Product

PROPER STEBSON GRIPS – REVIEW

It seems like everyone who grabs a feel of Proper Stebson grips on someone else’s bike immediately has grip envy. I should know, I’ve been running them for about four years and I lost count of grip grabs long ago… Proper themselves say you’ll notice the difference between this grip and all others as soon as you grab a pair.

“Anyone who grabs a feel of these grips on someone else’s bike immediately has grip envy.”

Stebsons follow the classic mushroom style flanged grip, ODI Longneck-esque, with a twist. Proper call it Shark’s Fin Technology and it means that they feel quite different to most other grips. How does it work? Well, instead of the grip’s ridges simply being rounded on the ends, the ones on Proper Stebsons have a pointed end. With this, the ‘fins’ are much finer, increasing flexibility and softness at the point of contact, but stronger nearer the core of the grip. That means they can make the grips thinner than other mushroom style grips, which genuinely makes them feel like they’re worn in as soon as you put them on.

A specific rubber compound and that extra flexibility give the Stebson grips their ‘ready to ride’ feeling straight out of the box. They’re 160mm long – about right – and have a clear cutting groove for those who prefer flangeless grips. They come in a bunch of different colours, from army green (shown) to black and ox blood red tie dye, plus some translucent colours. The press-in bar ends are decent, though they might not fit all gauges of handlebar tubing.

Yes, I’ve been running Stebson grips for about four years. No, not the same pair! I’ve actually been through quite a few pairs due to the fact that they are definitely towards the thin end of the grip spectrum. However, as explained above, that’s a good thing.