OGK grips: lessons learned - a follow-up question

[thomasl...@comcast.net]

Hi, all.

First, I really like the OGK grips as an idea. And I probably will like them in practice. This is not about avoiding them in anway.

I put a pair of the "ergo" (i.e. finger-grooved) OGK grips (Genuine Japanese Grips (pair) – Rivendell Bicycle Works) on a Boscomoose bar. In the process, I rendered the grips... shall we say.. unappealing. I used a red bandana to try to muscle the grip into place, not having used enough acohol initially. The bandana of course, perhaps under the influence of alcohol, transferred a vague pinkishness from its red to the grip itself. This grip no longer has the clean look for which I was hoping. Lesson learned: (1) use more alcohol (2) to the extent one remains needed, use a white towel.

Question: Now of course I'd like to remove the pink-ish things. I'd rather not destroy them, as a matter of principle more than for my potential future use.

I was able to remove a similarly evaporatively-installed ESI Chunky grip with quite a bit of tedium and time and energy. With the Chunky, I was able to feed some alcohol under the grip by using a strong plastic chopstick to pry it up a bit. Even then, I had to do it several times from both ends before I started to make headway with actually removing the grip. 

 Frankly, these OGK grips are less pliable and more tight-fitting than the ESI Chunky. That chopstick is not up to the task of prying it up. And the OGK grip is closed on one end.

Is there a trick? Is there a non-destructive way of removing grips installed this way that isn't tedious and time and/or energy-consuming?

I'm picturing an unbreakable non-scratching needled syringe designed to inject alcohol into tight spots. If it turns out I have to make or buy something like that, then I'm probably just going to start carefully slicing bits off until it falls away.

Yours,

Thomas Lynn Skean

who, yes, has a second pair of the OGK grips for just such an occasion

[Oliver Moss]

You might try compressed air if you have access to it. Blow it under the grips and it should float them off a little bit at a time, or all at once if they're feeling spicy.

Hope that works/helps.

~Ollie

[Jeremy Till]

I'm not sure I'd call it a "trick," but the standard procedure in bike shops is to use an air nozzle with a soft tip hooked up to a compressor. Peel up the edge of the grip, insert tip of nozzle, blast away. The compressed air inflates the grip just enough to reduce its hold on the bar and it comes off super easy, no damage to the grip or bar. 

Not sure if you have an air compressor at home, but if you do, that's the best way to do it. I've tried to do something similar with one of the cans of "canned air" they sell for cleaning electronics but it doesn't really have enough pressure. If there's a bike shop nearby, I'm sure they'd do it for you. 

Jeremy Till

Sacramento, CA

[Patrick Moore]

I’ve used a long and narrow flathead screwdriver to pry up grips enough to spritz something into the gap to free them up for removal; I’m careful and I don’t scratch the bar. I daresay a longish steel awl of sufficient thickness — I have in my mind’s wee eye the one in my tool caddy — ought to work as well or even better.

I’ve dribbled rubbing alcohol into the grip from the bottle by tilting the bike to the side; even better, I’ve squirted WD40 into the gap with the little nozzle pipe — I’ve done this many to remove grips and, IME, the stuff doesn’t leave behind enough lubricant to keep the grip from seating when you install it again (but using alcohol to install it).

At any rate, I’ve done all this many times and it all seems to work.

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[Johnny Alien]

I have an alcohol sprayer that allows you to use a nozzle pipe like what WD-40 has with it (as mentioned above). That has always worked best for me

[Brian Turner]

Medical syringes work well too. I inject iso alcohol into the grips in a couple of places to get the alcohol between the bars and grips. After a couple of squirts, the grips just wiggle loose.

Brian

Lex KY

On Nov 18, 2024, at 7:37 PM, Johnny Alien <johnny....@gmail.com> wrote:

I have an alcohol sprayer that allows you to use a nozzle pipe like what WD-40 has with it (as mentioned above). That has always worked best for me

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/476c3bf2-dcf9-4d19-89b1-5b86f2ab4818n%40googlegroups.com.

[Kim H.]

With in the descriptive text of the OGK handlebar grips on RBW's website, it mentions the manner in how to mount them onto your handlebars:

" Mounting: Lube bar with hairspray or alcohol-based hand cleaner like Purel. Put a bit inside the grip, too. Slide on fast before it seizes up. See the ESI video below"

https://www.rivbike.com/products/ogk-grip?_pos=1&_sid=30394fa3a&_ss=r

Kim Hetzel.

[thomasl...@comcast.net]

  Hi, all!

