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What are the best mountain bike grips?
Wil takes us through his five current favourite lock-ons, while explaining what you should look for in a grip, and why this is one of the cheapest but best upgrades for your mountain bike.
Read the full feature here: https://singletrackworld.com/2019/03/top-5-wils-favourite-lock-on-mountain-bike-grips
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0:02
hey everyone welcome to single track my
0:04
name is Will and today I want to talk to
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you about one of the cheapest but best
0:08
upgrades you can make to your mountain
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bike now if this is your first time
0:15
joining us make sure you click that
0:17
subscribe button right now because we
0:18
have plenty of videos coming your way in
0:20
the near future right so today I want to
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talk to you about my top five favorite
0:25
lock on mountain bike grips to begin
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with we're going to talk about what
0:29
there is in a grip grip and what to look
0:30
for when you're choosing a brand new
0:32
grip for your mountain bike and I'm
0:34
going to run through each of these grips
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and tell you what I liked and didn't
0:37
like about them and then I'm going to
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tell you which of them is my absolute
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favorite so what to look for in a
0:43
mountain bike grip the thing is there
0:44
are a lot of different types on the
0:46
market over the years I've tested a
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truckload of grips on various test bikes
0:51
some of them have been good some of them
0:53
less good in general though I found that
0:55
the grips that come on stock bikes do
0:57
tend to be fairly cheap and nasty and
0:59
it's a really easy area to upgrade on
1:01
your bike and make quite a big
1:02
difference to both comfort and handling
1:05
as well now when you're looking for a
1:06
new mountain bike grip there's a few
1:07
things to take into consideration a lot
1:09
of the grips we have on test here come
1:11
in different diameters so you often have
1:13
the choice between a thick or a thin
1:15
option this usually comes down to the
1:17
size of your hands so the bigger your
1:19
hands the larger the diameter of the
1:21
grip the smaller your hands the smaller
1:23
you want that grip diameter to be I'm a
1:25
small to medium glove size so I'll
1:27
generally gravitate towards a thinner
1:29
diameter grip another variable worth
1:31
factoring in is how soft you want the
1:33
grip to be a lot of the grips on test
1:36
here do come in soft or hard options and
1:39
that will change how the rubber feels in
1:41
your hand and it will also affect the
1:42
durability of the grip too generally I
1:44
prefer a soft compound grip I find
1:46
they're more comfortable you get more
1:48
traction and generally better vibration
1:50
damping too however go too soft and
1:53
you'll have a grip that wears out quite
1:54
quickly and might feel a little bit
1:56
vague on the trail as well there's a
1:58
pretty wide variety of different tread
2:00
patterns that you can get with your lock
2:01
on grips and this will affect how it
2:03
feels in the hand and how much traction
2:05
there is available as well more texture
2:08
on the grip creates more edges for your
2:09
hands to grab onto so in general a more
2:12
heavily textured grip will give you more
2:14
traction especially in wet conditions
2:17
however some Riders may prefer a grip
2:19
with a lower profile tread pattern which
2:21
may provide more feedback from the trail
2:24
also worth factoring in is whether you
2:25
prefer riding with or without gloves and
2:27
if you are using gloves how thick the
2:30
Palm on those gloves is going to be
2:32
right so the first grip on test here is
2:34
from Lizard skins this is the mcal
2:37
signature lock on grip lizard skins of
2:39
course is a brand that's been making
2:40
lock on grips for a very long time
2:43
however this is one of the first grips
2:45
that lizard skins has offered with a
2:46
single lock on clamp so you'll notice
2:49
that there's no clamp on the outside of
2:50
this grip instead the rubber runs all
2:52
the way to the end of The Handlebar this
2:54
gives a really wide area for your hand
2:56
to grab onto you'll also note that it's
2:58
quite a thin diameter this is a 29 mm
3:01
diameter so one of the thinnest grips on
3:03
test now this does give you really good
3:06
feedback on the trail it's got a fairly
3:08
spiky knurled pattern on here which is
3:10
