Product Review
ESI Grips
Share on Facebook Share on TwitterPublished: 21st October, 2010
Whenever I've got a new bike in the past, the first thing I'd do was cut off the foam grips and fit something that actually stayed in place on the bars and was grippy for my hands, even when wet. They may be heavier, but at least lock-on grips do exactly what they say on the tin...
The brightly coloured grips adorning the Subaru/Gary Fisher and Trek/VW team bikes last year caught my eye and a bit of internet searching revealed they were made by ESI (Extreme Steering Inc.) and were getting rave reviews in the States. Unavailable in the UK, I managed to get some shipped over for the xcracer.com team bikes and was quickly converted. With no fancy patterns, the 'chunky' version are basically 100% silicone tubes, thicker on one side for added comfort and weigh a paltry 60 grammes. Using some 'Windowlene', they were easy to install on my carbon bars and once in place do not budge. At all. Get them wet and muddy in a race and they still have loads of grip, plus the silicone has better shock absorbing qualities than rubber. Best of all, they are now being distributed over here and come in lots of different colours for maximum team kit co-ordination!
Downsides? £16 for a pair of foam grips ain't cheap and they do wear out quite quick as they mould to the shape of your hand. For 12 / 24 hour solo racing I'd still opt for the added palm support of some Ergon grips, but for everything else, they're ace."
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