Ergon GR2 Grip Review

Posted on September 11, 2011 by Jeff Moser

According to their website, Ergon is a bicycle accessory company whose aim is to develop products that offer the best ergonomics for cyclists, which combine the best scientific principles with the practicality of real world usage. Ergon has a fairly extensive line of grips, offering different grip materials, and a variety of different bar ends (including the absence of them). For this test, I chose the smaller GR2-Small for my average sized hands, and also for the subtle bar ends.

Ergon GR2-S

SPECIAL FEATURES AND DESIGN

Effective pain prevention for hand and wrist
Ergonomically correct hand position and optimal pressure distribution
Independently adjustable bar end and grip angle
Available in Small and Large

If you’ve been riding bikes long enough, the Ergons may remind you of the Oakley 3 grips from the 1980s BMX days. Like the old Oakleys, the grip gets wider towards the outer edge, and there is a special area for your fingers to grip. Unlike the simple rubber BMX grips though, the Ergons are made up of different materials throughout the grip, bolt on securely to the bars, and include a bar end.

Ergonomically correct hand position and optimal pressure distribution

INSTALLATION

Installing the GR2s was my first experience with lock-on grips. I’m used to muscling on standard grips, using just enough rubbing alcohol to allow the grip to slip onto the handlebars. The GR2s simply slide right on though without any effort. The trick though is to make sure the grip is all the way on before tightening the one bolt that not only locks the grip to the bar, but also sets the angle of the bar end. Getting the angle right on the grip and the bar end took some careful eyeballing and test riding to find the perfect setting. Once set though, they’re locked in. I didn’t have to readjust the grips once in the test period.

FUNCTION AND COMFORT

Immediately after getting the grips mounted, I pedaled a few feet then wheelied up a couple stairs. The grips “moved”, and I had a brief moment of panic that I hadn’t tightened the bolts enough. It turned out only to be the flex of the “wing” of the grip. It didn’t take long to get used to the flex though, and I started appreciating the extra shock absorption that the wing offers. Additionally, there’s a recessed area on the bottom of the grip where your fingers tuck nicely in. The whole grip really feels good in your hand. Almost like it was made just for you.

I’ve really enjoyed riding around the city with the Ergon GR2 grips, even getting a little excited that I would be riding the bike that had these grips installed. You can definitely feel the pressure from the grip evenly distributed across the palm of your hand, and the flex from the grip adds additional shock absorption. Look at the palms of your hands, and you’ll see that a grip of this shape makes a lot of sense. These aspects are further appreciated when carrying a heavy load on your back. I even got the GR2s out on the Bike Polo court for a few games. In Bike Polo, you need to ride most of the game with one hand, since the mallet is in the other hand. This experience really showcased the comfort of the grip, since all my upper body weight was focused on that one point.

I’m a big fan of alternate bend bars, those with a lot more back-sweep than standard, but the bar ends on the GR2s give me the hand position I’m looking for when I need it. The bar ends are also subtle, unlike the big horns from previous decades. The bar ends come in handy when you need some extra sprinting or climbing leverage, or simply want to switch up your hand position.

Running the GR2s made my 27″ wide bars look and feel even wider. It feels like I could take an inch off the bars, especially when out on the bar ends.

Out on the Trail

PROBLEMS

Eager for my wife to try them, I mounted the GR2s on her Stumpjumper for an upcoming mountain bike ride up at Lake Tahoe. The right grip went on fine, but for some reason, I just couldn’t get the left grip mounted properly. The bar end seemed to be locked in place, but the grip twisted under pressure. I started over to make sure I hadn’t screwed something up, but the problem still existed. It felt like I was pushing the bolt beyond where I should, but I kept tightening anyway. Finally the bolt snapped, rendering the grip useless. This hadn’t happened on the bars I had been using, and after asking around to other Ergon users, nobody else reported similar problems. Perhaps I just had the wrong grip/bar combo. I’m going to see what I can do about getting a replacement part, because I really feel the grips deserve a 2nd chance. And maybe next time I’ll use a torque wrench.

