Ergon Grip Review
January 25th, 2007 by Guitar TedYour enjoyment of riding a bicycle relies primarily on the position and comfort of your “contact points”: the places where your body contacts your bicycle. If you think about it, much has been done in the area of saddles, cycling shorts, shoes and pedals over the years, but the handle bar grips haven’t changed all that much. Especially for “flat bar” riders like mountain bikers. This is where Ergon has stepped up to make a revolutionary change in the way you and I look at grips.
Ergon is a German based company that has done a lot of research and testing to discover a better way to design and manufacture grips for flat bar equipped bikes. Each feature of their unique grips is there for a reason. That’s one thing you find out in a hurry when you start researching this product. It’s an amazingly thoroughly thought out grip. However; none of this effort means a thing unless it works, which is what really matters out on the trail.
I came into contact with Ergon’s P-1 grip as a result of their sponsoring Trans Iowa V1 in 2005. I was able to take a pair home and install them on my bike that I used as my “do everything” bike. Commuting, mountain biking, and long distance gravel riding. The grips were easy to install using a 4mm hex key to lock them on. This is also the bolt you loosen to make adjustments. More on that in a bit.
Previous to trying Ergon grips, I had used a multitude of “standard” round profile grips all with the same hand numbing results. Usually within five minutes of riding I was into my changing hand positions routine, moving my hands all around in an effort to alleviate the pain. The first day I rode with the Ergon grip, I knew something was very different. No numbness, no pain! I hadn’t experienced such a ride in years!
I will say here that several things can lead one to have hand problems on the bike. Bike fit, handle bar positioning, or glove choice can all have an effect. For those of you that have all of those things dialed and are still experiencing hand numbness, the Ergon grips may be just the ticket. It’s important to also take advantage of the adjustment of the “whale tail” portion of the grip. I have found that it works best tipped upwards and towards you as you sit on the bike. Experimentation is encouraged to dial in the perfect amount of tilt for your set up. Once you get it dialed in, the grips spread out the pressure evenly across the “whale tail” and lessen the chances of you getting numb hands and fingers, or may even eliminate it all together.
Since using the P-1, I have had the opportunity to also use the R-2 Team Green magnesium bar ended version of Ergon grips and the addition of the bar end magnifies the comfort even more. The integrated bar end, which you can position independently of the grip, is a rather short, curved affair at only 91mm in length. However, that’s the beauty of it; as it fits several different hand positions and works with the grips really well. Obviously, it also provides better leverage when climbing or sprinting out of the saddle over the non-bar ended grip.
The bottom line is comfort, and when you are comfortable, riding is more fun. I wouldn’t dream of riding a flat bar equipped bike without Ergon grips now. They are that good. Are they for you? I would highly recommend that you give them a try, especially if you have hand pain or numbness issues. They just might be what you need to have a lot better cycling experience! Ergon grips can be found at better cycling shops across the U.S. MSRP for the R-2 is $49.99 and MSRP for the P-1 is $34.99. Quite a bit more money than ordinary grips, but well worth it in my opinion.
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Nothing blue collar about a $50 lock on grip.
Dave in MI: Nothing blue collar about riding with numb hands or fingers, or not riding because of that either. If all it takes is $50.00 to alleviate the pain, and extend my rides, then it’s worth that. It’s more than just a “lock on grip”.
Hey GT, how many different colors do you have on that bike? You may want to discuss color options with Ergon because basic black just clashes with what you’ve got going on. Thanks for the review.
I used the first versions of this grip, but had to forgo after switching to grip shifters. I was rather bummed having to do that. When the grip shift version of the Ergos became available, I ordered right when I came across them on my favorite bike supply website. They are great for the hands!
Grips are in the interface between the bike and our hands. Lock on grips mount differently than the traditional grips. I don’t see how these are more than that. Maybe the best you can buy, but lock on grips they are.
Being blue collar is all about riding with numb hands or fingers. You simply don’t have the money for ergon grips when you are uncomfortable or Pryme Gear Cold Bones Gloves when you are cold. More comfortable grips would probably be some old dish rag and duct tape.
You work at a bike shop and I got money, so we try these grips and discard them if we don’t like them. Some people riding bikes don’t have a lot of cash. I thought this was a place for them to go. They would probably spew Coke out their nose if you said $50 for grips. Those guys troll ebay for an $50 frame that a buddy can paint at his body shop for a favor hoping it doesn’t come bent to crap from the seller.
I certainly can’t relate to blue collar, but i kinda doubt the authors of this website do either. Maybe they did at first, but they seem to have lost their way.
I love the site, don’t get me wrong. Not flaming to hear myself speak, keep up the good work. I won’t rant again, you can have the last word.
Hey - the $50 is for grips AND bar-ends.
Don’t be a Dick, Dave.
