Bicycle handlebar grips are one of the most crucial components of your bicycle’s riding comfort. Whether you are a casual rider, a commuter, or a professional cyclist, finding the perfect grips for your handlebars is essential to enjoying your rides.Â
With the variety of bicycle hand grips available, choosing the best one for your bike can be daunting. From foam and rubber to silicone and leather, bike grips come in different materials, textures, and designs, each with its benefits. Reading about what’s available can help you choose grips that will make you want to ride longer, further, and more often.
TOP PICKS:
- Ergon GP1 BioKork Handlebar Grips — Offering comfort, sustainability, and durability, you can’t go wrong with these grips.
- Lizard Skins Northshore Lock-On Grips — This option stays in place, letting you focus on riding.
- Weanas New Generation Soft Gel Grips — These offer several options for hand positions to find the most comfort.
- Revolution Pro Series Large Suspension Grips — For serious trail riders, these grips let you control their firmness and change out parts.
- Odi Ruffian BMX Lock On Grips — Racers will appreciate the flanges that keep your hands in the right spot and end caps that can’t fall off.
THE BEST BICYCLE HAND GRIPS ON THE MARKET
Ergon GP1 BioKork Handlebar Grips – Best Overall
This ergonomic grip’s construction quality and tried-and-tested design offer sublime comfort, with its shape allowing multiple hand positions and preventing wrist pain. The soft rubber compound with textured details provides a secure grip and helps subdue vibration, while the wing distributes pressure over a wider area of your hand, further enhancing comfort. Its eco-friendly materials are also worth noting, as the grip contains cork from biologically certified Portuguese cork farms, a 100% recyclable aluminum clamp, and an inner core partially made from grass fibers.Â
Unfortunately, compatibility may be an issue for those using Gripshift shifters, but an available shorter version might fix that issue. Overall, these bicycle handlebar grips are well-made and prioritize rider comfort as well as sustainability.
Lizard Skins Northshore Lock-On Grips – Runner-Up
The Lizard Skins Northshore Lock-On Grips are excellent for MTB riders seeking exceptional comfort without hand slips. These grips feature dense shock-absorbing sections, and their size makes them ideal if you have larger hands. The lock-on clamps secure the grips firmly to the handlebar, ensuring they won’t twist while riding and detach easily for maintenance or component switching. Additionally, the Lizard Skins Northshore Lock-On Grips perform well in wet conditions, making them a reliable choice in all weather conditions.Â
With all these benefits, these bicycle hand grips are at the higher end of the price range. However, the Lizard Skins Northshore Lock-On Grips are a high-quality product that provides a comfortable and reliable hand hold for MTB riders.
Weanas New Generation Soft-Gel Grips – Best For Hybrids
The Weanas New Generation Soft-Gel Grips feature an anatomical design with raised non-slip surfaces and a concave shape that accommodates your hand comfortably. Their diamond pattern adds traction and control, while a gel insert maximizes comfort. The wide wings help to take pressure off the side of your hands and distribute weight evenly.
These grips can be tricky to install, though they come with an Allen key to help. If you don’t attach them perfectly, they might twist on your ride, and you’ll need to tighten them again. Also, they could get slippery in wet conditions.
Revolution Pro Series Large Suspension Grips – Best For MTBs
These grips come with shock-absorbing inserts and a tuning kit, allowing you to customize the feel to match your preferences and riding conditions. Whether commuting on smooth asphalt or tackling rough off-road trails, you can adjust between 5 firmness levels to provide the perfect shock absorption.Â
We particularly like the ultra-soft compound grips with padding and the 34mm outer diameter, but they might be too thick if your hands are small. Additionally, all parts are available separately for replacement, ensuring these grips provide long-lasting comfort and performance. The assembly for these grips might be more complicated than other choices, but it pays off because you control the shock absorption level.
Odi Ruffian BMX Lock-On Grips – Best For BMX
The Odi Ruffian BMX Lock-on Grips are exceptional for racers looking for secure and comfortable grips. The diamond-patterned grip provides strong traction, while the flanges at the inner end prevent hand slippage.
A bonus of choosing Odi grips is the proprietary “Snap Cap” end plugs. They lock into place without additional tools and can’t come loose. The nylon construction slides on impact instead of catching and causing damage like aluminum caps will.
The only downside to these bicycle hand grips is their thin profile, which may not be ideal for commuters seeking a more cushioned grip.
