As one of just two bike contact points when you’re stood up taming the most technical trails, grips better be pretty darn, err, grippy in your hands. To deliver this grip, almost all of the best grips on the market are made out of two tubes of sticky treaded rubber mounted to plastic sleeves that slide on the handlebars and lock in place to stop them twisting like a throttle.

A few rare grips are also simply solid rubber tubes that you push on and either glue and/or wire in place to stop them spinning. These are more hassle to install and secure, but advocates (and riders used to them on motor bike trials bikes) reckon there is also a softer touch and a better feel for the bike.

The single-ended lock-on design takes up about 10mm of the 140mm length and uses robust 3mm fasteners.

These new Burgtec Josh Bryceland signature grips aim to be something of a halfway house between the two, by locking on securely and also cutting away a big chunk of the plastic sleeve inside so that rubber directly connects with the handlebar in places for better comfort and damping.

Like all my favourite grips, these Bartender Pros also only have one bolt on the inside, so my outer palm doesn’t dig into an aluminium lockring and bolt while I’m riding. Burgtec’s simple one-sided 3mm allen key clamp proved secure too, with zero throttle twist, even on smooth carbon bars, and the large fastener is also harder to round out than a 2.5mm bolt.

With large sections of plastic core removed, the Josh Bryceland Burgtec grips are ultra-soft and reduce harshness.

Design and specifications

In case you didn’t guess, Burgtec’s brand-new grips are Josh ‘Ratboy’ Bryceland’s signature models. They come in two different rubber blends, Soft and Super Soft, eight different colours and a single 31mm diameter. The Super Soft grips are £2 more than the standard rubber.

Total grip length is 140mm, with 130mm of that consisting of the rubberised bit you can actually hold onto, including a little raised bumper, or flange, on the inside next to the brake levers. The outer edge also has a slightly raised bevelled bump stop that helps with sensing where your hand is while riding.

The textured pattern is a series of lengthways ridges along most of the surface area, and then a similar pattern rotated 90°, to be concentric at the point where the thumb and index finger loop over.

Perpendicular ridges prioritise cushion and traction depending on the zone.

What’s extra special here though, is the cut-away core mentioned – under the three outer fingers, rubber connects directly with the bar, rather than having a solid plastic structural core than can feel harsh and diminish damping qualities. The idea being that you get some the benefits of a push-on grip without the faff of gluing them on (and potentially bolstering this with twisting wire) to hold them in place, and still running the risk of them spinning or having to cut them off later.

In theory, the trade-off for the lock-on convenience is this grip not offering identical feel to a true push on grip like a Renthal, as certain points where pressure and shocks feed from the bars (like the long metacarpal bone at heel of the thumb) still sit on a plastic core.

Soft rubber and less rigid plastic makes these Bartender grips stand out from the crowd.

Performance

In reality though, Josh’s grips just feel ‘right’ from the off. I tried both the regular and Super Soft blend, and for £2 extra (even considering the shorter lifespan), I’d go for the softer option every time. Without feeling too mushy, there’s a very cushy and sticky feel to the supple rubber, and the uniform shape is comfortable in my palm.

The 31mm diameter is average, but these feel slightly slimmer than many similar grips as the ridges compressed and twisted a little while I was gripping them, and there is also a concave lower profile section – where my ring and pinky fingers overlap – added for extra hook and purchase towards the outside edge.

Sensitive riders might feel a hint of vagueness in the movement of the ridges, but I didn’t find it excessive, and certainly less than shorter, thicker rubs found on Burgtec’s Greg Minnaar signature Bartenders. The ridges running lengthways, rather than concentric, also work really well as my hands didn’t twist as much when wet or sweaty. This will be good news to riders who go gloveless.

Small flanges at both ends help centre your hand and prevent slippage.

I occasionally use push-on grips, and really rate the improved feel they bring, but they are less convenient when switching between test bikes. Fitting push-ons is a major faff with messy glue that, if you don’t get right, can also lead to spinning if water or dirt get inside somehow (when you crash, for example), so Burgtec’s solution is a good way to get some of the benefits in a practical package.

I’d argue the 15a (durometer) Super Soft versions are as cushy as Race Face’s (also super soft) Chester grips I tested earlier in the year, but they don’t quite have the same damping and bump isolation as a grip with thicker textures and waffles like the ODI Elite Pro or Ergon GDH Team that I also really rate highly. Some riders also won’t like the flex of the ridged design will prefer a totally stable grip surface.