OTHER NOTES

As a safety precaution, Ergon says these grips are not suitable for the use with carbon handlebars. While the grips are friendly to the human hand, there is a lot of pressure at this one bolt on the handlebar.
Due to the bar ends, the GR2 grips are designed for handlebars with little sweep, so if you like radically bent bars, they won’t work.
While the grips slide on easy, it does take some patience to get them setup just right when compared to a standard rubber grip.

Disclaimer: This product was given to BikeCarson.com at no charge for test and review as part of the Ergon Commuter Team campaign. We were not paid or bribed to do this review, and will provide our honest and personal views throughout the entire process.

Niner YAWYD Top Cap Review

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Jeff Moser

A lot of people like bikes. A lot of people like beer. And there’s a subset of these two groups that really like both. For this group, Niner Bikes has made available the YAWYD (You Are What You Drink) Top Cap.

YAWYD Top Cap replaces existing top cap

The Niner YAWYD Top Cap replaces your existing top cap so that you can snap your favorite beer bottle cap over the built in lip to customize your ride. Installation is simple. Just remove your existing steering tube cap, and bolt on the YAWYD. The YAWYD has a specially shaped top that is similar to the top of a beer bottle. Carefully remove a bottle cap off your favorite brew, and just snap it on to the top cap. If it doesn’t snap tight, use a pair of needle nose pliers to snug the bottle cap’s crimped edges around the top cap. Niner suggests you ride your bike a bit to make sure the headset is snug before covering up the bolt with the bottle cap.

Choose your favorite bottle cap to customize your ride

While the YAWYD Top Cap adds flair to your bike, it is not directly performance enhancing. The YAWYD may have some indirect benefits though. It can serve as a visual reminder of the cold brew that is waiting for you at the end of the trail, and this may be just enough to keep you going when the legs are trying to tell you they can do no more.

More info at: http://www.ninerbikes.com/topcap

Cavery Cab

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Jeff Moser

After starting a family, it can be difficult to keep riding like you did before the baby arrived. It’s not always easy or affordable to find a babysitter, and so you often find you and your spouse taking turns out on the trails. Local riders Cullen and Melissa Jones were determined to keep riding after the birth of their son though, so they designed and built the Cavery Cab, a single wheeled, off-road bike trailer. The trailer went through a few prototypes, until finally the Cab got the Cavery seal of approval. The latest design works great over smooth singletrack, even over uneven terrain.

Think a Cavery Cab would work good for your family? Cullen will build you one! Here are some details on the Cavery Cab from their website:

The Cavery Cab is a single wheel bike trailer serving as the ultimate mountain bike trailer for families. It was inspired by the birth of our son Cavery. We realized that we needed special gear to help us continue enjoying our favorite trails as a couple- and now as a family. Encouraged by our son’s total love of all things outdoors and with wheels, we set out to find a trailer that would allow us to bring him with us on our bike rides. Unable to find a trailer that met our criteria, we resolved to make one. After testing various designs, we finally have the single track trailer with features we all want- safe, smooth, comfortable, and fun!

The trailer works using a single-wheel design and attaches to the seat post of a rider’s bike, allowing you to ride single track trails. It is fitted with a rear suspension shock giving a smooth ride over uneven terrain. The trailer attaches to seat posts of 31.6 mm and 27.2 mm diameter using the appropriate adapter sleeves. A child of up to 40 pounds rides in a Graco or Cosco Convertible Car Seats which can be clipped to secure points on the Cavery Cab frame.

Cullen made and tested several prototypes of the single-wheel suspension kid trailer until he found the right combination of features that gave the smoothest ride on all types of terrain for …both rider and trailer. The Cavery Cab has allowed us to share many special moments together outside and off road. As we ride the trails, we continue to meet riders who would like a Cavery Cab either for taking along kids or gear where ordinary bike trailers can’t go. If you would like one, just let us know! Happy Trail Riding!

