We are testing a Milwaukee Bicycle Company 29″er over at Twenty Nine Inches now which is loaded with some fine equipment that we will be breaking out with some “Quick Reviews” both here and at Twenty Nine Inches. This go ’round we’ll be talking about the Ergon GX-1 grips.

As we have stated here before, we consider grips to be a very important part of your cycling kit, as it is one of the three main interfaces we as riders have with our bicycles. In my humble opinion, Ergon has radically changed the way grips are looked at for cycling. It’s my belief that their grips are second to none in terms of what is currently available.

Ergon is a company that bases a lot of their produt design off of racer feedback and this grip, the GX-1, is a direct result of that sort of feedback. A trimmed down version of the original version? Well, not necessarily. It is really a radically different grip from the companies first effort, the GP-1.

The GX is definitely smaller and the platform is both smaller, and thinner than the GE-1’s. I find it to be very comfortable, since the pared down platform misses part of the heel of my hand near the thumbs, and where I do contact the platform, it is forgiving due to the thin cross section of the platform. This is manifested in terms of more comfort, and less hand pain.

I found the grip worked well in technical terrain where the GE-1 may feel too cumbersome for some riders. Not so the GX-1, as it has a smaller diameter which allows for a death grip on the bars, if you so choose. All in all, there isn’t much to dislike here, if anything. Ergon’s great clamp carries over, so the grips are locked in place and do not twist. The grip should be tweaked to your personal tastes, and it is easy to alter the “attitude” of the platform with a 4mm Allen wrench.

I highly recommend the GX-1 grips by Ergon. Especially if you want more control than a GE-1 offers, or are looking for more comfortable grip. Even though the GX series is race bred, I feel they are actually more comfortable than the GE series. At least this is one case where racing improved the breed!