I've tried repeatedly to get used to the round grips that come standard on a mountain bike, be they the OEM variety or aftermarket ones made of softer foam rubber. None of them seem to work for me; all of them leave my palms red and sore after less than an hour of riding. It's particularly bad when I ride trails littered with large roots, rocks, and the occasional fallen tree. Going over those causes the full weight of my upper body to come down hard on my palms, whereas on smoother trails I try to use my back muscles to keep the pressure off the handlebars. 'Contour grips', with a large flat shelf area on which to rest my palms work well, but they're heavy and not ideally shaped for when you're standing up on the pedals. Are there any other round grips I should try? Or maybe there's something wrong with my riding posture that I can correct?
I've had great results with my Ergon GP1 grips. I know they're contour, but, I don't notice any difference when standing up. For sure, I'll never go back to a round grip.
Are you holding your grips too tightly while you're riding? Also, when I hit rocks/drops/roots, I'm usually off the saddle, seat squeezed between my bent knees with a loose grip on my bars. I can't really relate to having my weight come down on my bars, usually everything is weighting the pedals. How are your gloves?
Those are the same grips I'm using. They're very heavy compared to foam grips though, and I need to get my bike down to 22 lbs. so I can be as fast as all the pro racers.
@A: Sounds like you're stem's too low rather than any fault of the grips. I haven't seen you on a bike, so that's a WAG. AFA answering your question: I'm using the same grips I've had on my bike since the early 2000s and haven't tried anything different. In other news: this one from the WTF file :eek1 More WTF?! Ummm anyone else think that this thing shouldn't be worn by males? M
That's how I ride, too, except I don't use my knees to hold the seat. Ahhh! You're too much. Absolutely, do not look here.
No. I was doing that when I first started riding, but I'd get cramps in my hands, so now I concentrate on keeping a fairly loose grip on the bars. The only time I consciously tighten my grip is when I'm bouncing over big rocks and roots, where I'm afraid the handlebars may be wrenched out of my hands if I don't grip them tightly enough. I'm using standard issue padded gloves. Are you supposed to squeeze the seat between your knees in those situations? I was told to do just the opposite and to let the bike move around under me, but that makes keeping my balance on the bike more difficult when standing.
No hard tail for me, unfortunately. I test rode an 18 lb hard tail belonging to a local racer. I was so battered after just one mile that I couldn't wait to get off the thing.
The ergos were worked out by the shop owner who built the bike. He's an ex-racer who happens to be exactly my size and weight, so I figured the setup has to be right.
I was taught to do that when I started riding mountain bikes as a kid, I'm not sure if it's right or not, but it keeps me attached to the bikes while allowing my arms to stay loose and bent at the elbows.
I haven't taken any pictures of it myself, but it shows up in a photo one of my riding buddies took of his new Niner yesterday. Hint: mine is the white one.
Aurelius: Obviously I haven't watched you ride, but looking at the photo- your saddle seems way forward, & the stem seems fairly short. That could account for some forward weight bias, just my $.02. Nice rig
It seems to be quite the chick magnet. Three girls yelled, 'Nice bike!'... as they passed me on the trail.
