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Grips?


AlpineAce

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Hey guys, my bike came with swapped out BMX grips, the ones with the fine ribs and not the lock on type.

Do you think grips make any difference at all? I normally use a thinner lock on style grip for MTB use. I'm a newbie and looking for anything that can help progression, so I wonder if the thinner grip would give more feel/feedback/response?

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Having confortable grips is important to me. I love thin grips for the feeling but the vibrations or impacts are less absorbed. If your riding sessions are long, you will get tired early. But if you have short fingers, thick grips might require more effort ... so it is difficult to recommend you some grips without more information from your side.

Also I have to feel confident. So I hate grips that twist (single side lock on) or slide on the bar (no lock on at all).

That is why I was a big fan of ODI lockon or LizardSkins ones. I had the problem though, that my hands get hurted from the outside collar. With my new tapered fork and new bar, I was lacking comfort. Recently I changed to the PRO Dual Lock Sport grips. They have no outside collar but a retention system to prevent them to twist (expander). I am really satisfied with ! They are available in 30 and 32mm diameter.

EDIT: in addition, I don't like grips with aggressive patterns. It is good for rainy days when crashing with your mountain bike, but on a trial bike, it is too aggressive for the hands (for manuals or bunny)

 

pro-dual-lock-sport-grips-132.5mm-x-32mm

Edited by La Bourde
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8 hours ago, Alex Dark said:

My personally preference has always been for foam grips

I used to have some on my mountain bike 20 years ago. I didn't like them in wet. But that are the lightest grips available for sure.

Recently I also tried the Lizzard skin DSP. I enjoyed them first but after 6 months riding, the foam on the outside of the bar was deformed (like squeezed) and so thin, that it was like riding without grip.

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As above - it won't make a difference to learning the basics. It's a pure preference thing.
I've run foams for years, and when I haven't I've had BMX grips.

Don't go out of your way to get lock-ons because big-name riders talk about them in their vlogs - I repeat, it's a preference.
In fact I've tried several types of lock-on grips over the years and found them all really horrible. Gross in the hand and I don't trust that they won't come undone and just fly off the bar. (For other people reading: Yes, I know how unlikely that is, but try ignoring your own phobias :P )

 

I'd also just like to make this point:
I saw your other thread asking about changing tyres in the name of progression, and get the impression you might think this way in general.
Please just note that trials is hard. It has an incredibly steep learning curve, and unless you enjoy the challenge it can seem not-very-fun until you get over the initial hump in difficulty and can start playing with it rather than working for it.
It is a very fun sport, but it's very difficult, and no amount of equipment upgrades will push you past the learning process. That's all down to you.
So don't worry about changing things on your bike. For the first year of riding trials I was on one of these:

Image result for zeus bmx

I could sidehop picnic benches on that thing. 
I think you said you had an Echo 24"? Don't worry about a thing. They're really good bikes, and unless something breaks, I don't imagine you'll want to change anything for a couple of years or so.
Even then, I strongly recommend only changing things if you have a specific reason for it. Like a longer stem if you feel like your posture is very hunched over compared with what you see in other people.

Just get out on your bike as much as you can and enjoy it - the payoff is immense when you start getting the hang of things!

 

Edit: I would also just mention that if you're having a lot of trouble with one particular thing and you're not enjoying trying to overcome it, put it to one side and try something else.
You're riding for enjoyment, remember ;)
If you're struggling with it but enjoying the fight, then by all means keep at it.

Edited by aener
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First the on topic part. Grips and pedals are the only rider contact points on a trials bike so they really matter (along with shoes and gloves if you use them). That said grips are a personal preference, some folks like big squishy grips, some like thin hard, some foam, some grip tape, some lock on some regular rubber. What you need to do is try some out. As far as things to change go they are pretty cheap. Try one kind for a bit, then try another. My preferences have changed over time and probably will continue to do so.

 

Now to the less on topic part which aener was getting at. In today's day and age it seems to me lots of newer folks think they need the EXACT right part to be able to ride. I would like to thank the mountain bike marketing world for this philosophy, but it is also human nature. We are gear dorks. So someone posts a thread about "which chain is best for their stem length for 1/4 pedal ups starting on mild uphill approaches?" and get some answers. And then some old timer like myself grouchily says "back in my day we rode bmx motorcycles with seized engines and tires made from old bricks and did just fine thank you very much" which doesn't help either. One thing will help progression more than anything else. Ride your bike. Ride it with the wrong parts, ride it with the right parts. Ride it with a fox, ride it in a box. Just put the time in. Yes you can get all the right stuff and that will help, but not as much as just riding and trying different things and then doing it again.

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44 minutes ago, PeterH said:

And then some old timer like myself grouchily says "back in my day we rode bmx motorcycles with seized engines and tires made from old bricks and did just fine thank you very much" which doesn't help either.

Sorry if it came off that way - I was more aiming for how you made it sound :P
I meant to imply "you don't need flashy bikes to ride". People throughout riding history have done an awful lot more with a lot more awful! Haha.

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well If I'm honest I kinda and half looking for an excuse to upgrade the grips, some neon yellow with blue lock rings would look good :D

(the bike is black with red bits, I hate red, and black is boring....)

I've been stuck in my place since september (didnt have car (was fixing 2 different cars) from sept to feb)

 

(as a former serious tennis player, I had to have my stuff JUST right, custom grip mould, weight and balance, strings, tension, etc, or it felt all wrong, same with my alpine snowboard set up, minor changes could make a night and day difference.)

 

I haven't even taken this bike outside yet!, just playing here in my living room. trying not to, be the new Wii videos.

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17 hours ago, PeterH said:

In today's day and age it seems to me lots of newer folks think they need the EXACT right part to be able to ride...

In fairness, as long as I've ever been involved with the trials scene it's been like that - if you flick through old MBUK's/MBR's/whatever there was the same marketing.  The forum was the same too with people wanting to have the 'right' bits.  It's just that what the new/good/'must-have' parts were back then were pretty shit compared to what we have now, in the same way that when people look back in 30 years they'll laugh at the prosaic chain-driven systems we were using :P 

Anyway, +1 for thin grips.  More feel, more gooderer.  I used to feel the same way as Flipp about lock-on grips generally being horrible feeling, but it seems that brands have realised that you don't have to make lock-on grips feel like waxy, plastic turds.  The newer ODI/LizardSkins grips feel pretty decent.  If the Danny MacAskill lock-ons were a little thinner I'd still be using them, but for the 9-10 months or so I ran my last set they felt decent.

For slip-on grips, the WeThePeople Manter grips are well worth a look.  They're pretty thin, a nice compound, last a long time and come in various colours if that's your thing: 

WTP_Manta_grip_black_01.jpg?format=2500w

 

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+1 for thinner is better, but it's the tradeoff of cushion vs thinness. I rode lock ons for years until I tried foam grips on someones comp bike and I've used foam ever since. I loved Monty's thin foam grips, but sadly they have disappeared. I like the new thin Comas foams, but they're not as cushy as the Montys were. The Echo foam should be avoided (unless they have changed) as they feel like cement with no give whatsoever. I'm 45 and riding mostly street so I appreciate every bit of fatigue reduction I can get. I haven't tried the *new* lock ons; I bet they don't weigh 11 grams ;-)

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