consistent from the inside to the
3:12
outside of the grip so you get really
3:13
good feedback from the trail with this
3:15
thin diameter grip the flip side is it's
3:17
not the most comfortable grip because
3:19
there is less rubber between your hand
3:21
and The Handlebar in general I prefer
3:23
these grips on longer travel bikes with
3:26
bigger suspension and bigger tires that
3:28
were able to soak up all the vibrations
3:30
on shorter travel bikes and hard Tails I
3:32
find them a little bit rough on my hands
3:34
you can get these in a load of different
3:36
color options and if you do want a
3:38
thicker profile grip lizard skins does
3:40
make a slightly thicker diameter option
3:42
which is called the charger Evo and
3:44
that's going to provide a little bit
3:45
more vibration damping if you're looking
3:47
for a bit more Comfort right so the next
3:49
grip is the DMR Death Grips these are
3:52
very very popular these are a brand dog
3:54
signature edition grip and uh they've
3:56
developed a bit of a cult following in
3:58
the UK for these now there are a load of
4:00
different options with the Death Grips
4:01
you can get them with or without a
4:03
flange on the inside you can get thin or
4:05
thick diameters and you can also get
4:08
them in hard or soft rubber compounds
4:10
the grips I've got on test here are the
4:13
flangeless design these are the thin
4:15
diameter and they are in the soft rubber
4:18
compound the tread patent itself is
4:20
relatively simple but it's the
4:21
combination of three simple tread
4:23
patterns to make one fantastic grip
4:26
these have really good tactility and
4:28
feel on the bars you've got a small
4:30
mushroom section at the end here which
4:32
creates quite a soft profile for that uh
4:34
patch of skin in between your thumb and
4:36
your forefinger actually adds quite a
4:38
bit of comfort due to that flexible
4:40
mushroom pattern we've got a nured
4:42
pattern for the rest of the grip which
4:43
gives you really good feel on The
4:45
Handlebar good tactility good feedback
4:47
and underneath we have this half waffle
4:49
pattern which gives your fingers a
4:50
little bit more Edge to grab onto thing
4:52
I don't like about these grips is that
4:54
the lock on collar often falls off the
4:56
grip it's not captured on the end here
4:58
so it can actually detached from the
5:00
grip which makes installation and
5:02
removal a little bit of a pain speaking
5:04
of inside the death grip is a tapered
5:06
nylon sleeve and the idea is to limit
5:09
how much this grip can twist on The
5:10
Handlebar the thing is it makes it
5:12
really hard to get onto the handlebar
5:14
and you really have to twist and push
5:16
quite hard to get it on that last 20 mm
5:19
or so it does mean that they're not
5:20
going to move or twist while you're
5:22
riding though they're very secure with
5:24
great feedback um great control on The
5:26
Handlebar but the thin diameter on this
5:29
does mean that they're not the most
5:30
comfortable grip going for the thick
5:32
option will give you a little bit more
5:34
vibration damping though next up we have
5:36
the ODI Elite flow grips now ODI another
5:40
classic grip brand these guys basically
5:42
invented the lock on grip this is one of
5:45
their most advanced grips to date the
5:47
Elite Series come in three different
5:49
options and this is the middle diameter
5:51
option it's called the flow the diameter
5:53
is around 31 mm on here it uses a single
5:56
locking clamp and a slight taper towards
5:59
the end which is really good for running
6:00
your hands wider on The Handlebar
6:03
because you've got a really good
6:04
reference point there for where the end
6:05
of the bars are now the clever thing
6:07
about this grip is it has an offset
6:09
profile and what that means is the
6:12
rubber is actually thicker in the
6:14
section that faces your palm the thicker
6:16
rubber gives you more vibration damping
6:18
and more Comfort but the rest of the
6:20
grip still stays fairly thin so overall
6:24
it's got a nice kind of low profile with
6:26
good tactility on there we also have a
6:28
half waffle pattern underneath the grip
6:30
which again is for your fingers to grab
6:32
onto to give you a little bit more hold
6:34
when conditions are a little bit
6:35
slippery overall I have very little to
6:37
complain about these grips they provide
6:39
Good Vibration damping without creating
6:41
a really fat and awkward grip to hold on
6:43
to next up we've got the Ral traction
6:46
lock on grips now renal make three
6:49
different series of mountain bik grips
6:51
these are the traction series and
6:52
they're defined by these angled grooves
6:55
that are molded into the Rubber and the
6:57
idea here is to provide more edges for
6:59
for your hand to hold on to they're
7:01
available in four different compounds
