From Ergon web site:

New for 2009, the GA1 is a specific all mountain grip. Using the knowledge gained in the development of the GE1, the GA1 features a sculpted shape, and various textures to offer many of the advantages of our platform grips, in situations where absolute freedom of movement is called for. Securely bolted down with a slim aluminum clamp, available in two sizes, and three colours. Ergonomics aren’t just for XC or Endurance riders.

Seems hard to believe that grips can make a world of difference in riding your bike, but as a matter of fact they do, as much as pedals and saddle, and it can be a big difference in terms of comfort and control.

I previously tested the GX-1 grips from Ergon and they are currently my favorite on my XC and commuter rigs. Just recently Ergon released the GA-1, an evolution from last year GE-1, optimized for all-mountain and enduro riding.

Ergon, as the name suggests, focuses on creating functional products in order to have the best fit between rider and bike.

As other Ergon products, these grips come in the display package, that allows to test before you buy and get an idea of how the grip feels: it’s not the same as riding your bike with it, but at least it makes it easier to pick the right size.

CONSTRUCTION DETAILS

The GE-1 seemed to be unnecessarily bulky, with weight in excess of 160g, while the new GA-1 is much lighter.

The Small version (GA-1S) measures 135mm with a diameter of 32mm and a weight of 117g. The Large (GA-1L) has a length of 145mm and diameter of 35mm and a claimed weight of 146g.

There is only one clamp per grip. That means that there is no clamp on the inner side of the grips leaving more room for positioning your hand.

The GA-1 don’t have the typical large ‘wing’ to rest your palms and at a first look seem no different from regular clamp-on grips. A closer look reveals that the shape of the grip is not just cylindrical but it’s designed to match the palm of our hands with a slight bulge in the middle. The material is nice silicon with inserts to improve grip: the feel is pretty good even without wearing gloves.

When we wrap out hands around the grip, the center part of our palm forms a slight cup-like cavity: the GA-1 contours and matches that cavity spreading equally the pressure and avoiding hot spots of pressure on the sides of our palms, avoiding the dreaded hand numbness.

The GA-1 come in two sizes to match different size hands: the size refers to the diameter of the grip and not the width. This is to accommodate for smaller or larger hands.

The grips are side specific, meaning that there is a left and a right grip. The side is printed on the grip.

The installation is a snap, just slide the grips on the handlebar and tighten the 4mm Allen bolt to the prescribed torque of 4N·m. Before you do that make sure you play with the angle of the grip and you palm: according to the instructions your hand should lay in a natural position on the grip, with the wrist in a natural angle. The best solution is possibly to leave the grips slightly loose so that they can be turned applying a little force and play around until the optimal setup is found.

RIDING IMPRESSIONS

I switched my clamp-on ODI Cane Creek grips for these ones on my Nomad and was very impressed with the difference. Feels like the grip is filling your hand, resulting in a much better hand-grip contact and overall a better control over the bike. The difference in comfort becomes obvious on longer rides, over 2 hours. My main trail test was at Downieville Classic: the GA-1 provided a very comfortable support on the long climb and good control on the way down. When going back to traditional grips the difference is substantial.

In terms of comfort these grips are not as comfy as the GX-1  but the offer more flexibility in moving the hands position around, which is definitely more important for the intended application. The material also seems softer than the GX-1 and provides an extra level of vibration dampening.

Compared to the Cane Creek I noticed a clearly increased comfort level, and also in this case, as for the GX-1, did not have any case of hand numbness, which was pretty frequent on the CK grips on longer rides.

CONCLUSIONS

So overall these grips meet the goal and deliver on improved control and comfort, at a very respectable weight, compared to the lightest ODI grips offerings. The color is a pretty cool Ergon kermit green, but they also came in black and an elegant white.

The GA-1 sell for about $25 at many online retailers.

I’m curious to see how these stack up in terms of durability and will update this review after putting some serious miles on these grips.