Strengths: Work well as long as you are in the one position on the bike for which they were set up for.
Weaknesses: As soon as you stand, move forward, move back -- then they're a pain. Also worthless for single speeding if you need to ever get out of the saddle
Bottom Line:
As long as I was seated and rolling along, they felt okay. But if you're in rough terrain and moving around on the bike (behind the saddle downhill, on the nose of the saddle uphill, standing up to sprint or grunt uphill) then the grip was no longer positioned appropriately for my hand -- lose grip and control. Yeah, comfortable enough if you're just planted in one place in the saddle, not at all comfortable if you need to do something that requires some body english...
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Submitted by
BmoreKen
a All Mountain Rider
from Ellicott City, MD, USA
Date Reviewed: March 12, 2012
Strengths: Helps alleviate pinky numbness, hand numbness
Weaknesses: hmmm...?
Bottom Line:
Works well in alleviating hand numbness. The added "wings" took a little getting used to for riding technical terrain (Mid-Atlantic singletrack: rock gardens, logs, roots, choopy downhills, etc.), but you adapt and now I don't even give it a second thought. With Ourys, you can wrap your fingers around, but with the Ergons you cannot but you adjust and now no loss in feel/performance.
Similar Products Used: Oury lock-ons, Salsa chili pepper grips,
Bike Setup: Niner MCR with Reba 100 fork, riser bar with 7 deg sweep
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Submitted by
phlegm
a Cross Country Rider
from Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: May 26, 2011
Strengths: Very light, can mitigate numbness issues, responsive customer service.
Weaknesses: Original 3mm bolts for clamps, expensive relative to other grips.
Bottom Line:
Agree that installations on carbon bars will require an assembly paste/grip. Even though documentation stated 4mm bolts, the included clamps were 3mm and not up to the task. After multiple adjustments (you'll want to ride and find the most comfortable angle - takes a few attempts), one of the bolt heads snapped off well before I hit the 5Nm torque setting. Ergon (US) shipped replacement clamps to me quickly, and these had a different 4mm bolt. Replacements are perfect.
Note that these grips are not a solution to a bad bike fit - get a proper fit done, then add these grips for an extra bit of comfort.
Strengths: Great comfort, Great design, fairly light!
Weaknesses: Original clamps (on one pair)
Bottom Line:
I have bought 5 pairs of these grips so far, 2 are on my bikes (SS and SS), one pair bought for my dad, and 2 pairs given out as B-Day presents to friends. I really like the feel and comfort of these grips. I really didn't know what I was missing before these! My past experience w/ "winged" grips was many years ago when they were extra chunky and created problems with reaching the shifters. After reading that they have a very low profile design to address this problems, I thought "well its been 6yrs..." I was sold! They really alleviate how much you have to grip the bar, which reduces hand fatigue and numbness later down the trail.
The only problem I have had was interfacing them w/ Salsa Carbon bars, and I could not get the clamp to lock onto the slick clearcoat of the carbon. I was having to go well past the recommended 6nm and one of the bolts broke. I should have known better, and used carbon paste :( I had to buy 2 new clamps, and the odd thing is the replacement clamps came with bolts that were a fill size bigger, and definitely stronger looking. My guess is that they were aware of the problem, and instead of recalling thousands of grips...just coerce everyone into buying new clamps...dunno, just speculating. Mounting them to aluminum bars, and my Truvativ Carbon bars were no problem...so I am guessing it was just those bars. Either way, I won't knock the grip for that fault..after all, I did exceed the recommended torque. So if you notice slipping, get some carbon paste, it may fix the problem!
Similar Products Used: ESI Racers Edge/Chunky, Crank Bros. Cobalt XC, Answer Fall Line Lock-on, Yeti Racers
Bike Setup: Santa Cruz Tallboy 29er Med. w/ Rockshox Monarch RT3
Roval Control EL 29 w/ 36T upgrade, Maxxis IKON EXO front and rear
Rockshox Reba Team Tapered 120mm 20mm T/A
SRAM X9 2x10 Shifters
SRAM X9 2x10 Fr. Derailleur
SRAM XO 2x10 R. Rerailleur, med cage (red)
SRAM S2200 (XO) 2x10 38/28 crankset w/ carbon bash
SRAM GXP bottom bracket
SRAM XX 11-36 10 speed cassette
SRAM PC-1091R chain
Easton EC90 Zero seatpost
Fizik Alianta Gamma XM saddle (K:ium)
Bontrager XXX Lite Carbon Stem (Ti hardware)
Truvativ Noir WCS Carbon bars, low rise
Cane Creek 110 Tapered headset
Shimano XT 770 pedals
Hayes Stroker Gram Carbon disc brakes (Ti. Hardware)
Alligator Serration 160mm (Ti. Hardware)
Jagwire Ripcord shifter cables (red)
Specialized bottle cages (red)
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Submitted by
joeinchi
a Weekend Warrior
from Highland Park, IL
Date Reviewed: September 21, 2010
Strengths: Great feel, ergo benefits, comfort, grippy
Weaknesses: A little pricey
Bottom Line:
Great product! I do fitness rides on some pretty harsh roads and these grips eliminate ANY soreness or numbness. My bike has a relatively agressive geometry which means I'm stretched out a bit and leaning forward (not upright). With my old, stock grips, I'd develop soreness around the thumb joints from all this weight but the flatter, elevated platform provided by the GX1's spreads this weight across the entire palm. Bingo!
