[PHeller]

My dilemma, I move my hands around a lot. I've run SQLab 30x carbon bars with 12º sweep that actually hurt my wrists and hands more than my current KORE OCD 31.8 800mm bar. I'm a naturally wide guy, so I like wide bars, and I've experimented enough to know that narrow bars solve no problems.

I recently went to a coil fork which I think has helped with hand and wrist pain tremendously, especially on days when I'm trying to beat PRs on local descents.

However, I still can't get things right when it comes to spending lots of time on the bike, riding across flat landscapes. I think some of this has to do with steep seat angles, and I've mitigated that somewhat by running higher bars, more spacers, and more setback.

In the end, so much of it seems to come down to the grips. I like to open my hand up and just rest my hand on the grip, with the end of my hands hanging of the bars.

For a long time I ran ESI Chunky, but I kept destroying them. I love that uniformity of feel the whole way out to the end of the bar. At $25-$30, I wanted to get more than a season out of a set of grips. I can typically get about 3 years out of a set of rubber grips. I've even got some ESI Racer's Edge laying around that I'm saving for a XC race I'll never do, but I won't run them because I know they'll get destroyed instantly.

Then I tried good ol' fashion push on rubber grips from Sensus. I liked these, but I still couldn't get comfortable in long stretches of flat riding.

I've been running Revolution Grips, which I really like, with one exception, I need to move my hands around more and the lock collars are really uncomfortable.

Yep, I've even tried "winged" grips like those from Ergon, although not their GA3 which has me interested. The problem with a bigger wing is they are very awkward to ride when you need to be lose and move around the bike a lot.

A few years back I heard about ODI's A.I.R.E compound. I've heard these described as a perfect mix of ESI's foam and traditional soft rubber. Durable like a normal rubber grip, but soft and squishy like an ESI.

Anyone have any reviews for ODI F1 Vapor or Dreadlock?

 

[Taildragger]

The Dreadlock is a bigger diameter than the vapor which worked well for me. I really like them but switched to the ODI Elite Pro and never looked back.

 

[spaightlabs]

Was an ODI guy but switched to Deity Ultra Cush and love them.

 

[Mac_89]

Sounds like you’re after something durable but soft, uniform across the whole grip, no end collars or weird shapes, and I'm guessing if you like resting your palms on top of the grips (I do too) then you want something that isn't designed to feel like one of those chewable toothbrushes you get from vending machines in airport toilets.

The Ergon GA2 FAT might be exactly what you’re looking for. I’ve tried loads and they’re my favourite grips by far. Ticks all the boxes above.

 

[G-Choro]

I have Dreadlocks on one bike. They are comfortable. However, the AIRE compound is not that durable. Maybe I need to chill out and loosen my grip! These are on my trail bike.

I also have GA3s on two bikes. Excellent grips and long lasting. The wings are smaller than those found on other Ergons, but just enough, in my opinion. They don't feel like too much of a departure from a traditional grip. However, they also have that edge support to help alleviate numbness and discomfort. GA3s are on my XC/marathon and single speed bikes.

 

[noapathy]

I had this problem when I rode a mountain bike on long, flat stretches. Completely fixed by getting a gravel bike. Those curled up bars are surprisingly comfy for that sort of thing...almost like they were designed to be used that way or something. May be something to consider.

 

[looks easy from here]

Totally different suggestion, but what about throwing a pair of TOGS on? They're small plastic horns that go inboard of your grips to hook your thumbs on so you can drape your hands over the top of your grips. I have a pair on my bike. They're super unobtrusive when pointed down, but offer a lot of comfort and control when I'm grinding up or rolling along level ground and want a different hand position. I know you said you're looking for a solution to put your hands more outboard, but for $20 these may be worth a shot.

Or, if you prefer to stick with just grips, I have a pair of Dirty Supracushes that are thick, round and soft, and just use a single inside lock so the ends are soft, and were comfy for me during a lot of saddletime on a 2 day bikepacking trip, both with and without gloves.

