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review
Bar tape & grips
Redshift Cruise Control Drop Bar Grips2024 Redshift Sports Cruise Control Drop Bar Grips - closeup.JPG

Redshift Cruise Control Drop Bar Grips

9
by Mike Stead
Wed, Jul 10, 2024 15:45
0
£39.99

VERDICT:

9
10
Excellent way to add comfort, grip and control to your drop bars, for on- or off-road use
Easy to install
Easy to adjust angle
Pricey
Weight: 
95g
Contact: 
redshiftsports.com
road.cc Recommends

This product has been selected to feature in road.cc recommends. That means it's not just scored well, but we think it stands out as special. Go to road.cc recommends

How we test

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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The Redshift Sports Cruise Control Drop Bar Grips are an excellent option for ergonomic, comfortable and strong grip at the end of your drops, providing a larger area for the heel of your palm to contact, lessening pressure points and increasing your grip.

> Buy now: Redshift Sports Cruise Control Drop Bar Grips for £35.76 from Velozone

You can possibly install the grips without fully removing and rewrapping your existing bar tape by carefully measuring, marking and then trimming the existing tape, then finishing it with electrical tape so it doesn't unwrap. The grips then slide on and are twisted to your preferred angle. This will be personal to you and also will depend on the flare of your bar.

2024 Redshift Sports Cruise Control Drop Bar Grips - from side.JPG

The grips are secured in place with a 3mm hex, to firmly clamp them and prevent rotating. Redshift says the grips may not work well with ergonomically shaped drops, but I had no issues trying them out on my go-to ergo-drop bar, the Ritchey Venturemax XL.

2024 Redshift Sports Cruise Control Drop Bar Grips - on Ritchey ergo drop bar.JPG

Note that these grips are meant to be exposed – you don't wrap bar tape over the top.

In use, with bare or gloved hands, wet or dry, the Krayton material and slighty chequerboarded surface offers excellent grip, just the right mix of tackiness, and there's no feeling your hands could slip.

> How to make your bike more comfortable

For my hands, the grips extend far enough forward that there's still an element of grip and padding even forward in the drops enough to use the brake levers.

2024 Redshift Sports Cruise Control Drop Bar Grips - from other side.JPG

The surface also has just enough give so as not to feel harsh on the skin.

Ergonomics and grip aside, the final benefit is vibration control. Spreading the load evenly over the palm helps reduce pressure points where vibration could lead to discomfort, and the material has a slight give in it, further aiding comfort for long periods in the drops over rough surfaces.

There are many lower-priced generic flat-bar ergo options around, but they aren't shaped for your palm in the angle common to in-the-drops body positioning, so don't be tempted that you might get the same effect for less.

> Buy now: Redshift Sports Cruise Control Drop Bar Grips for £35.76 from Velozone

Verdict

Excellent way to add comfort, grip and control to your drop bars, for on- or off-road use

road.cc test report

Make and model: Redshift Cruise Control Drop Bar Grips

Size tested: One Size

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it?

They are for people wanting more comfort and grip when in the drops.

Redshift Sports says: Tired of numb, painful hands? The Cruise Control Drop Bar Grip System gives you the ultimate in control and comfort on your road or gravel bike. Instead of riding all day holding a round metal tube, you'll have multiple ergonomic positions designed to eliminate the high pressure zones that have you shaking your hands out every mile. Together, the Top Grip and Drop Grip offer a complete ergonomic upgrade that fits almost any drop bar on the market. So go ahead, take the long way home.

Combine with the Kitchen Sink Handlebar and Really Long Bar Tape to take things to the next level.

Benefits:

* Ergonomic pad shaping eliminates hot spots which can lead to hand pain, numbness and tingling

* Kraton rubber filters road buzz

Details:

* Drop Grips go over the end of the bar, giving you a comfortable drop position with quick access to the brake levers.

Compatibility:

* Compatible with standard drop bar handlebars and not compatible with flat handlebars

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product

Redshift Sports lists these details:

Product Drop Grips

Weight 144 g / pair

Length 120 mm

Material Kraton

Rate the product for quality:
 
9/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
9/10
Rate the product for value:
 
5/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Can't fault them – they work really well.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The supreme grip in the drops, battering about.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Nothing.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

They are a premium product compared with flat-bar ergo grips – but I can't find any direct competitor for drops.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

They're excellent. The price is the only issue – but if you buy the top grips as well you can save a tenner.

Overall rating: 9/10

About the tester

Age: 47  Height: 183cm  Weight: 77kg

I usually ride: Sonder Camino Gravelaxe  My best bike is: Nah bro that's it

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: A few times a week  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: cyclo cross, general fitness riding, mtb, G-R-A-V-E-L

Redshift Cruise Control Drop Bar Grips 2024
Redshift Cruise Control Drop Bar Grips
Redshift 2024
redshift
Mike Stead

Living in the Highlands, Mike is constantly finding innovative and usually cold/wet ways to accelerate the degradation of cycling kit. At his happiest in a warm workshop holding an anodised tool of high repute, Mike's been taking bikes apart and (mostly) putting them back together for forty years. With a day job in global IT (he's not completely sure what that means either) and having run a boutique cycle service business on the side for a decade, bikes are his escape into the practical and life-changing for his customers.

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