If Dave in MI wants to be a marter with the numb hands and fingers; it’s his pain. You don’t have to be rich to want an item to make your ride more comfortable and enjoyable. Believe me, these grips are worth ever penny.
If Dave in MI wants to be a marter with the numb hands and fingers; it’s his pain. You don’t have to be rich to want an item to make your ride more comfortable and enjoyable. For me, these grips are worth ever penny.
Coming to Dave in MI’s defense… I see what he’s saying as these aren’t exactly low priced grips so how are these “blue collar”?
It’s a fine line to walk when it comes to the price tag of items we review here. We won’t review overly priced stuff while at the same time, if a product is a bit more expensive but definitely worth the extra cost… then I think that fits.
I do appreciate Dave’s thoughts (and the fact that he’s a fan of the site) as it’s good constructive criticism and keeps us honest. I really appreciate when people take the time to point stuff like this out… even if we don’t agree. And anything else, feel free to send it on to tim@bluecollarmtb.com.
I feel that blue collar is about attitude not dollars. To each his own, all good, as long as we’re on two wheels and a chain… SB
i see blue collar as just that. someone who works a solid forty or whatever and comes home and plans bike/parts purchases to best suit their needs. not just buying five of everything and picking the one they like while tossing the others, though that can happen too at times. it doesn’t say “indigent mountain biking” on the header of this website right?
Is the clamp design on these grips compatible with carbon bars?
Yeah, the clamp is absolutely compatible with carbon bars. It puts even pressure around the bar instead of pinching in… Super clean.
SB
rashnixon: That pic of the Karate Monkey is an old one. Those grips now reside on my Inbred 29″er. If you thought the KM was out of whack color-wise, you should see the Inbred……or for that matter, my Raleigh XXIX+G!
Although Tim and I are provided products to review and test from time to time, we both still have to buy bicycle gear like anyone else. And even though I work at a shop, a shop mechanics salary is nothing to write home about, especially in the winter time. That and the fact that I have less than 40 hrs per week (try waaay less!) right now and I think you can see that I’ve still got to work it blue collar once and awhile! Anyway, I write all of this because it seems some have the impression that we “get everything for free”, and it just isn’t true.
Thanks, Steve for jumping in here and giving some answers on the product. I can’t wait for the rucksack to come out, by the way. That thing is awesome!
I prefer ESI silicone grips. MUCH lighter (50 - 70 grams total weight), MUCH cheaper, and can be cut to size like foam grips. Compared to other normal grips, they are more absorbent of trail chatter than all other slide on and lock-on grips. They stick to the bars, and your hands stick to them. They come in two widths. The only way I can imagine wanting these is if riser bars with proper agronomic sweep and silicone grips still left a person with numb hands.
I am jumping in a little late on this discussion, but I had to comment on these grips. I was in Prescott, AZ two days ago building up a bike with a friend and he pulled out two sets of these grips. Being a curious fellow, I put them on my bike and tested them out in Prescott on Sunday and in Sedona on Monday. The grips were great in almost all conditions except when the terrain tried to twist the front fork. With that, I felt that the grips had too much leverage on my arms. Otherwise, I could see having a pair of these equipped on long XC rides and definetly on a commuter bike. They took a lot of stress off my wrists and allowed me to ride with a more relaxed grip.
By the way, I just started reading Blue Collar Mountianbiking and so far so good.
Enjoy your ride!
I bought a set of these grips last summer and my experience was about the same as with Ourys. I ran them for about six weeks and had a hard time holding onto them once they got sweaty, so I switched back to Oury.
IMO: Having a few parts that cost a little more than we might wanna pay doesn’t make this bike a non- Blue Collar bike.
A $300.00 bike spec’d to make your riding better with a new saddle and grips which will make your comfort level and maybe keep medical issues from arising is still only a $400 bike. That is a far cry from a Spec’d out Brand X running 5-7k like they are running these days.
These remind me of those huge Specialized BG grips that came out a few years back. I don’t know if they still make them, but I loved them.
I got a pair of these, and they are ok, but way too expensive. They are good on long easy rides, like on gravel in good conditions, but I had some trouble on long cold wet bumpy 4 mile decents in Leadville last year. The irregular shape drove my hands into the shifters and did some damage to my hands that I’m still suffering from. I know I’m talking about some difficult conditions, but these babies failed me.
John
john: Sorry to hear about the injury. I hope you recover from it completely soon. The wet, rough conditions you spoke of directly influenced Ergon to develope the Enduro series of grips which would have been a grip much more suited to your specific needs that day. You might look into those if you feel you are going to be in a similar situation again.
