Grip Data Base

There are many aspects of bike fit that are over looked, especially by mountain bikers, as the dynamic aspect of riding off road means that the rider changes position on the bike much more frequently than a road rider does. That being said, the cumulative effects of poor fit add up, contributing to discomfort and pain in many areas. Common signs of poor fit are complaints about “sore back”, “sore wrists”, “sore hands”, “sore neck” and a “sore butt”.

Fit can be drastically wrong if the overall bike is sized incorrectly but more frequently it is based on a poor selection of, or unwillingness to change, the key touch points and set them up relative to each other correctly. Riders are loath to change for many reasons, some of which are:

1. a mistaken belief that the bike brand product manager has considered everything part from a fit and performance perspective rather than a cost and availability perspective.
2. a lack of understanding of the relationship between touch points.
3. an unwillingness to spend money on a component that might not provide an improvement and then be hard to on-sell for the purchase price (this is not helped by an almost total lack of demo programs).

I am posting these simple data bases, which I will endeavour to keep up to date (and perhaps readers will help by adding suggestions through the “comments” function), in order to provide a single location that simply lists a number of quality options available by size.

Note: there are no double lock ring grips listed (and there never will be*) as I rest my ulna pad on the end of the grip and cannot see a reason to compromise hand position for an mechanically unnecessary second lock ring.

Large diameter single lock ring (32 mm +)

DMR Deathgrip Thick (33 mm) Race/ Standard 

Ergon GA2 Fat

Fabric Magic grip

Fabric Silicone

Fabric Semi Ergo Silicone

Sensus Meaty paw (35 mm) *fattest grip available

SQ-Lab 70X M

SQ-Lab 711 Tech & Trail L

Large diameter push on (32 mm +)

Fabric Silicone

ESI Extra Chunky (34 mm)

Lizard Skins DSP L

Lizard Skins OURY V2

SQ-Lab 711R XL (33 mm)

Wolftooth Components Fat Paw (36 mm)

Wolftooth Components Fat Paw Cam (36 mm)

Wolftooth Components Mega Fat Paw (40 mm)

Wolftooth Components Mega Fat Paw Cam (40 mm)

Average diameter single lock ring (31 – 32 mm)

Bjorn Grips

Burgtec Bartender Pro

DMR Deathgrip Thin: Race/ Standard

Ergon GA2

Ergon GD1 Slim

Ergon GFR1

Ergon GE1 Evo/ Evo Factory

Ergon GD1 Evo/ Evo Factory

Fabric Funguy

Lizard Skins Single Lock-on Machine

ODI AG-2

ODI F-1 Series Dread Lock V2.1

ODI Elite Flow

OneUp Grip (30 mm) *tendency to twist at the ends

SQ-Lab 70X S

SQ-Lab 711 Tech & Trail M *soft end cover rather than hard end cap

Average diameter push on (31 – 32 mm)

Chromag Wax

DMR Sect

Ergon GE1 Evo Slim/ Evo Factory Slim

ESI Chunky (32 mm)

Renthal Aramid

Sensus Swayze

SQ-Lab 711R L (31 mm)

Wolftooth Components Karv (32 mm)

Wolftooth Components Karv Cam (32 mm)

Small diameter single lock ring (< 31 mm)

Burgtec Bartender

Chromag Format *stickiest no glove grip I have ever used

Ergon GD1 Evo/ Evo Factory Slim

ODI Motion

Reverse Components Stamp 30 mm

Sensus Lite

SQ-Lab 711 Tech & Trail S *soft end cover rather than hard end cap

Small diameter push on (< 31 mm)

ESI Racer’s Edge (30 mm)

Lizard Skins Danny Macaskill

Lizard Skins DSP S

SQ-Lab 711R M

SQ-Lab 711R S

Wolftooth Components Razer (30 mm)

Ergonomic Grips

Ergon GA3 (30/ 32 mm)

Ergon GA3 Supernova (30 mm)

Fabric Ergo Silicone (30 mm)

Fabric Ergo (30 mm)

SQ-Lab 710S (S/ M/ L)

*I do see a place for double lock rings when they are supporting a technology such as that offered by Rev Grips as long as every other aspect of hand/ arm fit for the rider has been considered.

Some of these considerations are:

1. Handle bar stem clamp diameter (there are very few riders that justify a 35 mm stem clamp diameter handle bar).
2. Handle bar material: carbon, well made, does provide vibration dampening value.
3. Handle bar sweep: as bars have got wider not enough has been done to examine sweep angle, a lot of riders with wrist issues might benefit from 9ª-12º sweep.
4. Bar rise: too many riders use steerer stack in lieu of adjusting bar rise and bar roll. Often the desired grip height (hand position) can be achieved by using more rise.
5. Grip diameter: too many riders won’t try different grips to see if they benefit from a different diameter, shape or compound.

Note: Reverse Components offers grips in every diameter from 28 mm – 34 mm but most are double lock ring models which is why they are not included.