For more info, photos, video, and pricing:

Official Website: http://www.caverycab.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/CaveryCab

Photos courtesy of CaveryCab.com

WTB Wolverine 29″ Tire – Final Review

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Jeff Moser

Back in November of 2009, I wrote about my initial impressions of the 29″ (29×2.2) Wolverine tire from Wilderness Trail Bikes HERE. I’ve had over a year on the Wolverines now, using them as a front and rear tire, and riding them on all sorts of terrain. Here are my final thoughts on the tire.

Conquering the Mud Hole

Traction

Throughout the year, I got to try the Wolverines in snow, mud, sand, hard pack, and asphalt. These tires handled all these conditions well, making them a great choice for all-terrain applications. The tread pattern of the Wolverine provides plenty of bite no matter what angle the bike is at, from straight up, fully leaned over, and everywhere in between. The tire feels very predictable and confidence inspiring all the way through a turn, progressively biting harder the further you lean the bike over. The squarish profile of the tire further enhances contact with the ground, especially when combined with lower pressures. These same qualities help stop your bike quick when it’s time to brake.

The Wolverines do pretty well on the asphalt as well. I frequently ride my mountain bike on the road to the local trailheads and around town, so having a versatile tire is important to me. You can descend and corner with confidence whether on high speed road descents or just zipping around the city streets.

Snow Print

Rolling Resistance

The moderately spaced tread of the Wolverine allow the tire to roll smoothly without the bumpy knobby feeling of a more openly spaced tread pattern. Because of this, the tire feels lighter than it is. The tread is still aggressive, but the knob spacing works well in all conditions, whether riding through snow, mud, sand, hard pack, or transitioning through a combination of these terrains.

Slippery Singletrack

Fast sandy corner with the Wolverine

Weight

My test tires weighed in at 805 grams and 840 grams. This takes them out of the race tire arena, and puts them into the trail riding category. You may not set record hill climb times with the Wolverines, but it’s still a tire that you can pedal on all day epic rides comfortably. Light enough for climbing performance, large enough for plush comfort, aggressive enough for varying conditions. The new advertised weight is 774 grams, so it looks like WTB was able to shave a little weight off since the first production run. WTB mentioned that they were surprised at the initial weight as well. Running the tires tubeless also helps get the rotating mass of these big hoops down.

Big Casing

On the Tahoe Rim Trail

Durability

I began this review back in the Fall of 2009, and I’ve ridden these tires every week since then. I used the Wolverine as a front tire for several months as I wore out a couple rear tires. I finally ended up moving the Wolverine to the rear to get a “little bit” more use out of it, but I’ve ended up riding it an additional half a year! I can honestly say the tire is done now though. It still corners great, but the center knobs are worn down to the point where it’s slipping on climbs and during braking. It was a great value to get this much use out of a tire. Especially one that works well as a front or rear application.

Amazing traction, front or rear

Good on Epic Rides

Going Tubeless

Although these tires are not part of WTB’s tubeless tire lineup, I’ve ridden them tubeless for over a year with no problems using Stan’s NoTubes Sealant. The tires sealed easily, held consistent air pressure for several days, and have never once had a puncture. They were mounted on On One standard rims for the first part of the test, then Sun Ringle Black Flag tubleless ready rims for the remainder of the test. Dropping extra rotational mass by going tubeless was noticeable. It got the weight into that sweet spot where the wheel accelerates quickly without feeling sluggish. I typically ran the tires at 25psi in the front, and 30psi in the rear. This flattens the tires out nicely for optimal traction with no fear of pinch flats or rim damage.

Traction when you need it most

About Done…

Summary

As a front tire, the Wolverine is fantastic. It’s a perfect blend of traction, low rolling resistance, large volume, and durability. It’s not as plush as the big WTB Weirwolf 29×2.55 LT I’m running now, but the Wolverine definitely has superior traction.