Salsa Gel Cork Bar Tape – Best For Road Bikes
While most riders don’t add grips to their handlebar ends, Salsa Gel Cork Bar Tape adds traction, comfort, and style to your handlebars. The bar tape is a subtle blend of cork for durability and gel for added comfort, providing a soft texture that’s easy to hold onto. This bar tape comes in fun patterns and colors to customize your handlebars with your personality.
The downside of this product is that the lengths of the finishing tapes are on the short side. Many users prefer using electrical tape at the ends to hold the bar tape in place. Other than that, the Salsa Gel Cork Bar Tape is easy to install.
Ergon GP5 Handlebar Grips – Best Ergonomic
Ergon grips feature extension bars to multiply your hand position options, including a natural wrist position not found on many handlebars. These bicycle handlebar grips are ideal for urban, hybrid, or mountain bikes and feature German-made soft rubber grips on the main body and a lightweight nylon composite with rubber inserts on the bar ends. They clamp onto the handlebar to prevent unwanted movement and resist UV degradation.
The Ergon grips are a bit pricier than others, but they offer many more options for comfort.
Oury Single Compound Flanged Downhill Grips – Best Flanged
The Oury Single Compound Flanged Grips offer a simple yet effective design that works well for MTBs and BMX bikes. The flanged grip provides a tactile barrier that keeps your hands in place during extreme rides. These grips’ slightly larger size makes them comfortable and reliable in all weather conditions. They also come in various bright colors to add personality to your bike.Â
While these are clampless grips, they still offer good traction, but they may rotate while you ride. You can add grip glue to solve this, but that’s adding another step you may not want to take on.
Vans X Cult Flangeless Bike Flangeless Bike Grips – Best Flangeless
This unique waffle pattern grip resulted from the Vans/Cult collaboration with ODI Grips. The design has proven effective for handlebars and shoe soles. These 150mm grips provide superb traction and comfort with ODI’s proprietary rubber compound. Also, their seamless, flangeless integration with the handlebar gives them a high-quality look.Â
One detail we notice about these bicycle hand grips is they can get tacky when you have sweaty hands, which could be a downside for some riders.
HFS CQQ Lock-On Handlebar Grips – Best Budget
The HFS CQQ grips are a versatile option for any bike type. These durable, cushioning rubber grips clasp firmly to your handlebars, eliminating the possibility of unwanted rotation. Their side-by-side lattice and grid patterns add traction. Available with eye-catching blue or red clamps, they come with bar plugs and an Allen key for seamless installation.Â
What we like about these grips is their high value for money. On the other hand, the bar plugs may be prone to falling out, which is a common and frustrating issue.
MARQUE Ergo Bike Handlebar Grips
The wing-shaped design of these grips keeps your hands on your handlebars and adds an attractive appearance. They’re comfortable to hold and easy to install, with an optimized hand placement that distributes hand pressure better and reduces fatigue during long rides. This bicycle hand grip is outstanding in all weather conditions, giving you the power to ride when Mother Nature isn’t cooperating.Â
Unfortunately, the end caps that come with the grips might fall off or not fit on some handlebar styles. On the other hand, the end caps might not be necessary.
Allnice Bike Handlebar Grips
Allnice grips are a low-budget, sleek option for cycling. Their ergonomic design provides comfort both on and off-road. The rubber material on the surface of the grips offers excellent anti-slip properties, even in wet conditions, and the extra-large raised pads and grooves provide added friction and channel dirt and debris away for a solid grip. These bicycle handlebar grips also stay securely in place on the handlebars, conforming to the rider’s hands over time and developing a custom feel.Â
The pros of these grips include their affordable price, vibration-dampening properties, secure grip, and comfort during long rides. However, the fin-shaped grip may cause issues if not correctly adjusted for your riding style.
Final Word On Grips For Handlebars
The grips you select will play a huge role in your riding experience. If you want a quality grip with natural cork pads, the Ergon GP1 BioKork Handlebar Grips are a perfect option. Don’t want your grips slipping around? The Lizard Skins Northshore Lock-On Grips deliver worry-free riding. If you adjust your hand position often, the Weanas New Generation Soft Gel Grips give you plenty of options to find the right spot. Bumpy trails can tire out your hands, luckily the Revolution Pro Series Large Suspension Grips give you adjustable shock absorption so you can ride harder. For BMX racers, the Odi Ruffian BMX Lock On Grips offer a secure spot to hang on while you anticipate the next turn.
In the end, it pays to do your research and find the best bicycle hand grips for your riding style.