Handle bars / grips with a bit less buzz

I pretty much always swap grips to something I'm familiar with so that's where I'd start.

• Spank Vibrocore bars and Odi Reflex grips again it's personal choice .

ODI longneck push on grips - always. 

Never found a lock-on grip anywhere near as good. Cheap hairspray to stick & they just stay in place forever. Never had an issue with them slipping.

I have a set of these for sale, 1 ride old, rise to high for me, £100

https://www.merlincycles.com/enve-m6-mtb-handlebars-114331.html

I like 31.8mm Spank Spike 800 Vibrocore bars and Ergon GDH grips personally. Everyone's body shape and related bike geo/position will be different of course, but these are my favourites for mine.

I use OneUp bars and push on grips. I'm surprised push on grips aren't more popular. More rubber and less plastic has to be more comfortable.

Plus I like playing with my lock wire plyers 

Combos that work for me:

Spank oozy vibrocore with almost any grip. Gusset somethings are good, and especially soft and plush are the supercaz grizips.

Renthal alu fatbar lite with the renthal kevlar grips are also good. More direct, but not fatiguing. 

Of those 2, the spanks are the comfiest for me. But you also mention wrist pain, so I would look at the bar backsweep/upsweep first. I get on with 7deg backsweep and get uncomfy with more backswept bars. Some folk like a lot more backsweep though, so you might need to work out what suits you.

I've got Spank Vibrocore bars as well. They definitely work. I've had instances with some bikes where vibration would make my fingers seize onto the grips. Had a whole week in Morzine with this happening. Makes braking real difficult. Just doesn't do that with Vibrocore. They aren't flexy but the frequency of vibration is changed to be less harmful.

Interestingly I've got a set of S-Works bars on a bike at the moment. They look nice and are significantly lighter than many carbon bars. They're also stiff as hell! Even with ESI grips. They make Thomson seem like a wet noodle. In turn Thomson made Answer ProTapers feel like a pea cane.

I've tried lots here, due to having a broken ulna that's never fixing.

TLDR : OneUp bars + RevGrips HalfWaffle

Long version... you can get stiff as hell bars in all materials... you can get flexy bars in all materials... you can get vibration damping bars in all materials... you can get bars that manage to amplify vibrations in all materials. The same goes for clamp size etc. So you have to try bars... you can't just choose based on stem clamp, material, weight etc.  I'd never have guessed that 35mm clamp and carbon would have been my final preference. Vibrocore 31.8 alu bars were pretty good, expected them to be a keeper, better than most... but the OneUp carbon were noticeably better still. Once I'd settled on bars, I moved onto grips. Thin DeathGrips in thin/soft still the best affordable proper mountain biking option for me. Push on Oury grips offer more comfort for XC type riding. RevGrips, sadly for my pocket, are by far the best option though. Some find them vague, like having sidewalls with less support... but they're perfect for me. Trade offs depend on how sensitive you to buzz/pain in the wrists though.

"Chewy" 747mm Knuckleball bars from PlanetX, if still available.

If you fancy giving the Vibrocore bars a go, I've got a set up for sale

ODI Rogue grips on everything for me. Anything smaller or harder just feels wrong. I get way less arm pump and hand cramps with thicker grips, even though I have small hands.

Posted by: kelvin

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Vibrocore 31.8 alu bars were pretty good, expected them to be a keeper, better than most... but the OneUp carbon were noticeably better still

This doesn't match with my experience. OneUp were noticeably stiffer, with minimal reduction in vibration. Sold them fairly soon. Good compared to most 35mm bars, not 31.8 Spanks.

Actually I forgot to mention I've also had Fasst Flexx bars. If vibration/wrist pain is a real problem for you then these are the answer. Does what it says on the tin. Sod the expense.

Other random thought: I'm pretty sure my 50mm rise Vibrocores are a bit better than my 30mm rise ones. 

Yes, same bar with same load will deflect 60% more and lower vibration hertz by 25% with 75mm rise compared to 25mm. There are tests online somewhere...

Posted by: n0b0dy0ftheg0at

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"Chewy" 747mm Knuckleball bars from PlanetX, if still available.

That's the bars I have on my stooge

Thanks for all the answers lots to read and think about 

I found those Whyte 35mm bars pretty stiff as well. If you’re happy with the width then OneUp bars are supposed to be nice, my wife swapped her stiff bars out for some Renthal Fatbar Lites as she always cuts hers down to 750-760 and wide bars cut short just become more uncomfortable. 

She’s looking at Rev grips at the moment. 
I prefer a 31.8 Renthal Fatbar and find them very comfy. 

I think the only time I've ever swapped parts off a brand new bike after one ride was the grips and saddle off my Whyte T-129 a few years back. The rest of the bike was ace though, do miss it!

I like the Renthal Fatbar Lite (31.8mm clamp) and DMR Deathgrips in the Thick/Soft option, or the Race version if they're on sale as they're even softer. For the price I think they're great.

I suffer from wrist pain due to injury but I've found Ergon GE1 grips to really help, they're not the softest but I think the ergonomic nature means it spreads your weight better and stops hotspots. I makes sense as most grips are completely round but hands aren't.

800 is wide. How do your arms look down to the hand when riding? If you've got a bend inwards at the wrist consider cutting your bars down. I'm at 770 at the mo and it's a lot easier on my wrists

I see there's a V2 of the One Up bars out now. Claims of 13% more compliance had me tempted. Then I saw Remy Metailler in the photos and started to wonder if achieving said compliance required riding like he does...

Posted by: Yak

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I get on with 7deg backsweep and get uncomfy with more backswept bars. Some folk like a lot more backsweep though, so you might need to work out what suits you.

This is most important I think.

I can't go less than 12deg now. Takes the bend off my wrist which makes me more comfortable and also improves control of the bike. The Sonder 15 degree bars are a cheap way of trying it out. 

Guessing the bike is fairly new to you?

Forks still need bedding in/setting up properly?

Are you riding in a different position to that you are used to based on reach/stack? I find even changing numbers by 10-15mm here and there can make a big difference to my bike comfort

Hi all 

First ride out with one up carbon bars and thick death grips.

Wow what a difference!