Revgrips – a different take on grips
Do you really need a new kind of grip?
Well, maybe.
I have Dupuytren’s (don’t ask how to pronounce that) which apparently proves I have some Viking DNA! Annoyingly it also causes weird lumpiness in the palms which can make fingers bend at the ends as it develops. I’ve avoided that bit so far with various stuff I’ve worked out, but it does make my hands ache, some days more than others.
It’s never stopped me riding, but I thought more comfort has to be good and I’m obviously an ideal tester for these grips!
I’ve been using them on the hardtail and the full sus bike for a while now. I can definitely feel a difference, and more than I was expecting. A ride up and down the road doesn’t really make it too obvious. The best example was a recent shortish ride (2 hours or so). I’d done around 5 or 6 hours of trail maintenance for Forestry England at Dalby; this was mostly digging & clearing drains. My hands were at that ‘pre-cramp’ stage and feeling fairly battered. I hadn’t had ridden for around a week and wanted to get out, so I headed off on the Starling. Instead of my hands getting worse, the cramp didn’t materialise at all and I felt fine by the end of the ride. I’m not saying the Revgrips are magic, but they definitely gave my hands chance to recover.
How are they different to normal grips?
They ARE expensive. Some people won’t get past the “how *#!**#* much for a pair of grips?” stage, however I think they’re far from a gimmick. They really do the job they’re designed for and you can see where the expense has gone. Revgrips are very likely to let you ride further and with more control & comfort than standard grips even without having something ‘medical’. Importantly, unlike some weird shaped grips on the market, these feel like any other grips to use. The compounds used are on the grippy side compared to some which is never a bad thing.
Revgrips achieve this by having the whole grip floating around the bar without touching. Only the locking clamps contact the bar directly. The clamps contain a set of elastomer inserts available in different grades with varying degrees of rotation and shock absorbtion. They go a long way to isolating your hands from the vibrations and jolts of the trail. You fine-tune the feel from firmer to softer with different elastomers and spacers.
Race or Pro?
The lower priced model is the Race, being available in black only but a choice of grip sizes. The Pro model has a choice of colours and more tuning parts supplied for adjusting the feel. The Pro also has some nice CNC machining which does make them look great! The Revgrips Race are set to a tune that you may well never change anyway, but if you decide to go firmer or softer the range of elastomers and tuning washers are available separately as are the grip tubes, clamps & endcaps.
I wanted to post this as I’ve ridden with the Revgrips Pros for a while now, but I’ll add some more photos at some point. There will also be a shop page to buy from. Revgrips believe in their products enough that if you don’t feel any benefit they’ll take them back!
