M
BA
TE
CH
Grips that soften a harsh ride and have a sense of humor
Perfection
Delivers above-average value and performance
Recommended for intended application
Shows potential but has drawbacks
Save your hard-earned bucks
SUPACAZ GRIZIPS
Your handlebar grips are an important and personal connection to your
bike. Supacaz is now introducing grips
for mountain bikers (as well as padded
bar tape for roadies), and if the
company’s $33 neon purple and neon
orange Grizips are any indication,
Supacaz is coming at grips from a new
direction.
Tech features: The Supacaz Grizips
are 32-millimeter lock-on grips. The
lock-on rings, dubbed Star Ringz, are
laser-etched and either powder-coated
or anodized (they give you two sets
with each set of grips). Our grips and
lock-on rings with hardware weighed
2 ounces each. You can get them in
Perfection
Delivers above-average value and performance
Recommended for intended application
Shows potential but has drawbacks
Save your hard-earned bucks
black, but what is the fun in that?
Supacaz offers its Grizips in neon
green, neon orange, neon blue or
neon pink, and there is even a glow-in
the-dark option, but Supacaz doesn’t
stop there. The company also offers
sets in non-matching colors, like our
neon purple and neon orange. Supacaz
Grizips are sold direct from its website
or at select bike shops.
Field test results: We mounted
our Supacaz Grizips on aluminum
Race Face Evolve handlebars. There
were no issues mounting the Grizips,
and we never had any slippage during
our testing. The 5.25-inch-long grips
are thin for a great wrap-around hand
hold, and the Supacaz’s compound
proved to be tacky and soft. The Evolve
handlebar is a rigid bar that translates
a good deal of trail chatter to the rider.
These grips offered enough damping
to get away with wearing thin gloves
or no gloves at all (although we really
don’t recommend going gloveless).
We did not see any wear issues after
a month of riding, so these are definitely not 90-day grips. Some riders seemed
offended by the mismatched colors, but
they are probably the same riders who
don’t smile or say hello when you see
them on the trail. They can buy the
black grips (boring). We’ll go for the
freak-out effect of neon mixing. ❏
Colorful flashback: It looks like the ’80s all over again. Is that
a good thing? Yes, if you have a sense of humor and like to
get a reaction out of other riders.
Vibration termination: The Supacaz
Grizips do a great job of taking out the
harsh ride of thick, aluminum handlebars
and would be great for those who ride
rigid forks.
