In the first installment we looked at the GripRing concept, brightly coloured silicone rings that nest together to form a single grip. It was time to install them and get riding.
The hard part was deciding what colours and patterns to go for in the first place. On the Spurcycle website they have an interactive tool called GripRings Builder that lets you try out combos before you buy, it’s a lot of fun. Some of the classiest results are quite subtle, a solid block of colour with maybe a highlight-stripe or two. Because my mountainbike looks like circus equipment anyway I shied away from subtle and pulled the clown-bike card!
I cleaned the grip-area with alcohol as per the instructions, measured the starting point with the template provided and 10 minutes later I had the funkiest looking hand/bike interface in Campbells Bay.
Krustie’s purple fun-machine.
With only an hour’s riding under my belt I was asked what they felt like: “grippy, squishy, fat, comfy & weird†was my answer. A week into the review and I’m sticking with that, but I’ll drop “weird†off the end. That kid at school that stood out from the crowd wasn’t weird, he just had some personality, that’s all, he was “uniqueâ€.
The finished grips felt nice in the hand, very soft with a finely ribbed surface to stop you sliding around. The contrast with the grips they replaced was immense. The Ergons I had been using were ergonomically-shaped but relatively hard, GripRings use a different approach altogether.
Hitt’n the local singletrack.
The first week was spent tooling around my local park, picking up my daughter from school and commuting to and from work. I’m liking them a lot so far but tomorrow it’s off to Woodhill for some proper mountainbiking to see how they play with the big boys…
Nothing subtle about this bike.
Lucky to have riding like this right on my suburban doorstep.
Review samples kindly provided by purveyor of urban bike accessories Bells & Whistles.
Oh Dear Lord!!
That bike is the cycling equivalent of the 6’8″ Drag Queen on K Rd.
I had a hard time restraining my Pugsely from storming up there & kicking it in the forks.
AND the final indignity is that it’s wearing a BELL!
Pugsleys do not use bells, Pugsleys use ‘GITOUDATHEFUGGINGWAY’.
Damn Hipster!, probably wear spray on Jeans & rock an ironic mustache!
@Hurben. Feeling better now that’s out of your system? ;^)
I’m with you on the purple, not my bag at all, but if you’ve got it flaunt it!
The pedals are actually pretty cool, if a little garish. They are a milky translucent white and only turn purple in UV light, so in summer I’m reminded to apply sun-screen when cruising on the beach.