I have had the Grab On Grips on the Roadeo for 3 months now and a follow-up review is due. The
original review was favorable, and at this point I would still list them as a keepers.
They have been a nice touch of comfort on long cold descents. When underbiking, skinny tires on dirt, more time is spent on the brakes than would be comparable to a full suspension mountain bike. The little bit of added padding and grip eases the finger and hand fatigue on the multi thousand foot fire roads coming down from the mountains. Even with powerful brakes this can get tiring after 30 minutes or more of constant feathering of the brakes.
The durability is better than I expected for these simple thin foam rubber grips. Bumping into things, leaning against walls and a couple of minor lay downs in the dirt and no rips or tears yet. I still have my doubts that they will out live the bar tape, but for the couple of bucks they cost I would say it was money well spent.
I have enjoyed them through the cool winter, next follow-up will be after a few months of warm weather sweat.
While at the post screening ride for the
Ride the Divide one of the guys there had these curious grip / pad things on his drop bar brake levers. I was instantly transported back over a decade and a half to Mr. 0.7 and Ms. 0.5 who had faithfully served 8 years of engineering school and reams of notes and derivations.
A bit of inquiry and it turned out that brake lever version was purpose-built by Grab On and lot a reallocated tool grip or some other find from the McMaster Carr catalog. Once home it was straight to the computer to see if these were still in production, and or obtainable. As usual google and the web are our friends. I was able to turn up a couple of sets in blue. Blue turned out to also be half the price of black, while preserving the colorway of the roadeo. A few days later they were in my hands.
Installation was as easy as it looks and reads on the packs. After a quick alcohol wipe, I used a dab of tube repair glue in each as it was the closest to my hand when standing near the bike. After the overnight cure they appear to be securely in place.
It has been almost a week now with them on the bike. I like them so far, a little cushion, a little grip and warmer than a cold lever on a 40 something deg morning. I know these likely seem a bit over the top, but I do not care. The next big test will be the upcoming
Santiago Peak Ride Which promises to be an epic of underbiking adventure.
They have been a nice touch of comfort on long cold descents. When underbiking, skinny tires on dirt, more time is spent on the brakes than would be comparable to a full suspension mountain bike. The little bit of added padding and grip eases the finger and hand fatigue on the multi thousand foot fire roads coming down from the mountains. Even with powerful brakes this can get tiring after 30 minutes or more of constant feathering of the brakes.
The durability is better than I expected for these simple thin foam rubber grips. Bumping into things, leaning against walls and a couple of minor lay downs in the dirt and no rips or tears yet. I still have my doubts that they will out live the bar tape, but for the couple of bucks they cost I would say it was money well spent.
I have enjoyed them through the cool winter, next follow-up will be after a few months of warm weather sweat.
