Customer Reviews

Ergon Grip P-1Mg Series Bicycle Handle Bar Grips, Large

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The description for the Ergon GP1 Performance Grips in this listing provides a choice of small or large sizes. The problem is that there are 6 choices, of which only two choices are allowed. The six choices are the permutations of
Grips for small hands
Grips for large hands
Grips for bicycles that do not have shifters next to the grips (i.e. 132 mm long grips)
Grips for bicycles that have shifters on both the left and right sides (i.e. 94 mm grips)
Grips for bicycles that have a shifter on one side, and thus need a mixed set of long and short grips.

The selection provided in this product listing is for either
132 mm large grips on both hands, or
132 mm small grips on both hands

Honestly...these are the best grips I have ever used. Riding a Gary Fisher 29er and after putting these on I feel so connected to the bike. It like there is a level of control and comfort that wasnt there before. There is no going back. Just ordered a second pair for the other bike. Buy this grip with confidence. (I don't sell or work in bike industry. I just ride.)

I have wrist problems and big hands. On top of that I've had surgery on both my lower back and neck. So I've had to set my bike up to allow me to sit more upright in the saddle. These grips are wonderful because they actually transfer weight from my wrist joints to my palms and they allow me to hang on while keeping my wrists relatively straight rather than bent. I find that they also offer great grip even when my hands are sweaty (I'm not a big fan of riding with gloves during the Summer). Now about big hands: I find that with regular grips I feel like I'm hanging onto a broomstick. With these, my hands wrap around comfortably and my fingers don't touch my palm the way they do with regular round grips. I also had no trouble positioning brake and shift levers with these grips. Every bike I ever own from now on will be equipped with these grips. If you don't have big hands, I would see how these grips could be difficult to grasp. I believe they offer these in a smaller size.

On some of my longer rides I found my hands started to tingle like they were falling asleep. To overcome this annoyance I decided to get better grips. I shopped around a bit and found the Ergons. I got a pair and now they are pretty much standard equipment on whatever bike I own.

They come in several sizes and styles but functionally are more or less identical. They consist of a piece of what appears to be silicone based rubber that slides over your handle bars. It's a bit bigger than the standard bar so sliding it on is not difficult (getting the old grips off is another matter).

Once you have it on you rotate it to a comfortable position. For me that is about a 15 degree slant under the horizon. Once you have the angle right then you attach the aluminum clamp on the end. You use a hex wrench to get the grip nice and tight. Then you finish with a handle bar plug. Repositioning is as simple as loosening the clamp a bit, slowly twisting the grip and then tightening it back down.

Different styles have different clamps. They have a smooth clamp. Its just a clamp. Then they have a style that has small climbing bars, really climbing spurs. I have that style on my mountain bike. While I don't use the spurs for climbing that much they do ad some security as a hook or brace for my hands under heavy stress and as a place to rest them when I'm going over smooth roads. They also make a pair that has larger somewhat more functional climbing clamps.

Climbing spurs aside the main benefit of these grips is they spread your weight out over a larger area. This is a plus on long rides and when you hit some nasty bumps. I've used them with both shimano and SRAM index lever type shifters and they work great.

They come in two sizes, small and large. My hands typically fit a medium glove and I find the smalls to be nice. There is plenty of support but I can still get a good grip. They also make a "competition" style. Its more or less the same but has a more angular and aggressive look, also claims to be a few grams lighter and seems to be made of a stiffer material. Not as much give or cushion. I've stuck with the "comfort" line and been well pleased.

So to Sum it up

Pros
Works great, excellent comfort
Easy to install and adjust

Cons
Expensive compared to other grips, but worth it.

Conclusion
If your looking for a more comfortable grip then this is what you want. Well worth the money.

NOTE 1: see my instructions for removing old grips (without destroying them) at the end of this message.

Note 2: SPECIFICATIONS (not given here by Amazon as of this writing): these are "Ergon GP1 Grips" (the box says "GP1-S" for small, "GP1-L" for large, but for some reason it's called by Amazon as I write this: "Ergon Grip P-1Mg Series Bicycle Handle Bar Grips"). Both the left and the right grip "require a handlebar with 22.2 mm diameter in the grip area and uninterrupted bar space of 132 mm each side..." - in other words they're each 132 mm long and they fit standard handlebars. The clamp that tightens each grip to the handlebars requires a 4 mm Allen wrench. Since they need to be rotated after they're on to adjust them to the desired angle, they don't slide on and self-lock in place like most other grips. Personally, I also needed a 5 mm Allen wrench to loosen and slide the shift/brake units out of the way and then to tighten back against the installed grips, but that will vary from bike to bike.

I bought the small size, after seeing a recommendation to do that elsewhere by a male expert who has a 9" handspan (mine's [male] 8 1/2"). I'm glad I did: I think the large would have been too wide on the outside section and my hands would be too stretched out. The small size allows me to vary from adsorbing most of the force with the ball of my hand on the wide, outside part or sliding my hand in and gripping the circular part with the thumb, index and ring fingers: and varying your hand position greatly reduces numbness.

