Being one of the key touch points on your mountain bike, grips are very much a personal choice. A grip that someone loves may very well be detested by others. That being said, some grips offer design elements that make them more universally popular. That’s definitely the case with the latest Race Face Chester grips, which are currently one of our favourite options on the market.
Race Face Chester Grips
- Diameter: 31mm & 34mm
- Colours: Lots!
- Weight: 112g (31mm Diameter) – 135g (34mm Diameter)
- Price: $45 AUD
Launched late last year, the Race Face Chester grips are available in 31mm and 34mm diameters. We wish more brands would do this, as it allows you to get the right grip profile for your hands.
Made from a super-soft 20a rubber compound and featuring a subtle mushroom profile, the Chester is tacky and squishy, but not too tacky and squishy. A perforated plastic core increases the overall rubber content, and the section facing your palms is thicker to maximise vibration damping.
As your hands wrap around them, you’ll notice a thinner section underneath and three raised ridges for your fingers to settle into. Along with the slight taper towards the bar clamp, the Chester produces a natural resting place that makes it easy to find your position when moving your hands around the cockpit as you rattle down a raucous descent. The result is a soft and comfortable grip that offers good feedback and is fine whether you ride with gloves or without.
Due to the internally tapered core, some force is required to push the Chester grips onto your bars. Otherwise it’s just a single 3mm hex bolt to snug them down, while an enclosed end provides some protection against tree scrapes.
For those who like to colour coordinate, Race Face offers the black Chester grip with a huge variety of different anodised bar clamps. There’s also a limited edition range of grips that switches the rubber from black to a much brighter and bolder hue.
