I’m looking for some comfy grips for my carbon renthal fatbar lite on my hardtail. They are 740mm width. The bike has a SID raceday ultimate SL 100mm fork on it.

So far I’ve tried sdg lock-on grips, Esi foam grips, and then I’ve tried the lifeline wing grips off of Wiggle with the small flat wings. I’m still getting sore wrists and numb palms after smaller rides of 60-70km. I’ll be doing some bigger rides in the spring (150-200km). Ideally I want to sort this issue rather than suffer in those.

Any suggestions or recommendations? Also thinking I may need to cut my bars down slightly, as the angle of my wrist/hand may be contributing to this. Anyone found this to be effective?

Thanks 🙂

Not got any suggestions but am loving the humblebrag 🙂

I just went with the ones on my giant for long rides. ( well they seemed long for me, but only half as long as what you’re suggesting)

I bought some ergon grips recently to try to make my bars more comfortable. But not got round to trying them. Loads of people do recommend them though.

I wonder if more of a back sweep on your bars would help?

+1 for more backsweep. I find the SQ Labs 12deg more comfy than my straighter bar on another bike.
And, if it helps, i get tingling thumbs etc on rides of 30km … but it’s no worse if i do 100.

… is a Jones H-bar worth considering?

Ergon gp2 (you might like the gp3), and that’s with super stiff 6c bars.

I’ve used the Ergon GS1 for 24hr racing and endurance stuff.

Highly recommend.

I also reccomend two sets of bar ends, one set on the inside of the bar and obviously another at the ends.

Provides plenty of hand positions and a more aero position if you’re in a head wind.

While we’re talking backsweep, consider that other positioning issues can give rise to wrist/hand problems on longer rides.

I’d look closely at saddle fore/aft position and bar position for those distances. To take weight off your hands a very subtle shift backwards of saddle position will put more of your weight through your core than into your hands. Having the bars too close can also make you put weight through your hands; be subtle again but lowering the bars will engage your core more. These changes will tend towards a more “dirt roadie” position but you’re talking about marathon distances so that might be appropriate. All setup is compromise.

Another vote for more backsweep

the straighter bars may well be better for control in difficult terrain but when bimbling along put your wrist in a position that is unnatural and causes strain

And not grip the bars so tightly.

I’ve used jones bars and found them far too backsweepy… now (for longer rides) I use the alpkit ones – it’s like a straight bar but with the loop ‘added on’… pictures will make it obvious what I mean.

can almost do most of the riding on the various loop areas, and it’s much more comfy.

DrP

I do longer bikepacking rides of this sort of length too. Finding a comfortable position(s) is difficult.

Multiple positions helps.

I didn’t get on with a Jones loop on my non-Jones frame, but feel like I need more than the few degrees I have now. Others seem to agree. (Edit: exactly as DrP, I switched to the Alpkit bars because I like the loop. Something between those and Jones, backsweep-wise, but with a loop would be ideal I think.)

But you asked about grips. I have Ergon grips – can’t remember the model, but the ones with the palm support and a mini integrated bar end. I like them. Have used ESI extra chunky too – lots of cushion, obviously, if you don’t mind the wider diameter.

These are the bars I have specced for my new bike

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/handlebars/ritchey-comp-kyote-bar-318-mm-clamp-800mm-black/

Only had a quick test ride with them but they just felt so natural and comfy.  I doubt much cop for technical riding but I intend to pootle for months on end on the bike

These have been fantastic for me on marathon rides, worth a look:

Review: The ODI F-1 Float & Vapor grips might just be the perfect option for British XC riders

BTW, since we’ve gone off on bar tangent, which is not what you asked at all, but this is STW, whatbars.com is a really useful site for comparing bars.

Carbon Renthals are supposed to be super-stiff and pretty uncomfortable, aren’t they? Might be worth ‘downgrading’ to something with a bit of flex. I use Spank vibrocores.

Grips-wise, I’ve found Ergon GA3 to be the sweet spot, takes some pressure off.

Another option:

Flex MTB Togs

Ergon GE1s.

Thomson 12 degree Ti bars.

