Grips & Rohloff shifter

[ahconway]

I really liked the grips that SJS supplied with my Raven Tour, but the right one (with the shifter) was worn almost completely through after less than 900 miles. I guess it makes sense that the right one would experience heavier wear because of all the frequent shifting.

What grips have others replaced their original ones with? Any recommendations?

[David Cox]

I'm using grips pulled off one of my older mountain bikes and I'm curious to know what others are using as well.  What about cork grips?  I hear they're comfortable, but I wonder how it would hold up.

Best,

David
Portland, Oregon
USA

[eblair]

I can endorse cork grips for comfort. There seem to be two sorts: on my previous MTB I had the kind that are cork in a rubber-ish matrix. (They look more or less black, with speckles). They wore very well.

My new bike, an A.N.T. frame with Rohloff hub, has the other sort of cork grips. "Pure" cork that looks like the handle of a fishing pole. It's too early to tell about the wear; I only have a few hundred miles on the bike. But so far so good.

eblair

Portland Oregon
USA

[David Cox]

I do like the ANT frames.  When I decided to go with a Rohloff I considering an ANT, but ultimately went with a Thorn Raven.  How are you getting along with it?  Did you have Mike build your frame with sliding dropouts or an EBB?

David

[Andrew]

quote:Originally posted by ahconway

I really liked the grips that SJS supplied with my Raven Tour, but the right one (with the shifter) was worn almost completely through after less than 900 miles. I guess it makes sense that the right one would experience heavier wear because of all the frequent shifting.

What grips have others replaced their original ones with? Any recommendations?

We will have Thorn pure cork grips available very soon...

[eblair]

To answer the question of David Cox: my ANT uses the Rohloff sliding dropouts, not the EBB. I basically flipped a coin. I'm sure either would work fine.

I'm very happy with the ANT bike. And I really, really like the Rohloff hub. The bike is set up as a city bike. It has 26x1.75 tires, fenders, a sprung brooks saddle, and Nitto Albatross bars.

For a low-key generalist like me this bike just does everything--weekend trips, urban commuting, gravel and dirt paths. Good in lousy Pacific NW weather. And to thieves it just looks like an old black "english racer" three speed--or so I devoutly hope.

I'm really big fan of this sort of bike, and wish a local shop would stock Thorn Ravens.

[David Cox]

I'm going to give cork a try.  How do you suppose they will do in a rainy climate like Portland?
I picture them to swell like cork in a wine bottle.
Everyday the become larger and larger and I have to lower my stem to compensate.

[TonySmith]

Has anyone tried using larger diameter grips to enable the shifter to become a usable part of the grip rather than something to the side - a bit like the "gripshift" system found on cheap bikes. The reason I ask is that I find the standard issue comfort bars a bit wide. On the right hand side I have the bar end in the middle, then the brake lever, then the shifter, then the grip. There's no way to move anything inward and it's not comfortable to rest on the shifter due to its larger diameter.

[PH]

quote:Originally posted by TonySmith

Has anyone tried using larger diameter grips to enable the shifter to become a usable part of the grip rather than something to the side

Yes big thick cheap ones from Aldi, very comfortable.  I like narrow straight bars and grips + shifter made them to wide.

[ahconway]

quote:Originally posted by Andrew

quote:Originally posted by ahconway

I really liked the grips that SJS supplied with my Raven Tour, but the right one (with the shifter) was worn almost completely through after less than 900 miles. I guess it makes sense that the right one would experience heavier wear because of all the frequent shifting.

What grips have others replaced their original ones with? Any recommendations?

We will have Thorn pure cork grips available very soon...

Sure enough, SJSC now has cork grips available (see http://www.sjscycles.com/store/item12170.htm).

Anyone had experience with these yet?

Andrew C

[kwkirby01]

Ergon Grips - http://www.ergon-bike.com/tech.php?la=en - make interesting and apparently very comfortable grips. According to their UK distributior they are planning to release Rohloff specific versions in May (i.e. RH grip shorter). Might be worth a look.
Kevin

[sarissa]

I'm currently using a cut-down Ergon grip on my Raven Enduro - but not as a integral part of the twist shifter. moving my hand an inch or so is no big deal to me, and being able to put the whole of my palm on the grip for long periods on last year's touring holiday was a real boon. I Ergon do add a rohloff specific grip to their range I'll be int here fast. That might persaude me to do the same arrangement when I start building up this year's project - a Sport tour frame + fork snapped up on eBay.

Leslie from Edinburgh