Chromag Squarewave Grips: Rider Review

Our "Rider Review" article series features honest reviews from verified purchasers of Worldwide Cyclery. They contain the photos, thoughts, feedback & overall review you are looking for. 

Sometimes the simplest thing on a mountain bike can make a huge difference, as far as upgrades go. There's not much to grips but if they are not comfortable it can really affect how your bike feels. Our friend Liam shares with us his thoughts on the Chromag Squarewave grips. Check it out!

Overview

I purchased the Chromag Squarewave to replace a set of SDG Slater grips. The Slaters excelled in terms of being light-weight, durable, simple, and inexpensive. However, I found them lacking in terms of ergonomics and comfort, which are more important to me. Ordering and delivery from Worldwide Cyclery were quick and painless, as always.

From the moment I got the Squarewave grips out of the package, I could tell they would be a big improvement over the Slaters. While the Slater grips are thinner at the center of the gripping surface, and wider at their ends, the Squarewave grips are the exact opposite, and much more ergonomic. The center of the Squarewave has a slight palm swell, which tapers down to thinner sections, just before flaring out again to meet the aluminum lock rings on the ends. As the name implies the Squarewave surface is covered in small, square rubber knurling pattern that provides grip, and a bit of give for comfort. The Squarewave has a much soft rubber compound, vs. the SDG's somewhat hard and dense rubber with little to no give.

Installation was no problem at all, and is about as easy as installing a grip can get. After installing the included black plastic bar end plugs, the grips easily slid over the ends of my Raceface Atlas bar. From there, all that was needed was tightening the stainless 2.5mm Allen screws on each end of each grip to lock down the bar clamps.

Final Thoughts

In use, the Chromag Squarewave grips have been awesome. The shape of the grip works really well with the shape of the hand. Fat in the middle, to fill the palm, and skinny where the thumb and small fingers wrap around the grip. As someone who rides without gloves, they are many times more comfortable than the hard rubber grips that they replaced. They are holding onto the bar just fine, with no slipping or spinning. I would recommend these to anyone with medium to large-sized hands that are looking for a simple but comfortable grip. I'd also consider trying the slightly larger diameter version, the Squarewave XL, just to see if those don't fit my size large man-hands even better.