lacking suspension i think a more, (very) slightly more forgiving foam might be the way forward.
Any recommendations?

Not foam, but ESI silicone are marvellous.

ESI

The Ritchey ones are excellent.
Cheap too and very comfy.

Another vote for ESI. Fantastic grips.

Wow that was quick, thanks. Off to Google ESI now….

ESI

Just ordered some ESI silicone grips from Charliethebike.
Looking forward to trying them.

Had ESI silicone and Richey foam, much prefer the foam in feel but can slip when wet

Esi again here…

ESI are surprisingly good, got to be the Racer (thinner) ones though as even they are thicker than things like ODI Ruffians

ESI ESI ESI

Legend – I have ordered the thinner ‘race’ ones, will report back when i have had a few rides on them.

i have a set of ESI grips and yes they are nice, but they aren’t very durable. mine are looking distinctly worn after c500miles.

i find my hands slip around on esi’s in the wet. had to start wearing gloves.

ESI chunkies, here.. I like them, and they are not that chunky really..
They can feel a bit slippery when really wet, and are easily cosmetically damaged but I like them.

Not sure I’d go for the thin race ones, but I guess that’s personal preference..

ESI

I love my ESI Racer’s Edge (because I am well racer innit). Couldn’t get on with the fatter ones, they’re too squeezy so I found them tiring, always squishing them. They are delicate- you can rip them open in a single crash and destroy them- and they’re fairly shortlived even if you don’t. But they’re lovely.

I just wore out a set so I threw my old Rogues back on as a stopgap, I thought they were the bees’ knees but they just felt orrible. Albeit, about a million times easier to fit.

Oh, I tried the Superstar ones, they went in the bin pretty much instantly, I couldn’t tell you why they weren’t good but they weren’t.

I also like the thinner ESIs, and have never found them slippery when wet. I used to use Bontrager XXX Lite foam, but they are utterly lethal when wet. Gloves needed in all conditions.

Mine wear out over the course of a year, where my thumb tucks under the bar.

Another vote for ESI Chunky (they also do an Extra Chunky that I haven’t tried).

Good points:
Helps with arm pump
Light weight
Grippy in all weather

Bad points:
Easily damaged if you have wide bars and catch them on trees…

ESI on both my bikes

Esi extra chunky on 6 bikes ..

Ritchey WCS are good on a rigid bike, I’d like to try ESI as people seem to rate them. Has anyone tried Ritchey Superlogic? 10g grips surely aren’t that durable and must be pretty thin? But it’s 1/4lb off your bars compared to most lock-ons for 20 quid.

I had some foam ones, not sure what brand (but they were a “proper” brand) and I’m not sure why – I’m no lightweight racer

They perished and split over about 6 months. Kack

Can you get spare ESI bar end caps? I keep loosing mine when I smash into trees 🙂

90% of bar caps are junk, I use ODI BMX plugs and they’re ace. They do what they are supposed to: protect your carbon bars properly, instead of making a mess.

Also, ESI.