Why are female specific grips important I hear you ask? Well in general ladies bikes come with narrower handlebars in terms of diameter and length as we have smaller hands and shoulders than our male counterparts. A smaller grip is more comfortable to us as it puts less strain on our hands.
Our most popular selling ladies grip is the Specialized BG Contour Locking Grip which is a paddle style grip. This serves 2 purposes; it gives a larger surface area over which your weight is distributed so it is more comfortable for long periods of time, which in turn opens up the hand, relieving pressure on the Ulnar nerve which runs down the outside of your hand. This nerve is the one that gets trapped if you grip onto your handlebars for grim death, or ride for a long time. If you have ever had a numbness or pins and needles feeling in your hands it is this nerve getting trapped that will give you that feeling. By simply opening up the hand the pressure on the nerve is released and the numbness/tingling will go away! The official term for this numbness is Carpal tunnel syndrome or Cyclist's Palsy.
The other thing after market grips achieve is they tend to have more density to them, often a triple density compound, meaning they absorb more road/trail reverberation as you ride which of course leads to greater comfort.
There are 2 types of grips; lock-on or push on. Lock on grips do just that, they use a 2/3mm allen key fitting within 2 sleeves to lock the grip into place. This means they are easy to remove and easy to tighten so they won't slip. The push on grips can be awkward to get on and off as they simply stay in place by been forced onto your handlebar ends. They are much cheaper than lock on grips but never as reliable.
Below you will find a selection of cherry picked female specific grips that will help anyone who has experienced any numbness in their hands, or simply wants a change of colour to their bicycle! |