Editor’s Choice 2020

If you’ve never heard of OnOff before, you’re probably not alone. It’s the in-house component arm of Spanish brand Mondraker, and these Desert grips were flying under the radar until we tried them on a bike launch earlier this year. Boasting ultra-soft A15 rubber, they are sticky enough to wear without gloves, and there’s a well-damped isolation from trail chatter that defies their skinny circumference.

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OnOff is Mondraker’s in-house component division.

At a recent bike launch, a few journalists (including me) didn’t like the lightweight Lizard Skin grips fitted to our test bikes, so we swapped them for a set of these Desert grips. I then rode them in the rain in Portugal for two days and was so impressed I brought them back home to use on my own test bikes.

The ‘ultrasoft rubber A15’ has a really comfortable, damped feel that kills vibration in a similar way to Ergon grips, and the Deserts also share a slightly thinner diameter at the thumb/forefinger zone which makes your clasp feel really secure. The sticky rubber and wavy ridge pattern ensures they grip like stink in the wet, even with muddy gloves or hands. Fastening with a single inner lock ring, there’s more padding at the outer edge and nothing to dig into palms.

It’s the best way to configure a lock-on grip, making these totally dialled.