Grips are a very personal choice, there are so many options available that the world is your oyster. However, if you like your grips simple and cheap then the Clarks lock-ons could be just right for you.
After a year of hard use it became time to replace my well work Token grips, and as they’d treated me so well I thought I’d go for something similar. These only set me back £10, so money wise I’ve got no complaints.
Clarks Lock-on Grips Review
If price is everything then these grips are brilliant, go for it.
That said, they aren’t perfect.
The lock on features scratch very easily and although they don’t slip straight away, they don’t provide you with a feeling of total security. After a full day pounding the downhills you’ll find that the grips may have moved slightly, which can be sketchy if it happens on a big landing. This isn’t a problem that you should be concerned with if you do mainly XC miles or all mountain riding, but for downhillers you should be aware of this fault.
Similarly, the end caps aren’t very durable and I lost one clipping a tree and broke the other on a little crash. Luckily I had some spares around so I’m not left without caps, but it is something that would put me off buying these again.
Overall
Cheap, cheerful and cool-looking grips, but durability and performance are lacking. You can get them from CRC for just £7.99 so it is worth a punt if you’re looking to build up a budget bike. For the same price the Token grips provided much better value for money and would be my choice every time in this price bracket. If you’re not looking for something that needs to handle frequent abuse then this isn’t a bad shout and would be great for a commuter or an XC rig.