As a rear tire, the Wolverine may be overkill depending on your conditions. With their already larger footprint, 29 inch wheels are not short on traction. The lightly treaded 29″ WTB Nano Raptor I enjoyed last spring and summer hooked up well in most situations, and saved me quite a bit of rotating mass. Switching to the Wolverine in the Fall slowed me down a bit, but it was nice to have more traction in the deep Fall sand and the snow and mud of Winter. Light fast tires don’t buy you much if you’re spinning out when you need traction the most.

I will definitely purchase more Wolverines in the future, especially for front tire applications. They hook up in a wide variety of conditions, roll well, are durable, and weigh in at a reasonable weight for all-around trail riding. Additionally, the large volume casing provides a comfortable ride, floats over the sand and other soft surfaces, and protects the rims well. Highly recommended!

Specifications

Dimensions: 29×2.2″ – 54/52
WTB’s fast-rolling, long lasting 60a durometer rubber
Moderately spaced tread pattern
Weight saving folding Aramid Bead
60 Threads Per Inch (TPI) casing
Weight: Test tires weighed in at 805 grams and 840 grams (new advertised weight is 774 grams)

More info at WTB (Wilderness Trail Bikes).

Disclaimer as required by the FTC: This product was given to BikeCarson.com at no charge for test and review. We were not paid or bribed to do this review, and will provide our honest and personal views throughout the entire process.

Shimano Electronic Shifting

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Jeff Moser

Back in May, Felt Bicycles brought their demo van to Carson City, and one of their demo bikes was equipped with Shimano’s electronic shifting. Although I had heard of electronic shifting for a while, this was the first time I got to actually see it in person and try it out. This is by no means a full review of the product, simply the initial impressions I got while riding a couple laps around the parking lot.

The front derailleur – the “brains” of the system

Getting used to the hand controls took no time at all, since the lever/button are basically the same (although with less movement than on a mechanical system). The same levers you’re used to on your mechanical system make the shifting go the same direction. The only real difference is that you’re sending electronic signals rather than pulling on a cable. While the rear shifting didn’t feel much different than that of a cable driven system, the front shifting action was definitely noticeable. Rather than ratcheting the chain up through the front chain rings with multiple clicks, you simply hold down the button. I think this was the feature that most made me think, “Hey…this is kind of cool.”.

Battery Life Indicator / Fine Tuning

The front derailleur is what Shimano calls the brains of the system. Not only is the CPU located here, but it works in tandem with the rear derailleur. As the chain moves across the cogs in the rear, the front derailleur automatically trims for a constant perfect chain line. No manual trimming with the front shifter or rubbing on the front chain guide.

Familiar Shifting Lever/Button

The rechargeable battery is mounted down below the front derailleur. The Felt rep told me that in the event of battery failure, the system shifts down into a middle range gear before dying, so you’re not stuck in one extreme. This could be good or bad depending on what terrain you’re stuck on. A small battery life indicator/fine tuner mounts to the cables below the bars.

While the battery and brain add a little weight to the system, weight is saved up on the bar shifters since there are less mechanical things happening up there. The overall system adds only a small net increase to the total weight (about 68 grams according to one Shimano document). Shimano also notes the possibilities of adding “remote” shifters at other locations on the bars. This may be kind of nice, since there are multiple hand positions on drop bars, and it would eliminate moving your hand back to the hood area just to grab a different gear.

High end shifting for your high end bike

So what was wrong with high end road bike shifting that warranted an all new electrical system? Nothing really. A modern, well-tuned cable shifting system works pretty awesome, and is good for most of us. Although electronic shifting is definitely not for me, it does seem to work rather well. It also seemed to be the perfect match for the bike that it was on, making the feather-weight, full-carbon bike seem even sportier.

What are your thoughts on electronic shifting? Have you tried it? Is this something you think you’d want on your bike?

More info on the electronic shifting system on the Shimano site HERE.

