The Best Mountain Bike Grips: Our 2019 Review

Ergon are a reputable brand, responsible for innovating many of the best mountain bike grips available on the market. Our team love the gravity control rubber sure to withstand the toughest all-day riding.

These grips are unique, with a non-uniform diameter– the inside of the handlebar is narrower than the outside. This provides added damping and shock absorption during tricky trails.

Ensure that you get the orientation spot on with extra care, and you’ll be thrilled with the performance of the Ergon GE1.

Boasting comfort, control, a slip-proof surface and damping- these grips are our number one pick.

A fantastic combination of resilience and comfort placed the ODI Elite Pro grips in our top 10. They’re aptly named pro grips, thanks to their partnership with Curtis Keene, ensuring that they offer professional riding.

As you begin to improve your overall performance, components and add-ons such as grips become far more important.

Boasting comfort, a lightweight design and a 32mm diameter, these grips are perfect for enduro riding. Although offering optimal traction, they also ensure soft grip where needed, thanks to the tailored padding.

Installation is simple and the grips lock on securely, it’s never been easier to enjoy pro-style grips.

Chromag have created their design for extreme trails. These grips offer a firm connection to the bars. It is tacky and features a dimpled pattern.

Thanks to the 25a durometer compound it offers good, sticky grip that provides a secure feel and full control over the geometry.

The Chromag Basis grips have been finely innovated for those that take riding seriously, offering a great grip and a comfortable design, ensuring that MTB lovers can enjoy the hardest routes.

They have been made to provide that cutting edge, on other riders. Less than 30mm diameter, this is a thinner grip than many of the latest releases.

The Race Face comes with one of the thinnest grips, as the others get progressively fatter, Race Face have decided to stick to their guns on this model.

The whole ethos of the Half Nelson grips is to offer a no-nonsense part, no fancy grips or dimpled patterns, just a normal shaped grip for the bars. You can get a good contraction, steer nice and still feel comfortable after a long, bumpy ride.

It does the job and remains comfortable, this one’s for the riders that don’t want fat grips, soft elements or any unnecessary technology.

Regular MTB reader will already be aware of our love for Nukeproof. They always manage to provide a professional design, at a great price.

The reason the Nukeproof Neutron made it so high up on our list is down to the fantastic value. Plus, it has a straightforward design, offering grip that is fat, but not too hard to get hold of.

Constructed of A25 rubber, the product has secure locking mechanisms and is 31mm in diameter.

Enjoy feedback through the grips without it becoming painful, ensuring that you can navigate at a high level, pushing boundaries, yet still keep your hands healthy. It’s key to keep your grips optimised, for the best performance.

In need of a larger grip?

Those with bigger hands that require a bigger grip, may want to check out this one. Designed by Lizard Skins, it comes with a textured surface and a secure style, exhibiting complete control for the owner.

There’s no unwanted movement, as the grips fit nicely and remain sturdy throughout.

The bonus pack includes the grips, clamps, screws and plugs.

Do you want something less bulky and more comfortable?

The Palmskin grips by Chromag, have fast become a favourite in the industry. Many are taking to these supple grips instead of the fatter ones on the market.

If you want to avoid ripping your hands to shreds, whilst enjoying bare hands, then read on!

They are bespoke additions, offering technology that rids of moisture, enabling mountain bikers to enjoy long trails without gloves.

Complete with tackiness, grip and comfort, these grips are the people’s choice. They have a 25a durometer rubber design, and although they’re not bulky and don’t stand-out, they make the world of difference.

Perfect for those that want to transition from gloves to no gloves, without the need to use the ultra-sticky Renthal add-ons.

Being a five-time world champion, isn’t something that’s taken lightly. The Sam Hill Series is a line that’s been created to help everybody maximise their performance.

Ideal for downhill trails, these grips have been innovatively designed with textured grip, a soft rubber and a fat grip of 31mm.

His Nukeproof products have been inspired by himself, and in order to help riders enjoy a professional yet affordable series, they have created this line.

One thing we did notice, is that the rubber is super-soft and comfortable but this may wear out quicker than other options, meaning a replacement could be due after a year or two of use.

A collaboration between Brendan Fairclough and DMR, resulted in these no-nonsense MTB grips.

They’re versatile, offering the perfect grip solution for downhill, enduro and all-mountain riding. A simple design, offering a soft kraton rubber, a mushroom thumb design for comfort and a durable style.

There’s no need to try and overdo the style, they have been designed perfectly for all riders, without trying to make them too thick or stylish.

Another thing that stood out to us, was the great value of these mountain bike grips, they are available for less than £20, check out some of the deals we managed to discover, below.

The answer to gloveless riding.

We briefly mentioned these grips, as they have caused a stir in recent times. They have been designed to encourage riders to go gloveless.

Due to the ultra–tacky design, they have lots of stick, enabling mountain bike lovers to enjoy grip during the most tough routes.

They are unique, lock on grips comes with complete control. If you like tacky grips, then these are for you. If you don’t, then look at our other choices because these grips have a super-sticky feel!