Also, I have smaller hands (mens 8) and the GX1 is a perfect fit. I don't have a problem one-finger braking (I simply adjusted the lever reach and angle) and the grippy surface works great with bare hands. No gloves required!
I tried the WTB version and, while it is also a nice product, it's about an inch wider than the Ergon grips. The extra length pushed the shifter too far away from my fingers for easy operation. They also have an inboard "collar" and mounting bolt which come into contact with the shifters and prevented correct positioning. Too bad because I like WTB's stuff.
In terms of comfort, I just did a 20-mile charity ride, on and off the bike for SIX HOURS, and the GX1's performed as advertised. No numbness or soreness and they felt very secure whether on the flats, climbing or doing +30 mph downhill blasts.
As mentioned, getting the set up just right takes some trial and error. But the exceptional feel, security and comfort provided by the GX1's definitely make it worth your while.
Bike Setup: 1994 Marin Bear Valley with Continental ContiSport slicks (80 psi) and chromoly rigid fork. Fitness rides.
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Submitted by
Varaxis
a Weekend Warrior
from New York
Date Reviewed: August 14, 2010
Strengths: Cool green color, extra support for wrist
Weaknesses: Need to reconfigure cockpit for hand position change, hard to set up perfectly
Bottom Line:
These are the most expensive grips I've ever bought. I bought into the ergonomic gimmick and feel that they make my riding performance worse. Unless you have sensitive wrist issues, don't bother. I'll keep riding them for now, but I would not recommend them or buy them again.
According the the manual, you want to set it up roughly level to the ground. With the paddle higher, your hand slips downward; with the paddle lower, it feels closer to a normal grip.
I find that my hand is further back with the Ergon, meaning that it's more difficult to reach the brake levers. I no longer feel safe doing 1-finger braking on long descents, since my finger tires out sooner and 2-finger braking kind of leaves my hands loose on the grip. On the bright side, even if I wanted to "death grip", this probably wouldn't let me, I think.
Similar Products Used: ODI Rogue Lock-On, Oury, ESI Chunky, stock grips
Bike Setup: Ergon GX-1 Leichtbau set roughly level to ground, 711mm width 19mm rise, 9/5 sweep handlebars, 50mm 0 rise stem
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Submitted by
nickburton60
a Racer
from Shreveport, LA
Date Reviewed: April 25, 2010
Strengths: Super comfortable, good clamp WHEN INSTALLED RIGHT. Comes in team green color (sweet lime green)
Weaknesses: None at all, well maybe just the time it takes to find your personal sweet spot.
Bottom Line:
Alot of people are saying they wont clamp on carbon bars but they are not installing them right. ANYTHING CARBON FIBER THAT IS CLAMPED MUST HAVE FIBERGRIP ON IT! Fiber grip is not grease, its a gritty compund you can get online or at any good bike shop. Any good shop would know that, also in order to get the proper tourqe setting all bolts must be greased to reduce friction so the get to their true tourqe setting instead of tourqing out early because of the friction from the dry bolt. This is why it is important to have knowledgable bike mechanics do work on your bike. THERE IS NO REASON FOR ANYTHING CARBON OR ANYTHING ON CARBON TO SLIP OR TWIST IF YOU USE FIBERGRIP AND PROPERLY TOURQE IT.
Similar Products Used: Ritchey lock-ons, Specialized lock-ons, Oury grips, cheap stock stuff robbed from my many other bikes.
Bike Setup: Kona Kula Supreme, EASTON MONKEYLITE carbon lowrise, 15G by the hife crank, Fox F100, Vuelta XRP team lite wheels, etc.
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Submitted by
jmascia
a Weekend Warrior
from Boston, MA
Date Reviewed: January 10, 2010
Strengths: comfort
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
These grips are great at eliminating the forearm tendonitis that you get with standard grips when you are older and put many hours a week on the trails. I got the tendonitis so bad that I couldn't even pick up a pot of coffee. After using these grips for about 4 days the tendonitis completely diappeared and has never returned since. I highly recommend them for this purpose. In season I ride some pretty aggressive All Mountain trails about 16 - 20 hours a week.
Submitted by
CoeCrew
a Cross Country Rider
from Dallas, TX
Date Reviewed: October 19, 2009
Strengths: Nice Feel, great support or the ball of the hand.
Weaknesses: Only one lock makes getting them firmly on the bars (Easton Monkelylite) impossible. I kept twisting them during rides. Caused one sard sale as my grip twisted completely during a high speed turn.