 

[PHeller]

I'm going to try the ODI F1 Vapor. My hope is that last longer than ESI. I chose the Vapor because it doesn't have integrated plugs or a flanged end like the Dreadlocks.

If that doesn't work, then I'll look at the Ergon GA3. The GA3 with its slightly larger wing works in two ways: it's give a large surface area for the outside of the palm to rest on, and also naturally corrects the position of the hand. The GA2 works in a similar way. It's an attempt at changing the contact point ergonomics. I rode GA1s for a few years and the only gripe I had with them was that you've got to ride them a certain way to get the benefit.

Speaking of shaping...

Fat round grips like the Meaty Paws, Extra Chunky, Supracush, etc, just add surface area, but I will give them credit here: they lack shaping, which means the grip retains the same round shape with no tapering the whole way out to the end the bar. I think this is why I like the ESI grips more than most rubber grips - rubber grips tend to have little flanges or changes in shape as they approach the bar end. Those do the exact same thing to me at Lock Collars on my Rev Grips and others. It puts a hard, raised surface right under my pinky. Not good. I've ridden ESI Racers Edge and they actually felt more comfortable for XC rides than my 33mm Rev Grips despite the Rev Grips having lots of vibration isolation. This was because the Rev Grips are relatively narrow, and the outside of my palms where resting on the lock collar. When I ran 31mm Sensus Swayze, I found that little raise "nub" at the end of the grip also irritated my hands. ODI Rogues and Elites and many other brands do the exact same thing. I think that's why I find ESI grips so comfortable, they are a uniform design the whole way out to the end of the bar. The ESI Chunky has been my most favorite grip yet (before the Revs) because it was cushy foam and straight taper, but it lasted all of a week before a crash sliced it in the middle of the grip (bent a lever, too) forcing me to use tape to keep it one piece and it eventually fell apart.

As someone who has ridden every rubber grip under the sun, more rubber doesn't mean more comfort. Then again, it's been years since I've ridden an untapered unflanged "basic" fat rubber grip like classic Oury. In fact, I used to remove the integrated plugs/end flanges on Oury's because they bothered me. Larger diameter "fat" grips might be a good solution, but would I miss the vibration isolation that softer silicone foam provides? The reason I ditched slide on and lock on rubber grips years ago was because my hands just felt beat up on downhills. I recently experimented with Sensus Swayze and those lasted about a month before I went back to the Rev Grips - I blame shaping and lack of vibration damping.

An easy way to test if diameter could solve my problem is to merely wrap an existing grip with bar tape. I've done in that past on another bike (to keep a set of ESIes in service longer), maybe it's time I do it again on my MTB. I could even wrap my Rev Grips.

Here again, however, is the fact that I've ridden ESI Racers Edge and other ESI grips and the only complaint I have about them is durability. If I can ride a 30mm you-can-feel-the-bar-under-the-grip and find it comfortable, it's not the diameter, it's the shape and hard points that are bothering me.

TOGS aren't for me. I can ride all day with my thumbs up on top of the grips. I don't need little rubber bits to hang onto. In my mind, if your using Togs, it's because your grips or bar setup isn't right. I've read too many stories of people who used Togs, then got a different bar/grip setup, and never went back to the Togs.

 

[meschenbruch]

I have a pair of vapors on a ripley/xc-ish bike and the dreadlocks on a stumpjumper/all mountain bike. Vapors feel like they'll hold up longer than the dreadlocks as the material seems more consistent rather than the dreadlocks which is a bit more random (though that's the intent of the dreadlocks based on what it's described as). I prefer the feel of the vapors, they're a smaller diameter but i fell like they're a bit more plush, maybe because they don't have an internal sleeve. Can't comment on durability as i've only had them for a few hundred km's for each. At this stage I would happily purchase them again.