Ergon grips ... anyone ??

[Andy.G]

Dearest farkiners ... ERGON grips,

I seek any opinions or experiences with these interesting looking grips.

I have seen them in the occasional bike mag photo, and wondered as I sometimes suffer badly from hand fatigue and pressure point issues. I especially like the built in bar-end ... something lock-on grips have largely ignored the incorporation of ... (only one integrated style I know of, Cane Creek)

So, if you have them or have tried them ... please join in and enlighten me.

 

[setonz]

Have you been reading a certain recent magazine article?
I am pretty interested in them myself as i suffer from pins/needles in my right hand on long rides. I know that Andrew Bell was using them on his Kona's for enduro events( which he won) but never got a chance to speak to him about them.
I have a set of the new Jet Black Products grips that have a raised half moon shape on a 1/3 of the grip that is supposed to splay out the metacarpal bones and help the situation. They worked fine for about the first 7 hours of the Ottway race.... after that everything else was cactus. Much cheaper than ergon grips to.

 

[Andy.G]

Yes, read the latest tech section on cyclingnews.com and thats how I knew what they were called ... then checked thewebsite and like what I saw.

No rush of replies, so I'm guessing that they aren't widely used.

Can't remember even seeing them at the big bicycle expo in Melb last year.

 

[cdfeto]

I'd be quite surprised to hear that they are much better then any other decent grip ... they look cool/different, but do we really need 10 different compound and integrated bar ends all in one grip?

If long rides and sore hand was my issue, I'd simply give the good old Oury grips a go - I'm sure they'll still feel good after 7 hours of riding. And what wrong with the traditional bar end?

 

[Andy.G]

Got Oury lock-ons on my hardtail. No further relief from the Ruffians I had before that. Currently got the factory grips on my dually but they're just like ruffians - I like the feel.

Bar ends ?? I can't afford to give width away on 560mm EC90 carbon flatbars on said hardtail, surely integrating them at the concept design stage would work ?? Plus there is the clamping force distribution issue on some carbon bars.

 

[FR Drew]

From what I've heard there's a big difference comfort wise in the standard oury grip and the lock on oury grip. Not comparing appples with apples, the non lock on variety is supposed to be much softer and more shock absorbing.

 

[DW-1]

From what I've heard there's a big difference comfort wise in the standard oury grip and the lock on oury grip. Not comparing appples with apples, the non lock on variety is supposed to be much softer and more shock absorbing.

correct. Std Ourys are natural rubber all the way. While the Lock-On version has to have a hard centre core (like all the ODI compatible grips) that does make them slightly less squishy than the regular version.

I've run Lock-On Ourys for years. But I went back to std clear ones on the Ibis and they are so much softer...

Back to the Ergon grips:
Cassons is/were the distributor until last year. We were approached by Ergon. Nice product. But we just have too much going on at the moment.

Elvis.

 

[Andy.G]

Well, at the risk of sounding overly coincidental ...
I have the non-lock Oury grips on my old cro-mo rigid 'shopping trolley ride-kids-to school/shops bike. I have never noticed much difference, but sure, I'd agree there probably is. I never ride that bike further than 15 or 20 minutes these days ...

I think the main issue for me is the concept of shape and distribution of weight ... and dare I bang on about it ... the integrated bar-end !!!

 

[cappy]

Andy - true that the lock-on grips suck as far as comfort goes, but after nearly coming off from hand slippage and a slippery grip one wet season (Darwin rain - nuf said) - I made my mind up to stick with lock-ons. That being said - I alternate between 3 pairs of gloves (wear & tear reasons mainly, and they are cheap of places like ebay):

Roeckl (german glove). Totally useless as far as padding goes (but stops the skin coming off).

Specialized body geometry glove (with the fancy padding thing to reduce carpel tunnel related problems), that are meant to be gel padded, but don't feel much better than cardboard.

And these Cannondale gel padded beasties that I scored off ebay for less than the price of a burger and fries.

I noticed a huge difference in comfort with the cannondales. They have decent gel pads, and on the last Mandorah ride - i took them (used the specialized gloves the Mandorah ride before that one). Anyway - cut a long story short - those big gel pads sure do make it comfortable. Keep in mind the mandorah ride is about 5 - 6 hours, and the time I used the cannondale gloves I didn't get numbness at all (whereas I got pins and needles with the Specialized).

Just my 2c. See ya on the trails next lunch time.