WTB Wafel Grips

Californian born company, WTB have been producing accessories for mountain bikes, and more recently gravel cycling, for more than 40 years. Founded by 4 friends with a passion for riding “ill-equipped cruisers down Mount Tam (Tamalpais)” in Marin County in 1982 - the brand name Wilderness Trail Bikes (best know by it’s WTB abbreviation) literally exudes off-road cycling. The company is probably best know for its tyres (or tires for our American friends) and wheels, which are often a “fitted as standard” for a lot of manufacturers. But the WTB portfolio also extends to other bike accessories including mountain bike grips. I got my hands on a set (excuse the pun) of their Wafel grips for my hardtail mountain bike.

The Tech

The Wafel grips are a slim-lined 30mm in diameter and 130mm in length - which should fit most standard handle bars. They feature an aluminium clamp that is tightened by a 2.5mm hex bolt. In terms of construction the rubber grips feature rows of raised, textured blocks around the entire surface. The front of the grips feature a strategically placed WTB logo. Whilst the blocks around the back and underside of the grips have a dimpled texture. This makes sense as its the contact area for your palms.

In Use

Fitting the grips was a straight forward process - although some caution was taken when tightening the small and slightly fiddly hex bolt. My torque wrench doesn’t have a small enough attachment so it was a good old fashioned manual process - predicting the recommended 2nm torque. But the grips fit well and the was no slip or rotation in use, which is a good start.

The marketing department deserve a pat-on-the-back for the opening line in their product description - “Stickier than syrup and more desirable than bacon…” As far as I’m concerned the description fits almost perfectly. This can also be said about these grips in use. The 30mm diameter allows the hand to get a good, tight grasp around the handlebars without feeling too bulky. The soft rubber does feel slightly ‘tacky’ and combined with the layout of the raised blocks, provides impressive comfort - even without gloves on.

I the deep channels are designed to allow the grip to manipulate with hand-movements. Or as WTB said “smush independently for increased grip”. This would appear to be a very good setup on the basis that you don’t know its happening, especially during aggressive riding.

Pricing is around $22.95 or about £18.00 a pair - although some may be disappointed to hear that black is the only colour available. However , in my opinion is very reasonable for an aesthetically pleasing grip that work exactly how you need them to.