Ergon GA2 Grip

Ergon is well known for their thoughtful, sciency approach to making MTB components and gear, and i think this can be a huge benefit, but can also create a product full of unnecessary features. I feel like these grips fall somewhere in the middle.

They have a single lock on clamp allowing you to have your hands on the outside of the grip with more comfort, and thus far (after about six months of use) have been slip free This was something I was honestly a bit worried about after coming off the dual clamp ODI grips I was used to. One fairly unique trait of the Ergon grips is their directionality, they have very specific patterns and hardnesses throughout to giveyou a balance between control and comfort. I found that on mellow XC rides and my commute these were fairly comfortable, the extra padding did alleviate some of the soreness I generally got on longer rides. I did notice though that on shorter, more technical rides, my hands seemed to get sore more quickly and I found myself shifting my hands around alot. Obviously less than ideal. I feel like the hard plastic core, and lack of a super tacky texture caused me to hold these tighter than normal and they did not take enough shock out to not cause pain. I do like a small diameter grip, but one that is more tacky and soft.  Ergon does make a grip with a softer compound directed at the more enduroy (yes I made up that word) crowd, and that might be a better fit for me.

In the end, these grips were delegated to my hardtail commuter bike, and they have served me well for that. They have a decent amount of grip, while being pretty hard wearing. I switched back to my tried and true ODI Ruffians on the enduro bike and have not looked back. These might be a better fit for the XC and flat bar commuter crowd, but those that ride rough terrain might want to look elsewhere. Also keep in mind just how personal grip choice is, what works well for me might be terrible for you and vise-vera. Overall a well constructed and nice grip, but not the performer on the trail bike I hoped it would be.