2011 Ergon Commuter Team

Posted on January 2, 2011 by Jeff Moser

It’s my pleasure to announce that Bike Carson will be partnering with Ergon in 2011 as part of the 2011 Ergon Commuter Team! Ergon is a bicycle accessory company whose aim is to develop products that offer the best ergonomics for cyclists, which combine the best scientific principles with the practicality of real world usage. The development team at Ergon is made up of specialists in various areas; there are bike experts, racers, sports scientists, ergonomics experts, engineers and industrial designers.

ERGON Urban Cycling from ergon on Vimeo.

12 riders out of hundreds that applied were selected from all over the USA and Canada, and will make up the first ever Ergon commuter team. Here’s a look at the riders and where they’re from:

Chris Huller – Washington DC
Arleigh Jenkins – Charlotte, NC
Tom Armstrong – Louisville, KY
Kenneth Walker – Kansas City, MO
Jeff Moser – Carson City, NV
Kenneth Cheeseman – Boston, MA
Dave Malwitz – Newbury Park, CA
Jon Makela – Portland, OR
Andrew Coffey – Chicago, IL
Jack Sweeney – Tampa, FL
James Osborne – Denver, CO
Ron Adolf – Vancouver, BC

During the year, these select riders will share their commuting experience…all while using some of the Ergon commuter friendly products like the GP1 BioKork grips, BC3 backpacks, PC2 pedal, and new gloves. More information about the Ergon Commuter Team can be found on the Ergon blog HERE.

I will be sharing my experiences here on Bike Carson, but you will be able to follow the whole team via the Ergon social media sites.

Blog: www.ergon-bike.com/us/en/blog/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Ergon-International/29970736242
Twitter: twitter.com/Ergon_Intl

Brompton Folding Bike Review

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Jeff Moser

Here’s an article by Dan Allison that was originally posted on the Muscle Powered blog. I’ve seen Dan’s Brompton around town, and I was really surprised just how small the bike folded down! We attended a meeting together and I had my huge Kona Ute. I was just beginning to wonder how Dan got to the meeting, when I walked into the conference room and saw the folded up Brompton tucked neatly away against the wall. Here’s Dan’s review of his new folding bike:

Dan's beautiful new Brompton

After thinking about it for more than a year, I finally bought a folding bike. It is a Brompton, probably the best made folding bike in existence, though Bike Fridays seemed pretty good too. I love it, love it, love it.

I’ve only taken one trip with it so far, from Reno to Sacramento and back on Amtrak, and it was a real pleasure. It tucked into the baggage shelf just fine. It folds down to the size of a medium suitcase, so works well for train, bus or plane (at least on Southwest, which is all I fly anyway). I’m going to fly with it for the first time in January, part of a trip to San Luis Obispo for Contra Carnivale. The rest of the trip is on train.

It was great to have a bike while in Sacramento. I rode the American River Parkway one afternoon, got to the conference I was attending (Safe Routes) on light rail and riding, and rode to dinner twice and the grocery store once. I’ve taken my road bike to Sacramento and even San Francisco before, but always had to use the bus to Sacramento because the only way to take full bikes on the Amtrak California Zephyr is to box them.

I’ve ridden a lot around Carson City, and everywhere I go I get compliments or at least comments, which was rarely true on my road bike. Kids especially think the bike is cool, and many ask me if they can ride it.

Though I test drove the bike for a couple of hours last summer, I was unsure about how different it would feel and handle from my road bike. My road bike is a 1971 Motobecane Grand Touring (made in France, 10 speeds, classic steel frame). The weight is not much different, and it doesn’t really handle much different. I lose a little power due to the small 16 inch wheels, and a little to a more upright riding position, but not much. Handling is a bit looser. not a bike to ride hands-free, but it tracks well. And it has fenders and wider tires, so it was no problem to ride it in a few inches of snow this morning.

I bought the bike from Channell Wasson in Palo Alto, who used to be the only US dealer, and the bike is made by Brompton in London, England. Channell spent about four hours with me talking about Bromptons and bikes in general, and I’d recommend him to anyone.

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