Product Review: Ergon GP3 Grips

The Ergon GP3 is a grip developed to support the palm of your hand, it now features a composite 3-finger bar end with anti-slip rubber inserts and aluminium clamping mechanism.

Adding 10mm in length to the bar end (compared to the previous version) the Ergonomic form has been optimized. The bar end and the grip platform can be independently adjusted for the correct support angle and provides the perfect fit for your individual riding style.

As hand size is different from person to person, Ergon manufactures the GP, GC, GR, GS, GE and GA ranges in two sizes – Small and Large. This difference is in the diameter of the grip. The reason for this is that a larger hand is better able to grip a larger grip with less stress and effort. This is the same in reverse for small grip. A smaller hand needs a smaller grip to allow the hand to close around it. Of course, this is all also down to personal preference.

Features:

• Regular grips with no length difference for Shifters.
• Material: Composite with rubber inserts (Bar end)
• Use: Mountain bike, Touring
• Bar size: 22.2mm
• Standard grips are 140mm in length
• Gripshift grips are 110mm in length
• Rohloff/Nexus grips feature one short 110mm grip and one regular 140mm grip

Ergon Gp3 Grips Review:

First off, the finish of the integral composite bar/rubber grips is good. That being said, it does feel quite chunky and the elastic elements on the grips are a little elastic. My usual way of doing things is to touch the bar end to my palm first and then pull away.

The bar end (composite) is .05mm thinner than the standard grips. This is easily noticeable in the gripping pressure. Also, the total ergonomic surface area is over twice as much as a standard grip, while the difference in length is about 4mm. To put this into perspective, a standard grip has a length of 220mm while a Gp3 has a length of 210mm.

I have to say that I like the grip as a whole. It’s one of the best bars I have here at the moment. As a quick overview of the grip so far, I found the clamping position to protrude a substantial amount with the aluminium bracket along the side of the grip. The composite bar is connected to a steel plate that’s a relatively heavy duty part of the grip.

Then there are the rubber inserts. I like that the inserts do a good job of absorbing shock from the rubber tips. This is essentially a standard part that you can find in a lot of other bars. Other grips that I have used have rubber inserts but not as effective as these.

I must say that I wasn’t as impressed with the bike fit. Here I am thinking that my left hand is slightly larger than my right. Nope. The left hand is similar and I feel it grips the bars well. I did notice that the left overhand grip point of the left hand points slightly outwards on the left hand. Which is a little disconcerting to me but I don’t think anything could be done to improve this.

The rubber grips are quite good for the majority of bikes used on the road or gravel paths. The rubber inserts are very sound and the grip seems to stay in place on the bike.

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I don’t have the most experienced hands and this area has nothing to do with the grip. The also released a new version of these grips for 2020. The new version has interchangeable grips allowing you to change grips if needed.

The Ergon Gp3 Grips have a solid grip end. I can say that compared to the standard grips, due to the composite material and the elastic content of the grips, the overall build quality of the grips is a little more than I have been used to.

I have just returned from a ride on my road bike, equipped with an XD driver and a GT. I took two days of instruction with a local Velodrome who was able to match my riding style and got me used to the grips. It took about 5 minutes for my riding style to understand how the grips worked. I was then able to ride the bike on a range of different surfaces and get used to the different riding positions and grips. There was no problem gripping the bars as long as I had the correct pressure on the grips, like I have here. I found the grip fit excellent.

One aspect that I noted was that the rubber inserts were still rather loose. However, I didn’t feel that this was an issue as I had adjusted the pro part of the bar to be quite tight. It was more of an issue that I would still have a lot of adjustment to speak of over the next few days.

Pros:

• Very good grip end
• Good pressure feel from the bar
• Good hands fit
• Coat and combine grips have good feel and no squashing
• Fairly durable

Cons:

• Rubber inserts are too loose
• Handy wipes to clean the grip ends are poor quality
• Grip Fit:
• Style – 8/10
• Price – 8/10
• Durability – 6/10
• Hand Fit – 4/10

How We Would Rate This Product:

6 out of 10

This is a good grip to use. I’ll give it a 6 out of 10. I would have scored it higher, if grip between the bar and the palm was not too loose. Though as I like to use these to ride my MTB, the addition of these feels like a burden.

I’ve had this grip for nearly a year. Like I said, I have a very standard left hand and have been using trail style grips for a while. The size of the grips is quite good and they have retained their firm comfort with the only adjustments that I have made to date. I have found the grip to be quite firm yet comfortable.

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