Ergon GE1 Grip Review by Chad Oliver

Review by Chad Oliver (Flowtech)

Green Ergon GE1 Grip

From the Ergon website:

Updated for 2009, Ergon’s GE1 offers enduro and downhill riders the advantages of an ergonomically designed grip which minimizes the effects of the pounding that your hands and forearms take in these disciplines. Featuring an updated slimmer aluminum clamp, the grip’s sculpted shape better distributes the load away from the nerves entering your hand. It may not look revolutionary, but the effect is noticeable. Available in two sizes, and three colors.

Chad’s Review of the Ergon GE1 Grips

Test Subjects:

Ergon GE-1 Grip, size Large

Installation:

Each grip has a one pinch bolt clamp that slides on to the outside of the grip. Slide the grip/clamp assembly on to the bar, set the desired position and torque to 6 Nm.

Weight:

170 grams/pair

Price:

$29.99-$35

Ergon GE1 Grips

First Impressions on the Ergon GE1 Grips

Ergon did what their name implies when they designed the shape of the GE-1; the diameter mid-grip is slightly larger than the inner and outer diameters. Unlike the rest of the Ergon grip line, the GE-1’s do not have a support platform or built-in bar ends. Instead they have a unique flanged clamp shape as well as a raised lip on the inboard side of the grip. The clamp shape of the GE-1’s looks odd at first glance; it has a flange protruding from the clamp that rests against the outside of your pinkie finger. The surface of the grip consists of four different textures, stickiness and densities located in the necessary areas for optimal padding and grip. There is a defined spot intended for the outer portion of the palm so this should be considered when installing the grips.

On the Bike with the Ergon GE1 Grips

I have large hands and prefer a larger diameter grip. The size large GE-1’s fit my hands well. The sculpted shape of the grip follows the contours of the center of your palm providing a noticeable improvement in feel and seems to spread the weight more evenly across the grip. A soft density rubber is used where the outside of the palm and bulk of the weight contact the grip. A tacky rubber that is slightly firmer than the palm area is used underneath the grip at the fingers. The rubber compound set up and texturized surface provide a solid grip and decent shock absorbing qualities.

Flanges on the clamp assembly that rest against the outside of the pinkie finger introduce a unique feel to the bike’s bars. Having these stops on the outside of the grip adds security to the feel of the bars in choppy terrain or even wet conditions. Additionally, Ergon molds flanges into the rubber of the upper side of the grip’s inboard edge. See pic. This flange forms a stop on the inboard side of the grip as well, adding to the secure feel.

Ergon GE1 Grip Durability

I have put about 6 months of use on two pair of G1-1’s. Neither pair shows significant wear on the surface of the rubber but one pair has given me problems in the clamp assembly area. I am pretty sure that the problem is my own fault but it does demonstrate the need to be very mindful when you are setting up the grip and tightening the clamp. The grips are essentially three parts: the grip, a ring and the clamp. The metal ring plays a role in the clamp and plastic grip-edge interface. It is important to make sure that this ring and the grip’s edge are properly situated and aligned when you tighten the clamp. Otherwise the grip will ever so slightly slip on the bar even though the collar is tight and does not move. I torqued the clamps on both sets of grips to 6Nm’s and the collars have not slipped.

Ergon GE1 Grip Conclusions

Overall, I was pleased enough with my first set of GE-1’s on my Heckler that I bought another pair for my Bullit. The shape, feel and “stops” on the grip improved the feel of my cockpit. Ergon also makes a smaller diameter sized GE-1 for smaller hands. I recommend these grips due to the enhanced feel they provide but would like to again point out the need to properly set up the grip/metal ring/clamp interface when torquing the clamps to assure a secure installation. When installed correctly and torqued to at least 6Nm, the clamps do not slip and the grips remain firmly in place. I believe though that a clamp/grip interface that does not involve the added metal ring would be a welcome improvement to this design.

Price wise, these grips could be considered by many to be a bit expensive, especially since they do not have the support platform or built-in bar ends as do the other grips in the Ergon line. I share this belief but in light of the fact that they feel pretty darn good and seem like they will last a while, I’m pleased with my purchase.

Speaking of price, one can’t help but wonder if Ergon could slightly drop the price point on their grip line and be a bit less wasteful if they would reduce the amount of packaging material. The “point of purchase packaging” that Ergon uses is a little bit excessive in my opinion. They use an extravagant  packaging system that displays one grip on a tube that protrudes from a plastic case that houses the installation paperwork. The plastic case/ tubular grip holder rig is even mounted with two metal screws to the cardboard component that holds the other grip and hardware. See pic. While it does look nice and gives the buyer a chance to feel the grip, it just seems wasteful to use all that material.

On a side note: I use grip-shift on my Bullit. Yeah, everyone has their opinions on Grip-shift and some hate it but I like it. Less crap to break and hit my knees on and it shifts damn fast. My only gripe with Grip-shift is the reduced width of the bolt-on grips designed to be used with Grip-shift. I have tried to use full sized bolt-on grips but they are a bit too long. I needed a bolt-on grip that was between the length of a full sized and a Grip-shift specific grip. Once I got my first pair of Ergons, it dawned on me that the single clamp design would allow me to cut the grip’s width at the non-clamp side to use with my Grip-shift set up. Finally that excess packaging Ergon uses made sense to me: it creates the perfect jig to hold the grip while I cut 1 ¼” off of grip on a band saw. The trimmed up GE-1’s work great with my Grip-shift set up. It gives you more grip than shift for a more secure feel. It is worth noting that modifying/trimming the grips most likely voids the warranty but I doubt anything will go wrong with these grips assuming the installation is done properly.

Where Can I Buy The Ergon GE1 Grips?

Ergon GE1 on Amazon.com

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