Are $7 Amazon Mountain Bike Grips Any Good? We Put Them to the Test.

Editor’s note: We’ve updated this post with current prices and have removed grips that are no longer available from Amazon. Of those that remain available, we can still recommend the GPMTER, corki, and Marque grips.

Call it pandemic-induced boredom buying. A couple months ago we found ourselves looking for any and all available bike parts, and came across several sets of incredibly inexpensive lock-on mountain bike grips on Amazon. Were they any good? There was only one way to find out.

We’ve included a few details about each set of grips below, and have ordered them from worst to best. The tldr; version is that most work well as basic grips, and the more expensive ones generally perform better. All prices listed reflect the price at the time of purchase and may not reflect the current value.

Grip	Weight (g)	Price
Hapleby	103.3	$6.88
GPMTER	104.4	$6.98
LERMX	120.8	$7.88
corki	119.3	$8.99
Marque camo	115.2	$14.99

LERMX grips ($7.88)

Despite being one of the most expensive sets of grips tested, these are real stinkers. I’m not sure what’s going on with the end caps; perhaps their design is supposed to evoke moto-style? In practice the LERMX grips are heavy, they are a tight fit to get on and off, the end caps are impossible to reattach if you accidentally unscrew the attachment bolt all the way (guilty), and the caps themselves are dubiously functional. Without gloves, the grips feel sharp and pokey. The one thing I like about these is the fact that they are single-sided lock-ons. Overall, I say skip this pair.

Hapleby grips ($6.88)

I’m not sure how you pronounce Hapleby, but for some reason, the name has me craving some honey BBQ boneless wings. At this point in the list, we’re getting into the territory of “grips you likely won’t hate.” As you can see in the photo the bar-end caps are a little wonky and cheap, but then again all of the included plugs we tested are generally of the stiff plastic variety. I like that these are single-clamp grips, and the pattern is actually effective both gloved and gloveless. When I purchased this pair they were the cheapest and priced under $5. At last check they cost $6.50, which should still please penny pinchers looking for a decent grip.

corki grips ($8.99)

I ordered these to match my Orange P7 hardtail, which is actually a blue bike. But I’m into orange accents, and figured what the heck, these cost just a few bucks extra. The corki grips are available in at least 10 different colors, including some mix-and-match sets in case for some reason you want one red grip and one blue grip. The gripping surface works well and feels nice; my only complaint is these are dual-clamp grips. Oh, and the “high” price. First-world problems for sure.

Marque camo grips ($15.99)

Camo grips, how cool is that! At $15.99, the Marque grips are a splurge, but they offer some really unique colors and patterns like this one. My friend Chris even ordered a pair and he’s been rocking them hard. Single-sided clamp: 👍. Camo pattern: 👍. Grip surface: not bad. That weird, partially flanged inside grip: 👎. A lot of riders like flanged grips, though I don’t count myself among that group. This is the only pair with anything resembling a flange, so if you’re into that, this is the set for you.

GPMTER grips ($6.98)

Available in either red or black for the same low price of $6.98, I decided to go with the red ones. I probably kept these on my bike the longest out of any in the test which in hindsight, must mean I liked ’em the best. They are single-sided, colorful, lightweight, comfortable, inexpensive, and grippy. I slightly stripped one of the clamp bolts, though I mostly chalk that up to ham-fisted wrenching. All things considered, these seem to offer the best value. GPMTER: Greased Pigs Make Terrible Enduro Racers.

Conclusion

It’s possible to find decent, inexpensive mountain bike grips online. However, most sets will be somewhat lacking compared to more costly, name-brand grips. Everyone has their own Goldilocks definition of what a good set of mountain bike grips looks like, so plan on using a little trial and error to find the best set in the absence of a known quantity.