How do I find the correct bike grips
The correct bike grips are essential for a carefree cycling experience. If your hands are plagued by numbness, you not only have significantly less control over your bike – which is dangerous – your performance suffers just as much as your enjoyment of cycling. Without a comfortable, safe riding experience, you might just want to leave your bike in the garage. To prevent this from happening to you, you should always ride with the right grips , whose size, surface and grip diameter (this refers to the outer diameter, the inner diameter is standard for all handlebars and grips) fit your hand size and riding habits. You should therefore not just use any inexpensive grips with a thin layer of rubber or foam at this important contact point between the handlebars and your hand. We explain why and how to find the best bike grips for you.
Why are the correct grips important?
When you sit on the bike, a large part of your weight rests on your palms. Impacts are transferred directly to your hands and can lead to extremely high pressure. This can irritate the ulnar nerve and lead to numbness and pain. If you then bend your wrist too much, which can easily happen with round grips without sufficient grip, you can constrict the median nerve and compress the blood vessels, which then leads to carpal tunnel syndrome. To prevent this from happening to you, the ergonomics experts at Ergon have designed grips with numerous ergonomic features for every segment within cycling and for every riding style.
Which grips are best for me?
Choosing the correct grip is not that easy. It is important to know where and how you are riding on your bike. Here is a list of the different purposes and the necessary features:
Mountain biking:
Riding off-road brings with it several demands. The hard impacts on the trails require particularly effective cushioning. You also need particularly hard-wearing rubber and perfectly coordinated grip zones so that you can maintain control of your bike even during technically demanding off-road maneuvers. Other special grip features, such as different size bar ends, give you additional hand positions and relief. Ergon has developed the correct grip for every aspect of mountain biking – from downhill, enduro and marathon to cross country, freestyle and slopestyle. Most of our mountain bike grips are produced as lock-on grips. They are easier to install and guaranteed to always stay secure on the handlebars, even with heavy impacts, moisture or large temperature differences. All you need is an Allen key to install or adjust the grips.
Road and Gravel
Road and gravel cyclist do not have the option of fitting classic handlebar grips due to the unique handlebar shape. So that road and gravel cyclists can also enjoy the benefits of ergonomic relief, Ergon has developed a range of handlebar tape for every area of use. Gravel cyclists, for example, require a thicker and softer handlebar tape than road cyclists due to the rough surface and more vibrations on the handlebars.
City/Touring
Whether it’s a long bike ride or a short shopping trip – comfort is the top priority for city and touring cyclists. Nothing spoils the joy of cycling more than uncomfortable grips or even pain in the hands, arms and shoulders. Ergon invented the pain and pressure relieving wing grip, the Ergon GP1 , which, like many of our other touring grips, is also available as an organic cork version . The large contact surface provides effective relief and prevents excessive bending of the wrist. Whether you want to be sporty or completely relaxed on the road, we have specially adapted city and touring grips for you in our range.
The correct posture is as important as the grips themselves
Even the best grips lose their effectiveness if you have not adjusted your bike correctly to your body measurements. We recommend the Ergon Bike Fitting Box , available for mountain and road bikes, which allows you to adjust your bike to your individual requirements in just a few steps. By optimizing your bike fit, your new Ergon grips can do exactly what they are supposed to do: give you more enjoyment while cycling.
