Ergon Grips Reviewed: First Impressions

Mounted a set of these Ergon GP1 SE Grips last night and hit the trails with them for a 60 minute solo ride this afternoon.  I've prepared a list of Ergon FAQ for anyone considering trying them out.

• Q: Do they look cool?
  A: No


• Q: Is the package they come in nice?
  A: Too nice.  It's a pain to free the grips from the packaging.  You must destroy the packaging to get the grips out which could make returns troublesome.


• Q: Are they expensive?
  A: Yes, but not much more expensive than my usual ODI Lock-Ons


• Q: Do they mount easily?
  A: Yes.  A 4mm hex key is all you need.  4mm is nice because you can get plenty of leverage without stripping the hex interface out or breaking your allen key.  But 4mm is risky because you could easily strip out whatever that bolt is threading into with all the leverage you have.


• Q: Does the fact that they only lock on the handlebar on one side of the grip concern me?
  A: Yes, I wish they had lock on bolts on both sides of the grip.


• Q: Do they feel good when grabbed for the first time?
  A: They feel awesome.  I chose to ride them with unpadded gloves because these suckers inherently pad your palms.


• Q: Do they feel good whilst riding?
  A: Yes.  They feel great!  You don't even have to wrap your fingers around the bar to ride along.  Just resting your plams on the ergo-wings is enough to get by if you're not in the rough.


• Q: Are they good for broken pinkies?
  A: Yes, just what the doctor ordered.  Relatively no pain on today's ride.


• Q: Are they good for climbing?
  A: Not as good as fresh legs.  But yes, they are fine for climbing.


• Q: Are they good for extra credit log bashing?
  A: They seemed fine.


• Q: Do they feel safe when you're flying down a stutter bumpy big ring descent?
  A: Not particularly.  They are a little flexy when you're roosting about.  But on the other hand, some people would call this damping and that's good:-)


• Q: Did they come loose or spin while riding?
  A: Not yet.  They held fast.  Waiting to see how they hold when soaked with rain or creek water.  How about crahes? 


• Q: Do I like them?
  A: I am surprised to say that I really like them.  It's ironic that I needed a broken pinky to motivate me into buying these grips.


• Q: Will these be the go-to grips for every future endurance race?
  A: Yes, I believe so.  They feel like they would combat fatigue very well.


• Q: Was it really 55 degrees today?
  A: Yup, shorts and a tee shirt, you?


• Q: Is it really gonna be 50 degrees at 6 am tomorrow?
  A: That's what the weather guyz are sayin'!!!


• Q: Am I secure enough with my heterosexuality to leave these grips on the Monkey after my booboo pinky heals?
  A: Maybe?!?!