Thanks for the stories and suggestions.

I've decided to pursue a syringe idea. Believe me, if I can get any alcohol under the grip at all, I will not skimp. I'm always surprised by how cheap and available isopropyl alcohol is, even in small quantities. Except for a few months in early 2020...

It's a shame I don't have ready access to deliverable compressed-enough air. Using it for this sounds like it would be fun.

Anyway, I'll report on my success. If it's not too embarrassing, I may even report on my failure.

Interestingly, last night I located some leather bar tape in my "accessories inventory" (i.e. stuff I bought speculatively over the decades and have not thrown away). Once I remove these OGK grips, I may not replace them with my unsullied pair. I may instead wrap some leather tape to form grips for this particular bar. An opportunity to play with twine!

Since I currently have four other bar configurations in the queue (a second Tosco, a second regular Bosco, an Albatross, and an Albastache), I'm sure there will be an "opportunity" to use any effective evaporatively-installed grip removal ability I develop.

Now that I think of it, I don't know of any grips that want to be installed this way that are designed for 23.8mm bars. I've never looked for them. Surely I'm not expected to muscle a regular ol' ESI Chunky onto the Albastache? That seems like it would be pretty hard. Hmm....

Yours,

Thomas Lynn Skean

who is indeed contemplating provisioning and deploying a compressed-enough-air approach, should the syringe-approach not suffice

[Will Boericke]

WD40 is my go to.  But all the other methods work as well.  Standard procedure.

[thomasl...@comcast.net]

Hi, all.

Well, failure is the outcome. I scratched my bar a teensy bit. Teensy enough that I don't care, except that removing grips should not involve scratching the bar at all. One grip came off after moderate effort in delivering loads of alcohol and quite a bit of effort of twisting and tugging. And the grip suffered damage that would prevent me from using it. On the other grip I was much more careul in getting alcohol to it, thus there was only the lightest of bar-scratching. That one required more-than-moderate muscle to twist and tug that grip off, ruining the grip to help.

I suspect it might've gone better had I focused more on finding a better way to lubricate the grip. I did what was readily do-able with the resources at hand. Which, I'm confident, would've worked reasonably well to remove an ESI Chunky with damage to neither grip nor bar .

So my take-away is: Whenever I decide to deploy ergo/knuckled OGK grips, I'll do so assuming they are not coming off intact. They will not be the grips I put on, say, while awaiting delivery of the grips I really want.

Yours,

Thomas Lynn Skean

who may travel a similar path with the other OGK grips Rivendell sells, for curiosity if nothing else; they taper, so they're not exactly like the Chunky

[Bill Lindsay]

Jeremy said:

"the standard procedure in bike shops is to use an air nozzle with a soft tip hooked up to a compressor."

That's the correct way to install and remove grips.  A ~3gall compressor at Harbor Frieght is perfect for grips and costs $70.  That's the right tool for the job, and enables somebody to install and remove grips at-will without destroying them, with no alcohol or makeshift pry bars.  It's the right tool for the job in the shop AND at home.  

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[John Robert Williams]

Oh dear!

I completely agree with other posters that the ONLY proper way to install or remove grips is with a rubber tipped blowgun attachment from a compressor. Every bike shop does it that way. I assist many other people with bicycle challenges with my blowgun gun tip. And a quick change to the Park Tool air inflator/guage. The only contact is the rubber tipped blowgun attachment placed at an angle at the inboard edge of the grip, and the compressed air from the blow gun tip. The grips FLY off with just a minor twist. The identical process is done for installation as well. It’s air or NOTHING ‼️

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/fdab0fce-606d-47d7-8b17-3c632f748786n%40googlegroups.com.

[Will Boericke]

I think this is all pretty standard flat bar grip situation.  Sometimes they come off easy, sometimes you cut them off.

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[Johnny Alien]

Wow. Thats some really aggressive support for a compressor. Personally even at $70 its just not worth it for the amount of grips I would put on or off. Alcohol has always worked well for me with no headaches. Worse case scenario is I have to cut grips off (which so far I have never had to do) but $20 or less is still cheaper than $70. Not saying its not a great tool but I can totally verify that it is not the absolute necessity that was suggested.

[Brian Turner]

So, what method were you using that put a scratch on your bars?

Brian
Lexington KY

[thomasl...@comcast.net]

The scratcher was most likely the protectively-covered-but-apparently-not-well-enough small screwdriver I used to lift the edge of the grip, to enable the syringe needle to deliver alcohol.

The scratches themselves are more like light smooth abrasions. They have no readily discernable depth.

