WTH (want to have): Gran Compe wood handlebar grips and bag supports

[thomasl...@comcast.net]

Hi, all.

I stepped away for a bit. Now, upon my return, I realize several things have vanished while I wasn't looking. Shimano BS64 shifters, low-normal derailers, Big Loafer-like bags. (Lots of bags, actually.) Even Miesha's Cork Grips as I knew them.

Anyway, I really liked the shaped wood handlebar grips that were branded Gran Compe. I can't remember precisely where I got them or when I got them (Obama was almost certainly in office at the time). Doesn't matter where I got them anyway, since I'm convinced they aren't made or sold anywhere normal-retail-like anymore. Can anyone confirm/deny this?

I understand why they'd kill the product. They were pricey bling and at best finicky and at worst self-destructive. I ruined one pair quickly by not taking extra precautions during installation. And the longest I ever got a pair to last before cracking up was about a year.

But they were *so* comfy and shaped *perfectly for me*. I just enjoyed holding them. It added to the ride. I would be willing to get and install a new pair every year indefinitely if that's what it took to use them.

So... does anyone know of a source for these things? My meager ebay skills find nothing satisfactory. I've seen several web sites that sell wood grips of some kind. While some are nice, so far none match the perfectly-shaped grips I want. It's Gran Compe-equivalent or bust!

On a similar note: I had a little luck finding some wire-type fork handlebar bag supports, the kind that hook under a "7" stem and have tines that slide through sleeves along the side of a bag like the Big Bicycling folks' F104N and 516. But the ones I found (and acquired) are in bad shape. And now I find no more. Nitto makes their F-15 and F-018 bag supports, which I like and which have the appropriate 6" tines 10" apart. But I want the simpler-to-use stem-hook fork supports.  Does anyone know of a source of new such things? Or of a cache of NOS? Or of a place (virtual or real) that *might* have them?

Anyway, still loving my Hillbornes, now 14 and 12. Other than the  bar-of-the-moment, they largely share the same components, all of which would have RBW approval. And it turns out that my son (age 8 when I got the first one) and I at this point have nearly identical PBHs. He's rides more than I do and also appreciates the Hillbornes, though he will never embrace the Noodle/Moustache bar. He's all about upright.

Later,

Thomas Lynn Skean

who is lucky to live near the origin of the Illinois Prairie Path

[Minh]

Hi Thomas, 

Are these what you are talking about?  First, mine are not for sale!  But i can corroborate a few details, they are marked 'gran compe'.   I believe i purchased mine thru ebay, though they came cracked so maybe they were from you!   They were originally a blonde color, but when i refinished them i added a ton of glue in the crack--you can see that in the bottom right of the grip.   they've held up for the last 10 or so years.   I refinished them with a darker stain and the a few coats of shellac, the application was a little amateur so its wavy, and then this bike got stored in a hot storage unit for a few years so the shellac cracked/crazed which gives it a nice patina now.  

i too sometimes search for these, but i have never seen a listing pop up.  IIRC i dont think they were sold that broadly in the US, which does not help.  i use to worry about the day i crashed and destroyed these, there are some leather grips that have a similiar shape, but there is something about the wood i like--even though they can get a little rough on long days on the bike.   https://www.brooksengland.com/en_us/ergonomic-leather-grips.html 

good luck on your search, but if i find them first i'm not saving them for you!  

[thomasl...@comcast.net]

yes,  those are they. sigh! would that i would hear of someone who decided they were too much hassle after using one of the dozen pair he bought new!

i have an unused pair of the light-colored ones (i preferred the darker color wood) that taunts me. after all, with these, the "1 is none, 2 is 1" philosophy is never more true. but i will someday soon deploy them on a handlebar, even if i don't find their not-too-eventual replacement beforehand.

beauty and joy are indeed fleeting.

Yours,

Thomas Lynn Skean