Hailing from the North Shore of British Columbia, OneUp Components has always made clever products. It started out with a 42T crawler cog, which expanded the range of the 10-speed cassette of the day. From there, the trio of former Race Face Engineers have launched pedals, pumps, dropper posts, chain guides and, of course, a range of EDC tools.
The most recent additions to the range have been cockpit components — ovalised bars, stems, and grips — and the Canadian outfit has recently expanded its range of touch points, adding thick and thin versions to its range of grips.
OneUp Thin grips
Just like bikes, saddles and bars, one size does not fit all, and OneUp’s Thin grips have a 29mm diameter and 138mm length.
With only an inboard collar, the plastic core tapers slightly, so to get them fully on your bars, you’ll need to tap the end a few times with a workshop hammer.
Unlike the original OneUp Grips, the plastic core runs the length of the grip on the inside, and there are no cutouts where the rubber comes through to interface directly with the bar. On an early version of the original Grips, we experienced some torsional movement due to the cutouts and thin plastic core — the brand has said it fixed the problem by using a harder durometer rubber. We can’t speak to that as we haven’t used the updated version. However, these new grips suffer no such issue thanks to the standard internal sleeve.
Using 20A durometer rubber, there are three textures moulded into the grip. The ends are made with a harder compound to prevent them from getting torn up if you take a tumble or lay your bike down a little less carefully than you should.
I like to run my hands all the way out on the edge of the bar and haven’t noticed a pressure point as you can get with some lock-on grips — especially if they have an outside collar.
With a knurled base covering the majority of the grip, the inner quarter is ribbed. Given that most of your grip strength comes from the pinky and ring fingers, when you are white-knuckling on a scary descent, the squish through this section seems to reduce some hand fatigue. Moving outside, there are little cushions moulded into the bar, which actually feel quite hard, but provide nice support for the heel of your hand.
That initial wear-in period is key, especially if you like to ride without gloves, as these grips feel like they’re made of ice for the first few rides. But once that shiny layer of rubber is scrubbed, they tack up nicely.
With a 29mm diameter, the thin grips offer an extraordinarily direct feel on the bars. Some harshness comes through, but it provides extra communication about what’s happening under your tires.
OneUp’s thin grips are an excellent option for folks with little mitts or those chasing that connected feel — I actually preferred the thin grips out of the two, though Purple isn’t my colour. Fortunately, they come in seven hues.
OneUp Thick Grips
Balancing out its offering of touch points, are the Thick Grips which, by comparison, have quite a bit more going on.
Starting with the texture; the knurling, heel of hand pads, and ribbing are there, but that’s not all. Right next to the clamp there is a small flange, the knurling is divided and quartered, and the underside sees pronounced ridges. While they do offer something to hook the ends of your finger tips, these ridges are really designed to add grip in wet and muddy conditions. Given we don’t often see that here in Aus — or more like, it’s frowned upon to ride in those conditions — they’re not really necessary, and I have considered chopping them off with a razor blade. In fairness, I also do this to DMR DeathGrips and ODI Elite Pro grips and find it makes for a marked improvement.
But that’s not all that’s going on here, there is subtle ergonomic shaping across the profile of the grip. The distribution of the 20A rubber is biased towards the top to provide extra cushion where needed, and it isn’t a straight gauge, measuring 32.5mm at the ends and 35mm in the middle.
Coming straight off the thin grips, even with hands sized for large gloves, the thick grips felt too big for my paws. However, I think that was just the shock from what my baseline had been for about a month, and once I had time to re-calibrate, I felt comfortable grasping the thick grips.
There is a lot going on and plenty of ridges, lumps and bumps to create purchase, they still needed that initial break-in period to scrub the rubber.
With so much material between the bars and your hands, these grips offer quite a damped feel. They are easy on the hands, and just about toe the line on feeling vague.
Flow’s Verdict
Grips are a bit like saddles and what works for one person might feel like a medieval torture device to another. Given that mountain bikers are built in all kinds of different proportions, it only makes sense to offer a grip designed to fit different hands. With clever shaping and grippy textures, OneUps Thick and Thin not just in the size, but also the feel on the bars.
They come in various colours, and we appreciate things like the harder rubber on the ends to help extend their life. Both are priced at $39.99 AUD, which is a bit less than similar options from ODI, Deity and Ergon.