I took off one star because these grips are NOT as soft/pliable as the original grips that came with the bike. So I feel my body weight on my hands a little more, but they definitely give me a more comfortable overall ride and they let me hold the grips a couple different ways by slightly rotating my wrists and putting more weight on the outsides or insides of my hands. That greatly reduces numbness and is worth the $20 bucks I paid ($28.44 as I update this!) so it's an excellent deal but not the ultimate solution.

The instructions on this grip say "Turn the grip so that the support platform [wide part] completely supports the ball of your hand [the padded part on the outside when holding the grip]. The wrist should be in a neutral [not strongly bent] position." I rode around the street in front of my house with the grips and the brake/shift units just slightly loose, adjusted them them until my wrist was relatively straight and the ball of each hand was feeling a little more pressure than the fingers on the thin end and where the brake and shift levers were easy to use. Then I tightened them.

I bought a Diamondback [Raleigh] Response XE mountainbike and, with the original grips, my out-of-shape hands got so numb after 3 miles of riding I couldn't feel the shifters when I clicked them. The round grips were springy and soft enough, but either my getting back to riding after decades of not doing so or being out of shape left my hands tingling at 1 mile and numb after 3 miles.

I still get some degree of numbness with these Ergon grips but it's much more minor. Varying my grip or simply lifting one hand off the handlebar for 10 seconds often removes the tingling. On a couple of occasions, I've gotten really numb with them around 6 miles (twice the original's distance!), but that's usually when there's a lot of traffic on the trail I'm on and I'm gripping harder, steering more, and less relaxed. I'm seeing those occasions disappearing as I become more and more reacquainted with cycling.

HOW TO REMOVE OLD GRIPS WITHOUT DESTROYING THEM: This refers to the round rubbery grips. Loosen whatever brake, shift, etc. things are up against the grips and slide them toward the center of the handlebar to get them out of the way. Take a long, thin, flat-head screwdriver and gently slide it under the grip for most of its length. If your old grips have end plugs, it's easiest to remove them and do this from the end-side of the grip. Place a few drops of any oil (cooking, 3-in-1, WD-40, etc.) or even rubbing alcohol or hair spray on the screwdriver where it goes under the grip and let it sink down. Then begin rotating the grip back and forth and it should begin to give. If not, add more oil. Remove the screwdriver and simply twist the grip off. In my hands, I put a couple scratches in the handle bar paint sliding the screwdriver in, but since they're where no one can see them and no water gets to them, it's no big deal. After both grips are removed, clean the oil off the handlebars and old grips with any desired liquid cleaner or even Windex spray. Now your handlebars are ready for the new grips.

I have not yet bought these grips because of the price. However, I'd like to offer some information gleaned from the ergon-bike.com website that will hopefully clear up the confusion over grip length presented by the Amazon product descriptions and reviews.

The models and lengths of the three GP1 grip sets are:

Standard - Left: 132mm, Right: 132mm (Amazon id: P1)
Rohloff®/Nexus® - Left: 132mm, Right: 96.5mm (Amazon id: for Nexus/Rohloff)
GripShift® - Left: 96.5mm, Right: 96.5mm (Amazon id: P1WG)

The standard 123mm grips would be too long for my bike, since the shifter/brake units create interference. There is discussion in the "GP1" reviews about cutting that model shorter or sliding the shifters in; neither an appealing idea to me. Thus, the P1WG model is what I would need.

Easy to install. Took 3-4 times of riding/adjusting until I got them just how I wanted. If they are angled too high it will put your hand to sleep. Definitely relieved the pain I was having before.

My reason for writing this review - I read several people warning against ordering large. I have pretty normal-sized men's hands and I ordered the large. The large are not too big at all. In fact I wish they were slightly larger. Just for comparison I normally wear a large in glove size.

I have been cycling for over 15 years, and always used to get pain in my wrists and numbness in my fingers. Not knowing there was anything that I could do about it, I rode in pain. Not anymore! After installing these grips, I went for a ride to test them out. Immediately I knew that I had made a wise choice in purchasing them. These grips are fantastic, and anyone would benefit from using them. Not only do they provide a pain-free ride (wrists and hands), but they also give me much beter control of my bike. Even if you are a weigh-weenie - GET THESE GRIPS!

Also, unlike regular grips, the Ergons are easy to install. The 4mm alan key adjustment screw means that you can get the position just right and it will stay that way.

These grips are of highest quality. They clamp on to the handlebars, so move them whenever you want. They stay put when you tighten them in place. They cured my wife's numb hands. Very comfortable. The only downside is they are expensive.

I bought these as an experiment. Did a 100 mile race in 2010 (11 hours on the bike), and started getting numb fingers after the halfway point. Been out a few times for 3-4 hour rides with the Ergons and have been pretty pleased thus far. Also bought a set with the integrated bar ends to try, but I'm sold on the Ergons overall. Set up properly, they are VERY comfortable. Especially on the downhill. Ergon could provide a bit more guidance on setting them up - particularly around the correct angle for the "wing," and some may perceive the grips to be a little heavy, but otherwise, an excellent product that can make a big difference in comfort on the bike. I'm running these for my racing this year.