Grant Robinson is a funny guy 152 MAILSHOT
We’ve been dealing out some healthy disrespect on all of our bikes, kit and clothing over the past few months and we will be letting you know how all of it has been standing up to our consistent abuse over the coming months…
Cane Creek Locking Grips
I am a great lover of the classic and original ODI Ruffian Lock–On grip, to me it can’t really be beaten. But then having said that I do sometimes find that when it is really muddy (you know the type, when you’ve fallen off and your gloves get caked in muck for the hundredth time) that the super fine pattern on the standard Ruffian (like a Bastard file) sometimes gets a bit clogged up. The Ruffian is great in dry conditions, or when you manage to stay upright on your bike. So I wasn’t really looking for a ‘winter/ mud’ grip, but one of our test bikes came with these Cane Creek ‘Locking Grips’ and they were bang on. The Cane Creek logo acts as a raised, open pattern on the grip. That open pattern works in a similar way to a mud tyre, helping it clear muck more easily, and making it easy to wipe off and keep clean. The raised sections are made from a comfy soft compound rubber, sogrip is excellent. The downside? At almost 23 quid they are a bit pricey. Mike Rose
Price: £22.99
Extra UK 01933 672 170
www.extrauk.co.uk
Bontrager Race Lite
Lock-on Grips
What more can be said about lock–on grips? Plenty it seems. See, these ain’t like all the other lock–ons. Bet you’ve heard that before. Well I guess there are just so many blatant straight copies of the originals. The Bontrager takes the grip to a simpler, lighter, other level. The detail includes a pattern that works bare handed or gloved, but there’s more than that because unlike the majority of designs the inner plastic sleeve isn’t solid, there’s a load of holes in it – that means more room for soft rubber in a skinny grip – it makes for a grip with far more ‘give’. This is a good thing, it means more padding for a thinner area. The second feature is the single lock – lighter. Thirdly the bar end is included in the
grip, so this means no extra faff. Finally the design comes in cut–away flange or straight version, plus there’s even a ‘fat’ version if you’re that way inclined. Price is the usual Bontrager value. Great grip. The only problem I have had with them in the past six months since Downieville is the uneven wear on outer edge, but this is down to the shape of the bar I’ve been using. Steve Jones
Price: £9.99
Trek UK 01908 282 626
www.bontrager.com
Odi X–treme Lock–on Grips
The lock–on system is a modern mountain biking breakthrough and these examples from ODI don’t disappoint. Good grip in all conditions…even when my gloves have been caked in sloppy mud after a spill. They have a relatively soft rubber compound that is wearing well. I’ve found the girth and length (130mm) more than comfortable enough for my oversized and ape’ish mitts. ODI say that the ‘chunky knurl’ pattern is tapered to provide more material on contact points with the hand, and you know what, they are probably right – it’s not that noticeable, but they work. These are good grips, they perform well and have a solid heritage. They look kind of exclusive in the sumptuous graphite as well. Not cheap though for the complete kit when you consider the competition. Jon Gregory
Price: £21.99 (Graphite or Black inc clamps),
£12.99 (grips only)
Ison Distribution 01223 213 800
www.odigrips.com
Intense Downhill Lock–on Grips
I know grips are a personal thing, but in my opinion these Intense grips just seem to have everything that you’d want, and that’s the reason why I’ve run them for years now. I just love the fact that they’re skinny, yet the raised (well it’s not any more on these particular ones) logo where your palm sits, is noticeable more comfortable than grips of a similar skinny nature. They are also comfy even without gloves, and yet the waffle bit on the lower half provides plenty of grip when things get shitty. Every aspect of them just seems perfectly thought out, even down to the 3/4 flange (which is now more like a 1/2 flange thanks to those bloody mice), and being made by ODI the construction quality is just as high as the design quality. The only thing I’ve ever felt the need to change is the cheap plastic end plugs for some metal Hope ones. I know they weigh a bit more, but they never fall out and they protect your bars from pretty much anything. Ed Haythornthwaite
Price: £21.99 (Red or Black inc clamps), £12.99
(grips only)
Ison Distribution 01223 213 800
www.odigrips.com
Imperial Lock–on Grips
Get a grip. People tell me that all the time. They think I don’t have a grip, but I do, I have a firm grip. I’ve also got a new pair now to replace my old Imperial grips which I will tell you about here. The Imperials have been on my bike for about 18 months, which is a pretty long time isn’t it? And before you say “yes, but your bike’s been in the shed all that time” well, I don’t actually have a shed, the bike has been flogged, and if truth be told they could have stayed on the bars for longer. The shame of vanity made me swap them for a shiny new colour coordinated set, when in reality I could have squeezed another six months usage from them, easy. The grippy pattern is the well used Ruffian design, but even when that wore away the stickiness of the rubber still provided ample grip for my bare hands. On the tech side they have 3mm oversize Allen key bolts which work well and don’t round off. The overall length is 128mm, actual grip length 113mm, collar width is 7.5mm, and the weight is 122g including end caps. The original grip diameter was 31mm, but I’ve worn them down to 29mm. I mean at the end of the day it’s a ten quid pair of quality grips, bargain. Billy Trailstar
Price: £9.99
FLi Distribution 01457 763 213
www.mtb-direct.co.uk
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