Best Grips For Long Days At The Bike Park

My friend Ryan De Long had that problem at Whistler too. Turns out it was his Fox 40 that was the problem. More on subject, big grips for big hands, small grips for small hands.

Theres always the classics ODI ruffians and ruffian mx. Sensus grips are amazing too nice and supple. I like a little thicker and softer grip now a days. Also rock climbing has become an amazing tool for me and fighting arm up and riding fatigue in my back and shoulders.

I just threw these guys on and have just a couple runs in. So far, so good:

http://www.ergon-bike.com/us/en/product/ga1evo

Sensus grips are the way to go. I ran ODI ruffians with gloves for most of my time in a park and got mad arm pump and even gnarler calluses. But when i slapped a pare of Swayze's on it all went away, to the point i didn't have to run gloves anymore. My vote gos to the Sensus there comfy and only get better as they get worn in, they don't slide around like other slide on grips and there cheep as fuck so if you don't like them you don't feel like you spent 35$ on a pare of lock-ons that your unhappy with.

to stop your arm pump, regularly take breaks at the side of the track (this will also conserve your energy during the 6 days), don't hold your handlebars too tight if you don't need to, best thing to do is letting go of your handlebars and opening and closing your hand so blood circulates through your forearm (arm pump is a build up of blood in your forearm muscle because the tensed muscle cuts the circulation off). if you have big hands go for large soft grips that will cushion your hands, and don't ride your fork to stiff. if you have sore hands at the end of the day, put them into baths of water hot and cold alternating) and take a paracetamol or ibuprofen, this will take away the swelling and help against the pain.

i don't have any proposals for the grip side of things but for having less aches in your arms and hands i try to stay of the brakes more, it makes you go faster and you got less pain, but still don't forget to slow down when necessary

I had serious issues with sore hands & inflamed tendon across the palm of my hand a few years ago, was using ODI ruffans grips, (which in hindsight are some of the hardest grips out there)

I played around with a few different grips to sort it out, found that grips with the the small rubber ribs across them worked best for comfort & vibration,
found these BMX ones from ODI that are lock-on as well,

http://www.odigrips.com/longneckbmxlock-ongrips130mm.aspx

they are mint !!! been using these for 4 years now with no hand issues at all any more, even ride all day in the park when its hot with no gloves, no worries.

my advice would be to buy a similar cheap non lock-on pair to try for a start, if they work then get the ODI's

As another idea, try shifting your brake lever position a little too, experiment run by run, my mate had similar issues to me & ended you changing the position of his brake levers, which in turn changed the position of his hands on the bars, symptoms & pain went away, took him a while but worth it in the long run

good luck

I only rock the lizard skin northshore grip, they got some thick rubber on them to make them somewhat soft. They are also pretty fat, but it got rid of alot of my arm pump. normal size hands, I wear size large gloves. last alot longer than ruffians too

try out the troy lee odi grips ive been running them for a year, i ride whistler at least 1-2 times a week they have been really comfortable and are firm/soft enough on your hands for good grip. i have also tried the odi cross trainers they are by far the most comfortable and softest. i use them on my AM bike for long days in the saddle but ive also had them at whistler and they worked great. they are softer than the troy lee ones but if youre going to be there for 6 days id take comfort over performence of a harder grip hope that helps cheers

Try setting the levers on your brakes closer to the bars, it makes a huge difference when it comes to arm pump. It does take some getting used to but it works. That said a more padded grip like a rogue might help too. And obviously your fork has a lot to do with it too, regular rebuilds with proper lubes/grease and seals go along way to reducing fatigue, especially with Fox and Rockshox. Less high speed compression will also help.