Enduro is the go to buzzword at the moment and whether you love it or hate it, the Ergon GE1 Enduro Grips are something that’s well worth looking into. This is the company’s first delve into ergonomic grips for wider bars, making them perfectly primed at the gravity and enduro scene. The hand grip is desgined to help support the “elbows out” position, by turning your hand position by 8%.
These grips are made up of two compounds in order to maximise comfort and durability, while the design orientates against the hand to make these grips… well… grippy! Colour lovers will be very happy to find out that you can buy the Ergon GE1 Enduro Grip in six, YES SIX, different colours – I chose Laser Lemon because, lasers!
Ergon GE1 Enduro Grip Review
I stuck these grips on my Bird just before taking part in Wentwood50 (which was grueling by the way) and sticking them on was quite straight forward – just a single 3mm bolt to clamp the grips to the bars and integrated end cap – although they are left and right specific. I’m not going to lie, I was quite dubious about this after using nothing but double-ended lock-on grips for the last 5 years, but they haven’t twisted yet and I have really, really been trying!
The change in hand and arm position isn’t immediately obvious – possibly because I opted for slim grips – however, once you get into the ride you do notice that things feel a little weird, but in a good way. My hand position was definitely changed, with a comfortable yet firm grip that felt pretty natural after I’d turned it on the bars slightly.
I’ve had pretty mixed experiences since having these on my bike. I find that during natural riding – like Wentwood and my local trails – they are comfortable and reliable, leaving very little to criticize. That said, when I ventured over to Cwmcarn and did the Twrch trail I found that I felt the vibrations from the hardpack, rocky descent much more than I normally do. This may again be a result of the slim grip choice, but I found that there was very little cushioning from the Ergon GE1 grips – this vibration was reduced dramatically when combined with the Endura Hummvee Plus Glove, but it was still noticeable.
Overall Opinion of Ergon GE1 Grips
While I’m not entirely sure that the Ergon GE1 Enduro grips has changed my ‘elbows out’ riding form, I can’t say that it has hindered it either. I wouldn’t let the fact that you can feel the handlebar vibrations put me off using these either, although I would probably switch out grips if I was doing an uplift day at BikePark Wales. The only other downside is that the Laser Lemon gets grubby pretty quickly, but that’s to be expected with such a bright colour!
Throughout all the natural riding and a couple of loops of my local trail center I didn’t feel any hand fatigue, cramp or numbness – obviously a good thing! They look the mutt’s nuts – another good thing and I found them to be pretty comfortable, allowing me to use a loose grip than I normally do while still being in full control of the bike.
With change back from £25 when buying from Wheelies you can’t really argue with the price either. If you’re looking for something a bit different, that could help your riding position and will definitely be comfortable for an all-dayer on your local trails then I’d definitely give these a go!