7:03
from medium all the way through to these
7:05
which are called the ultra tacky
7:07
compound they are super duper soft they
7:09
I'm pretty sure they might be made out
7:11
of dehydrated tree coil they just ooze
7:13
on The Handlebar very very comfortable
7:16
exceptional grip from these those angled
7:19
grooves on here are asymmetric though so
7:21
there is a right and a left grip and
7:23
there is an up and a down so you do need
7:25
to install them correctly to ensure that
7:27
those grooves are facing the right
7:29
direction Direction and when you do have
7:30
them installed correctly those edges
7:32
will work against your fingers when you
7:34
need to pull up on the handlebars but
7:36
the rearward facing edges will push into
7:38
your palm when you're descending steep
7:41
Trails or when you're breaking and your
7:43
pressure is pushing down onto the grip
7:45
the downside of that super sticky rubber
7:47
is they will wear faster than a grip
7:49
that uses a harder rubber compound one
7:51
other thing to note on these grips is
7:52
that out of this group test these are
7:54
the only grips that have two clamps one
7:56
on either side of the grip that means
7:58
they're really secure on The Handlebar
8:00
though they do use annoyingly 2.5 mm hex
8:03
screws to bolt them on which is a size
8:05
that doesn't come on many multi-tools
8:07
the other thing I find is that if you
8:08
like to run your hand really wide on the
8:10
grip and The Handlebar you've got that
8:12
metal collar on the end there rather
8:14
than soft rubber it' be really nice to
8:16
see Ral offer a single lock and clamp
8:18
version of these grips which I think
8:20
would make them absolutely perfect last
8:22
but certainly not least we have the
8:24
ergon ge1 Evo grip now the GE grip has
8:28
been around for a few years and it's
8:29
targeted towards uro races and really
8:32
anyone who's running wide handlebars
8:34
this is the new version of the GE grip
8:36
so it has an updated tread pattern which
8:38
provides more edges and more traction on
8:40
here and you can now get it in slim or
8:43
standard diameters and firm or soft
8:46
rubber compounds I've got the slim
8:48
diameter option here and I've got it in
8:50
the factory rubber compound in this
8:52
orange finish now the rubber is quite
8:54
soft and with all of those edges on this
8:56
grip it provides a load of traction on
8:58
here there are a few really neat
8:59
features on this grip though which make
9:01
it stand out from the rest it might be
9:03
difficult to tell but there's a slight
9:04
taper towards the end of the grip where
9:07
the grip flares out away from The
9:08
Handlebar this actually widens the
9:10
effective width of the handlebar and in
9:12
some cases it's added about 10 mm over a
9:15
standard grip the reason the end of the
9:17
grip is flared out like that is to
9:19
support your hand when you're running it
9:21
right on the edge of the handlebar the
9:23
profile of the grip is also there to
9:24
encourage you into an elbows out ring
9:27
style it does have an ergonom profile
9:30
and it's also asymmetric so there is a
9:32
left and right specific grip and there
9:34
is an up and a down orientation it's
9:36
worth playing around with this to get
9:38
the position right because once you do
9:40
these grips feel absolutely fantastic
9:42
not only do they encourage an elbows out
9:44
riding style but rotating the grip will
9:47
actually drag your hand around and get
9:49
you to put more weight onto the front
9:51
tire which I found really useful for my
9:53
riding style in my experience there are
9:55
very few downsides to this grip aside
9:57
from the price it is the most expensive
9:59
grip on test here it is a really
10:01
well-made grip though with really good
10:03
attention to detail fantastic traction
10:06
and really Good Vibration damping as
10:08
well in fact this grip is so good that
10:10
it's earned a single track recommended
10:12
award if you're looking for a new set of
10:14
lock on grips make sure you put these on
10:16
your list right so there we go my top
10:18
five favorite lock on Mountain bite
10:20
grips I'd love to know what you think of
10:22
these grips and I'd also love to hear if
10:24
you've got any suggestions for grips
10:25
that you're using at the moment which
10:27
you think are absolutely fantastic put
10:29
put your comments and questions into the
10:30
comment section below and as always give
10:33
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haven't already make sure you hit that
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subscribe button because we have loads
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10:39
that's it from me we'll see you next
10:41
time turu
10:42
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