I like this underlying theme of attacking the “blue-collar-ness” (if I may) of some of the comments posted on here. I can’t help but think that if its penny pinching we’re after we have only scratched the surface. To me $35 for grips is a lot, but its worth it for the comfort that these grips provide. Besides, its the $5000 bikes and fat people in lycra we are really trying to avoid. If $35 is too much for grips then $50 for a good seat might be too much, even though it beats sitting on the seat post…although that probably holds your weight about as well as a flat handlebar with a hard round grip.
Excellant point made Aaron.
If Dave in MI thinks those grips are expensive in the States he’d have a heart attack if he saw the price of them in the UK! By buying from US e-Bay I will save myself £10 ($20) even with the extra postage cost.
The guys at my Fire Station all trawl the net or e-Bay to build our blue collar bikes. After each pay day we look for the next part we need.
We have some good cycling locally but our dream is to get to the US one day and try some of your downhills. Enjoy your cycling guys.
I consider myself pretty thrifty, tight with the money, etc. You know, $75 frame off eBay and such.
However, when I developed numbness in my pinky and the outside edge of my ring finger that wouldn’t go away for a couple of days after long rides, I spent $39 on the grips with bar ends. I didn’t see an alternative other than “not riding”. I tried different gloves but it didn’t help. It took a few rides to get completely comfortable with these grips, but I love them now! I haven’t suffered any numbness since.
Bottom line; They’re kind of pricey, but the lack of numbness is PRICELESS to me!
Can’t we all get along. Who says that “Blue Collar” means “Poor”? I am blue collar, but bring in almost 6 figures with overtime, so I spend a lot of money on bike stuff. My Seven Sola titanium has all the latest gear on it, and I’m proud to say it was bought with money I earned at my blue collar job. So stuff it up your a$$ Dave In MI!!! This blog is all about the new blue collar, which is the old white collar. Or smething like that. Just go ride ya idgamit.
Oh, and I am amazed at the marketing tactics of those boys at Ergon. They are really using the blogosphere to push their product…. I see a lot of blogging MTBers are running these grips and writing about them. Pretty ingenious since its free advertising for Ergon.
I bought a pair when I upgraded my handlebars. I was hesitant w/the price, but numbing was totally bumming. I saw them on either Suergo or Excel. The logic of the design seemed undeniable. I will never go back to tradional grips. No numbness now, killer control on downhills )w/ the increase in surface area. These will hopefully be the standard of the future. How many people still ride a not split seat. I just rode the Death Ride on my split seat and Ergon grips; No numbness anywhere, just soreness. You must ask yourself, “What is the price you’re willing to pay for the quality of your life and the things you do?”
A friend told me that Ergons aren’t any good on a mountain bike because they’re too fat to wrap your hands around. Is that true?
Michael: Ergon grips come in two different diameters/sizes that fit a wide range of hands. Perhaps what your friend was referring to was the shape of the “paddle” type Ergon grips. Ergon has addressed that with the E-1 series, which is a rounder grip made for more extreme conditions and folks into power moves like wheelies, lunges, etc. They are also available in two sizes.
I seriously doubt that you couldn’t wrap your hands around at least the small size of Ergon grips unless your hands are extremely small. Ergon has a race team with several top women on it that have some pretty small hands and still can use the grips.
I’ve been looking for an ergonomic grip to hopefully reduce the wrist pain I encounter after riding even moderate distances. But I’m reluctant to put out too much money to experiment with something that in the end might not work. As an alternative, I found the Ergofix lock-on grip from BBB, a Dutch company, which can be had for $17 on Amazon. They’re not quite so paddle-shaped as the Ergons, so might be a good all-round grip for a variety of terrain and riding styles, but still look like they might provide similar relief. Anybody had any experience with these?
http://www.bbbparts.com/products/bike_parts/grips/bhg13.htm
I have to chime in as these grips are the best thing that I have found to relieve (completely) the wrist and ulnar nerve pains I’ve had on long MB rides and races. A long time ago, I tore the ligaments in my wrist and I can barely bend my hand back, making mountain biking painful. I raced 24 Hrs of Moab solo a few years back on standard grips and the technical nature of the course had shooting pains going up my arm to my shoulder. Not good. I switched over to the Ergon grips (large, with bar ends) a few months ago and have had no pain whatsoever. I just finished Moab solo again a few weeks ago and was amazed at the lack of pain and fatigue that these grips provide. (Actually allowed me to focus on the pain in my legs!) While they are certainly not cheap, they are in my opinion the best value in moutain bike components today. My 2 cents.
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I second the Ergon E1 series grips. I put a pair on my MTB commuter after spending two weeks with the basic foam stock grips. Such an improvement. I paid 40.00 for them. As far as ‘Blue Collar’ goes, I know blue collar people with 8000 movie setups in the LR, but a practical car. There is nothing wrong with splurging on your hobby, especially if its a safety or comfort issue.
CAS