If the Renthals are 35mm then I’d start by replacing them with 31.8s anyway.

Just repeat a lot of what’s above. For long rides the grips will make much, much, much less of a difference than your position on the bike and flex in the bars.

Look at roadies who ride way further. You don’t see the pro-peloton using spongey bar tape.

I use Race Face Half Nelsons – they’re good and thin, which I think helps. I’ve never thought about hand comfort at all using them, even though I use a 35mm clamp bar (Easton Haven 740mm) and run a head down position with a 90mm -8 degree dropped stem so my weight is forward. Naturally, I don’t get on with big flared bars. Fat grips I always find less comfortable – my hands are size large and even so, fat grips are uncomfortable for me to hold after a very short distance.

Are you running padded gloves? I found those to be the only source of hand pain when I ride a mountain bike. A big gel pad under the heel of my hand seems to cause an ache that I don’t get with unpadded gloves, or with padded gloves on a drop bar bike.

Look past the grips for a fix perhaps. Wrist pain is likely the bar / grip angle and/or other factors.

Makes sense to narrow the bars if you can, as your hands go wider more sweep can help to maintain the right wrist angle naturally (arms move as an arc to some extent)

+1 for more back sweep. Bar flex is a vital part of bike comfort and IME the loop type bars DrP posted can be too rigid. I’ve done a lot of long days on Jones Loop bars but I find the old Ti H-bar (no loop, also shimmed 25.4mm centre) much comfier. I tried the MTB loop bar (upper one in those pics) for 2 rides and found it horribly stiff.

The point about getting your weight centralised over the BB so you’re not pitching forward onto your hands too much is also important.

Are you running padded gloves? I found those to be the only source of hand pain when I ride a mountain bike. A big gel pad under the heel of my hand seems to cause an ache that I don’t get with unpadded gloves, or with padded gloves on a drop bar bike.

This too. Some gel pad gloves are hopelessly bad designs.

Look at roadies who ride way further. You don’t see the pro-peloton using spongey bar tape.

They ride well-fitted bikes on tarmac for under 6 hours most of the time. For Paris-Roubaix they add padding of some sort. For 12hrs plus off-road, take all the vibration-killing options you can get.

Since getting a bit of arthritis in one hand I found I needed to try a few different grips. The ones that gave me the most comfort (including for distance stuff) were Ritchey foam grips. They aren’t most hard wearing but they are super cheap from places like CRC etc.

Alpkit/Sonder have a love mud shaped grip which I really like for longer rides. Not expensive either.

Love Mud Grasp Comfort

ODI Longneck slip on for the win & if you don’t like em you’ve spent less than a tenner

These have been fantastic for me on marathon rides, worth a look:

ODI FLoat Elastomer Grips

Ditto, really impressed with them. Like suspension for your hands. And they are sticky/grippy too not like a regular foam grip.

Jones loop bars, Ergon grips and a decent mitts worked for me on my 300km+ 24hr stints on a rigid bike. Backsweep bars and getting the weight more central on the bike, bum in saddle was key. Elbows-out “attack” position puts your wrists at an uncomfortable angle and weight too far forward for all-day riding IME.

I use Race Face Half Nelsons – they’re good and thin, which I think helps.

I came here to say that too – they work for me. It’s not necessarily about padding. 100 miler last year on a 6 degree sweep bar with them.

Fit bar ends inboard of your grips, that way you can get more aero on flatter sections and also it gives you an alternative hand position to help to take the pressure off your hands.

Also try buying thinner or thicker grips. That can make a surprising difference over a long ride.

Have you also thought about doing some hand strengthening? Could also help.

I do a few marathon events and also have a bit of carpal tunnel – so went through a meticulous grip selection process.

I’ve settled on the SQ labs and the Ergon’s as have been mentioned above. They both have a bigger surface area which helps dissipate vibrations through a bigger patch of your hand. So I don’t get quite the pressure points or pins and needles that I was getting with the old grips. Or at least in theory. (I still sometimes do)

The other ones I like are the Fabric Funguys – basically a very squeezable mushroom style grip (takes me back to my BMX days!).

More than grips, I found swapping stem length helped too. Shorter isn’t always better!