Bottom Line:
Can't recommend these until they add lock ons to both ends of the grip
Bike Setup: Titus Racer X Carbon, SRAM X.0, Noir Cranks, DID World Cup, Easton Monkeylite bars, EC 90 post, Fizik Gobi saddle, Cobalt Wheels
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Submitted by
jrahm
a Cross Country Rider
from Sisters OR
Date Reviewed: September 20, 2009
Strengths: Comfortable, look good. light for what they are
Weaknesses: Will not clamp on some bars
Bottom Line:
Could not get these to hold on my Ritchie carbon bars, ended up stripping the screws in the effort. Worked great on my my Fleegle. Will return them to REI, meanwhile using my old original style Ergons.
Best choice in grips period. Takes a little time to get them just right. Make the investment, you'll be happy you switched. If your wrists still hurt it's more than just the grips....it's you bike fit.
Strengths: Seem to be well made. Installation is easy. Removal too!
Weaknesses: Didn't work for me.
1) I sometimes have numbness in my left hand which makes shifting difficult. I hoped that these grips would alleviate that, but they didn't. I tried some different angles and rode them for 3-4 rides, but they are apparently made to address a different problem than mine.
2) These are firmer grips than the ODIs I usually run. Due to that stiffness, or perhaps the shape of the grip, my hands got more tired than usual, both on the road and during a MTB ride on rocky terrain.
3) The shape made me feel less secure in techy situations, particularly fast downhills where I want a secure grip and 1 finger on the brake. You can't really get 'behind' the grip with these.
4) they are heavier than normal grips, 60 grams more for the pair than my normal grips.
Bottom Line:
They seem like a high quality product, but they didn't work for me.
Submitted by
dirthead
a Cross Country Rider
from Phoenix, AZ
Date Reviewed: April 28, 2009
Strengths: Super comfort, well constructed, heavy duty clamp
Weaknesses: Can't think of any
Bottom Line:
The grips are the best ever! Ergon had a tent setup at this years 24 Hrs at the Old Pueblo, and had some screaming deals on grips. I looked at them a couple of times and finally decided to try a pair. It took a few rides to get the angle adjusted right where I wanted it. I immediately noticed my hands just did not hurt like they normally did with round grips. After a month of use, I decided to take them off and try the round ODI lockons again. Bad decision. After 20 mins on the trail, my hands were screaming for the Ergons. I had no idea how much of a difference they actually made until I took them off my bike and tried round grips again. That will be the last time!
These grips are incredible. I cannot recommend them highly enough. My hands used to ache on every mtb ride. I constantly moved them around on the bars. My hands never hurt now. The wing provides a lot of support for your palm.
Submitted by
mtnbiker72
a Weekend Warrior
from Rainier, OR
Date Reviewed: February 25, 2009
Strengths: Slim enough to not really notice a difference from standard grip, Great support for my hands, Reasonable weight, Nice grip pattern works well with gloves
Weaknesses: Price is a little steep compared to other lock on grips, clamp bolts were too short but same as rotor bolts or water bottle bolts so I had longer ones to fix that.
Bottom Line:
For the two tards who only "Tested or Demo'd" these grips and gave them low scores...try actually using these for more than a test ride before making a review. Your reviews is worthless, I'll bet you submit plenty of worthless reviews on MTBR!
Now enough of that rant. These grips take a few rides to get the position dialed in. it would be pure luck to get it right the first time. Carry a mini tool with you and be prepared to make several adjustments before getting them in the right position. But once you do...oh my do they feel nice. Hand pain and numb fingers are GONE! Long descents are no longer tests of hand pain threshold. I do feel they are a bit over-priced considering other lock on grips run around $25 for the complete package. But given the comfort, I would happily pay $38 again for another pair.
Similar Products Used: Cane Creek Moab Lock On, Quarry Grips
Bike Setup: 29er hardtail
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Submitted by
musky
a Cross Country Rider
from Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: January 29, 2009
Strengths: Very easy to install, and adjust. Comfort is amazing, and way better than I expected. No more numb arms!
Weaknesses: Pricy, allthough for me at least, its worth it. It takes some time and fiddling to get the angles right...again, worth it.
Bottom Line:
These grips are amazing.
Being a bit of a klutz, in the past, I have broken both my wrists, which makes riding anything more than a half an hour extremely uncomfortable. I tried different riding positions, different bar and stem combos, and nothing helped.
After a little research, I came across these grips. At first I thought it was just a gimmik. I found a shop that stocked em, so I headed out and bought a set.
After taking the time to get them into a position that worked for me (3-4 rides) I was sold. They didn't totally relieve the pain, but, I can now ride 3-4 hours with out and discomfort. A definite plus!
If you experience the same sort of discomfort as I do, then I highly recommend at least trying out these bad boys. They saved my life! Ok, maybe not my life, but they saved my hands!
Taking off a chili due to the high price