Yours,

Thomas Lynn Skean

who knows this may be a duplicate of a message sent via e-mail earlier

[Brian Turner]

Ah, gotcha. Like the photo I posted shows, assuming the grip is of a soft enough material (like an ESG or Oury grip, or maybe even natural cork) I just stick the syringe needle straight into the grip until it stops at the bar. Angling the syringe helps. Then, I just inject alcohol into the space between the inside of the grip and the bar. Usually takes two injections for each grip, and once I start wiggling the grip, it usually slides right off.

I realize this method is rather unorthodox, but it has worked for me for years to remove many grips without hassle. It also helps that we used to have a diabetic cat that required injections, so that's why I happen to have some old disposable syringes laying about. Maybe one of these days I'll actually buy a rubber tipped nozzle for my air compressor!

Brian

Lex KY

[thomasl...@comcast.net]

Hi, Brian.

Understood. That might've worked here. The knuckled OGK has a harder, more plasticky layer, exposed near its boundaries, and underneath/within its foamier softer surface in its middle. But a medical syringe might've been sharp enough and tough enough to penetrate it and deliver an effective alcohol dose. During the time I was hopeful of getting this done non-destructively, I decided that using the syringe I had (certainly not medical; pretty large bore) actually consistuted destruction in itself. If you saw a medical professional coming at you with a syringe like mine it would trigger a fight-or-flight response.

Yours,

Thomas Lynn Skean

[Bill Lindsay]

Maybe it partially has to do with California.  Anything that is cheaper than a tank of gas is pretty affordable, in my book.  Any tool that has lots of uses and gets used dozens of times per year is a good tool investment, in my book.  If the only thing you can possibly imagine using an air compressor for is to install and remove grips, and if you practically never install or remove grips, then I can see that $70 is big price tag.  

The other way to go is use $30-$40 grips that clamp on.  The "tool" to install and remove those is a $1 allen key that you maybe already have!  :)

BL in EC

[thomasl...@comcast.net]

Following the OGK removal I went with leather wrapped around Newbaum's as grips for this Boscomoose..

The asymmetry and irregularity are, uh, intentional. Yeah, that's it. Intentional.

While it's clear I'm not ready to provide leather-grip-wrap services professionally, I'm comfortable with the aesthetics of the outcome. It feels good in the hands. I've since added a few coats of shellac to the twine discourage rapid unexpected disassembly. I've have not ridden with them yet; it may all fall apart under actual usage.

If so, I'll chalk it up to experience. If not, I'll have fun using it, even more knowing that I put it together.

Yours,

Thomas Lynn Skean

who is still deciding which bag should ride there: brown SaddleSack XS (shown), blue SaddleSack XS, or old school tan Baggins Keven's

[Doug Van Cleve]

Howdy folks.

I read thru this whole thing, and to my surprise nobody mentioned what I would do.  I looked up the grips on RBW.com, and they seem to be some kind of rubbery stuff?  Anyway, every time I wanted to remove grips that wouldn’t come off just from pulling toward the end of the bar with my fingers on the front edge (which usually makes the inside diameter increase slightly), I’ve just worked a bit of dish soap under the stem side than wiggled and twisted a bit at a time until more of the grip releases.  Lather, rinse, repeat until it comes off then clean everything up with water and dry.  Am I missing something?

Regards, Doug

Chandler, AZ

On Sat, Nov 23, 2024 at 7:50 PM 'thomasl...@comcast.net' via RBW Owners Bunch <rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Following the OGK removal I went with leather wrapped around Newbaum's as grips for this Boscomoose..

The asymmetry and irregularity are, uh, intentional. Yeah, that's it. Intentional.

While it's clear I'm not ready to provide leather-grip-wrap services professionally, I'm comfortable with the aesthetics of the outcome. It feels good in the hands. I've since added a few coats of shellac to the twine discourage rapid unexpected disassembly. I've have not ridden with them yet; it may all fall apart under actual usage.

If so, I'll chalk it up to experience. If not, I'll have fun using it, even more knowing that I put it together.

[Thomas Lynn Skean]

Hi.

Basically doing what I tried early on with soap&water&suds instead of alcohol. Syringes will deliver soap and water. Worth a 10min try if I’m ever down this path again.

After that, if no good progress… destruction!!

Doug, I’ll give it a shot next time! Thanks!

Yours,

Thomas Lynn Skean

On Nov 24, 2024, at 11:22 PM, Doug Van Cleve <dvan...@gmail.com> wrote:



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