Posted on August 13, 2022 by Tyler Benedict

When Ergon introduced the winged ergonomic grips, they had a moment in the ultra-endurance mountain bike scene. But the real killer app for them has been commuter bikes, offering a broader perch for your hands. Now, those grips are better than ever, and their flexy foam Core saddles get commuter options and the pedals return!

The little news for the GP1 series winged grips is minor updates to the shape, improving upon their tried-and-true design. The big news is that they are now made in Germany, too, alongside their high performance mountain bike grips.

The GP1 Evo has a dual rubber compound design, sleek cold-forged clamp and comes in two sizes to fit smaller or larger hands. MSRP is $/€39.95.

The GP1 Evo BioKork blends their latex-free rubber with 40% cork that’s been organically-grown in Portugal, which is a major cork supplier (you can see a bit of it being harvested in our Thomson Bike Tours gravel story). The cork provides extra vibration damping, and the inner core is made of pressed grass fibers, making these grips an eco-friendly option. These also come in two sizes and retail for $/€49.95.

As the sportier cousin of the GP1 grips, the GS1 Evo use a thinner profile and wing, allowing a bit more flex underhand and more secure grip during spirited pedaling. More aggressive texture on the surface further improves grip. Also made in Germany, they’re available in two sizes in Blue, Red, and Black for $/€34.95.

Ergon’s grips have traditionally prioritized ergonomic comfort over weight savings, but that changed somewhat with the introduction of the GXR foam grips earlier this year. Those came in two diameters, 32mm (small) and 34mm (large), but only in black.

These GXR Team versions take it a step further with a slightly thinner, lighter option that comes in Red, Blue and Green. The Team version is just 30mm in diameter, weighing in at just 65g for the pair. It’ll also come in 32mm and 34mm diameters, both about 10g lighter than the non-Team versions.

Also for sport/fitness bikes, the new SF saddles come in men’s and women’s versions, with or without gel padding. Compared to the SFC models, these add a full central cutout, with the shapes corresponding to the gender.

On the left are the women’s versions, on the right the men’s. The gel versions get the additional texture on the cover, and get upgraded (lighter) chromoly rails. Two sizes for each, and all of them use an orthopedic foam similar to what’s in running shoes to evenly distribute pressure and absorb impacts. MSRP is $/€49.95 (SF, 365g to 380g) and $/€69.95 (SF Sport Gel, 340g-355g ).

Years ago, Ergon offered ergonomic pedals, which were pretty good, but a bit thick. Now, the design is much thinner, offers slightly more clearance from the crank arm, but keeps the small guides to position your foot in the most efficient spot. It also aligns your foot for better pedaling mechanics in everyday shoes. The grip-tape surface prevents slipping off, and large reflectors improve visibility.

They come in two sizes, Small (for shoe sizes up to size 42) and Large (43 and up), and retail for $/€49.95, which is about $15 less than the originals, too.

Tyler Benedict is the Founder of Bikerumor.com. He has been writing about the latest bikes, components, and cycling technology for 14 years. Prior to that, Tyler launched and built multiple sports nutrition brands and consumer goods companies, mostly as an excuse to travel to killer riding locations throughout North America.

Based in North Carolina, Tyler loves finding new travel adventures to share with his family and is always on the lookout for the next shiny new part to make his bikes faster and lighter. And, he’s totally gone down the NFT rabbit hole.

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The GS1 grips look excellent, but dear bike industry: Why is it that when you only offer a few color options, it’s always red and blue, the worst ones? The first color to offer (yes, before black) is obviously purple. Then orange, turquoise, yellow, then black if you must.

Color coordination is one of, if not the, most important aspects of cycling, and your ugly red offerings is a massive pitfall to newcomers to the sport. Some never make it out of the ‘black bike with red accents’-phase, and instead of helping these poor souls you are just making things worse.

Also, at some point we need to talk about why we can apparently only have tires with either puncture protection or tan sidewalls/colors. Can you only do color on flimsy paper tires? Surely not?

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