I'll start and finish this blog by addressing the questions that everyone asks about this product. Including myself.
Jeez, £100 for grips, they're expensive! Yes, they are. They are very expensive. Objectively expensive and a lot of money for grips. Yes, they are extremely pricey, they cost lots of money. "Are they any good?" Well I'm glad you asked. Let's get into it shall we?
Whether they are any good depends what you're buying them for? They are not a colour change item or a conventional performance upgrade for weight or increased speed. More akin to an orthopaedic shoe, a good chamois in your shorts or some kinesiology tape. What do these things have in common? Well they make your life in context a bit easier and less uncomfortable. This is why I bought them. (full price) They are primarily marketed to decrease arm pump, at least that the subject of most of the chat associated with them. There's actually not much advocacy of them outside of customer reviews that explains why they work just lots of press reviews asking rhetorical questions about whether they do or not. This is why I'm writing this, to put forward my specific reason for buying and how it worked out. I'm not going to tell you about all of the tech. You probably already know it of you found this blog. If not, go look on their website. If you don't, then basically the grip body itself does not touch the handlebar in the conventional manner. Instead it is clamped at both ends and suspended a few mm above the bar. It is clamped on either end by an elastomer damped CNC clamp that allows for very slight vertical and rotational movement. It's the same principle that MIPS employs when your helmet has an impact.
I've never suffered from arm pump. Never found it a problem even over long descents in The Alps. My demon is tendonitis. An affliction that needs a long period of rest to fix it. something I can't do in my line of work, so I went looking for all kinds of interim solutions. These grips were one of them.
I did actually ask if they did a demo set to try, but alas not. They do however offer a 30 day full money back guarantee if you don't like them. So it's a case of take the plunge or not.
These are extremely well manufactured and presented. The feel great and have some heft and weight to them that makes them feel quality. You have to build them from scratch out of the box, which is actually cool as you get a better understanding as to what the tech looks like and how it works. This procedure makes the functionality obvious, but immediately I saw a problem developing.
Doing this meant my hand placement moved inward, making my 760mm bars essentially 740mm. This as it turned out was unexpected and a game changer.
I live in Innerleithen. Most of my hard riding is done in the local commercial plantations. I have broken both of my hands in various ways clipping trees. My bars are down to 760mm with grips and hand protectors which at 5ft 10" / 80kg is the limit of mid speed control leverage. But I was cool with it as it worked. My hands are safe!
These grips are clamped at both ends by large CNC bar caps. they are quite wide as they contain the elastomers. Revgrips obviously want to maintain the actual surface contact area, but this has made the overall grip significantly longer than most other grips. Because they are dual clamp, they require pushing all the way onto the bar. This means I had to move all my controls inboard so as to replicate the reaches and ergonomics of my existing setup. Doing this meant my hand placement moved inward, making my 760mm bars essentially 740mm. This as it turned out was unexpected and a game changer.
Not a deal breaker as I really wanted these things to work, so I borrowed some 800mm handlebars from a mate (Thanks Nic) moved all of my controls around and set off onto the trails.
If this doesn't make any sense drop me a message and I'll attempt to help you with it. It can obviously be overcome in a few ways. I think it's important to point it out though as I hadn't seen it mentioned elsewhere. Revgrips site lists the grip contact length (117mm) but not the full length from clamp to clamp. Which I measured at approximately 140mm.
Ok, so they are on, new bars fitted and off we go into the hills to see if they work? But here's the problem, how would I know? I hear a few anecdotes of them eliminating arm pump, which is tangible, but I'm looking for relief from a fairly acute problem that is mostly covered up by pain killers during rides rather then managed during rides.
Strangely enough I actually noticed first on the climbs. When we climb on the bike, we pull back on the handlebars. Not much, but if we're sitting with arms at rest, little micro pulls that used to spike pain in my arm were lessened and ultimately I adjusted my grip on the bars to take advantage of the slight rotational movement of the grip. Far from being the expected result as touted by Revgrips themselves and other peoples reviews, my first impressions were formed by the rather less dynamic pursuit of pedalling uphill.
At that point though I would have happily never have had them at all being that they were so expensive. I could take them or leave them.
On the trail I have to say that at first I didn't notes much difference. The new bar width and control positions didn't help either from a comparison point of view. Though when being a little more light handed on the grips, I was very aware of a little bit of movement in the grip. Not enough to affect control, but definitely noticeable when attention is paid. I think because I noticed it and then again (like when I was climbing) I made a small adjustment for it.
They felt good in the hand. As good as anything I've tried really. They have a generous waffle area over almost half the radius. The grip itself is 31mm in diameter with the waffle are adding another 1.5mm. For reference a Burgtec Bartender grip is 31.5mm in diameter. I'd actually forgotten how effective a good waffle placement on a grip can be and this one is actually really good. Revgrips call this the "Small half waffle" option.
Quick note though. With the gap between the grip sleeve and the bar and the grip circumference being 31.5mm it stands to reason that the actual rubber part of the grip will be thinner? This won't affect the comfort, but it may have them wear quicker? I'll update on this as I go. Replacement grips are available, but at £30 they are not cheap.
Anyway, all that aside. On the trail I thought they were great grips. They offered a lot of space, excellent adhesion (with gloves) and yeah, the movement and rotation noticeably (may have) helped in a few situations. At that point though I would have happily never have had them at all being that they were so expensive. I could take them or leave them. I carried this opinion for 3-4 rides until I noticed something.
Tendonitis is painful. It's generally not something that can be relieved to a point that can be bearable in this context without drugs. So on the bike it was extremely hard to pin down a benefit "on the fly" But after a few rides I actually realised that there was a little less fatigue in my arm. After rides I usually got a stiffening of my forearm that limited my movement, or at the very least made it initially painful. This was now gone.
So, did the Revgrips work? Well, I think they probably did in a fashion. As I said, my injury is specific and the symptoms extreme, but I think they offer some relief for me after the fact, which is definitely a big plus. The climbing thing is pretty useful too, taking the edge off the really tiny movements. I've used them for a month or so. Probably 15-20 rides from tuition at work to full on 20 minute mountain descents.
I am actually going to buy a set for my hardtail too. I guess the results will be different with only 120mm fork travel, but I think I've seen enough to make it worth the risk.
Revgrip Pro grips in a nutshell...
Pro's: Very comfy, amazing build quality seem to work (subjectively) customisable grip types, colours and sizes.
Con's: Expensive, Watch out for the longer length. Who's word do you take on wether they work or not?
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