Peaty's Monarch Lock On Handlebar Grips - Mushroom
The Monarch Grip is a descendant of decades of hanging onto handlebars like our lives depended on it. Because sometimes they really did. Peaty's tested countless different compound and grip pattern combinations, tweaking and testing over and over again in search of a single ultimate grip. And if you know them, you’ll know Peaty's sweated every detail, from performance to sustainability.
So grab a brew and nerd out on the design deep dive below that Peaty's think makes their Monarch grips the new Kings of Control.
Texture
The mushroom texture gets its title by looking like the classic fins on the underside of a mushroom. Used for decades on BMX grips for its ability to absorb impacts, each fin of a mushroom texture is evenly spaced with a gap the same width as the fin. This is important so that the fin can be compressed by the hand and flex into the space next to it. This provides a much more comfortable, compliant, shock-absorbing texture compared to a knurl texture.
The user of this grip could be anyone from a trail cruiser looking for maximum comfort to big hitters looking to take the sting out of hideous rock gardens and flat landings.
Thick Vs Thin
People come in all shapes and sizes—and so do their hands—so having a one-size-fits-all approach to grip diameter is almost as crazy as offering a one-size-fits-all glove. The thin grip has a 30mm diameter on the inside and 32mm on the outside, while the thick grip has a 32mm diameter on the inside and 34mm on the outside.
This not only makes the thick grip an ideal diameter for people with larger hands but also provides an extra 2mm of impact-damping rubber compared to the thin grip.
Comfort Thumb Pad
Your thumb is the only part of your hand that grips the rear side of the grip. This means every rock, drop, root, or rail can result in a small impact and rub between your thumb and the grip, which can lead to hot spots and blisters on the inside of your thumb (particularly around the metacarpal bone/knuckle).
Our comfort thumb pad extends further out from the grip diameter to provide more support and cushioning to your thumb, helping to reduce the risk of blisters. ornering forces naturally cause your thumb to shift left and right, which causes the straight fins of a mushroom texture to collapse side to side.
Enter the Zigzag! Like corrugation in a tin roof, adding corners to a mushroom fin creates additional support. The tighter the zigzag, the more solid the thumb pad becomes. Rest assured, Peaty's agonized over the angles and measurements of the thumb pad texture to give you the best thumb support and cushioning possible.
High Grip Finger Bars
Cutting into the diameter of the grip rubber, Peaty's high grip finger bars offer maximum grip and minimum distraction. Optimally spaced for different hand sizes and finger lengths, each finger bar is sliced into blocks, allowing each to float independently to meet the needs of your fingers.
Peaty's obsessed over the details on these bars, to find just the right balance of feel, depth, and grip. The inward cut bars work alongside the offset core to reduce the depth of rubber on the underside as much as possible. This provides you with a much more positive feel direct to the bar with your fingertips when pulling up.
Tapered Diameter & Core
A tapered grip means that its diameter increases from the inside to the outside of the grip. This taper helps to create a more natural gripping angle by supporting your palm and reducing pressure on long rides.
The taper in the rubber also results in a thinner section of rubber on the inside of the grip (for more bar feel) and a thicker section of rubber on the outside of the grip (for more impact cushioning). This taper also works with the offset core to further increase the thickness of rubber on the top surface, enhancing impact cushioning even further!
The core of the grip has been custom-made to take a thinner 8mm clamp rather than the more usual 11mm clamp. This is only a 3mm difference, but every little bit helps to maximize the grippable area (130mm) and minimize the overall width of the grip body on your bars.
To enable the grip to use this thinner clamp, Peaty's also tapered the internal diameter of the core so the bar-end of the core is slightly smaller than the diameter of the bar. This means the grip bites onto the end of the bar and assists the clamp in preventing grip slip.
Offset Core
The grip core has also been offset vertically downwards within the rubber of the grip, creating thicker rubber on the top of the grip than the bottom. This, combined with the tapered rubber body and finger bars cut into the underside, gives the grip maximum comfort on the top surface with maximum grip and feel on the underside!
The user of this grip would more likely be a racer who prefers this texture for its increased aggressive feel and precision control.
Half Flange & Pinky Ramp
Topping and tailing the Monarch grip, Peaty's added a half flange and a pinky ramp. The half flange is the perfect size to provide an internal bump stop for your hands and cover the hard-edged clamp bolt when thumb shifting. The pinky ramp on the end of the grip provides you with subtle feedback and reassurance that your hands are at the edge of the bar while riding rough terrain.
20A Compound
Bike grips can come in lots of different rubber compounds, usually ranging from 30A down to 15A—the higher the number, the harder the rubber. Peaty's Monarch grips come in a 20A compound as standard, which strikes a balance right down the middle—soft and grippy for an awesome ride feel, yet durable enough to last!
Sustainability
Peaty's always doing what they can to make the products more sustainable to produce, so all of the grip cores are made out of 80% recycled ocean plastics. Monarch grips are packaged on an all-cardboard backing board (okay, apart from the metal rivets!) with paper pulp plugs instead of the single-use plastic ones typically used.
- Texture: Mushroom
- Thickness: Thin (30-32mm) or Thick (32-34mm)
- Compound: Soft 20A
- Tapered grip body & offset core
- Zigzag thumb pad
- Tapered core is made from 80% recycled ocean plastic and eco packaging
- Half flange and pinky ramp
- 130mm grip area with a slim 8mm locking clamp and 3mm Allen key bolt
- Length required for installation: 133mm
*Installation instruction:
- Remove old grips and thoroughly clean/degrease bars.
- Slide grips onto bar, ensuring the grips are fitted to the correct side. The ‘L’ and ‘R’ markings on the lockrings indicate left and right oriented grips and should be fitted to the left and right as seen by the rider.
- Orientate correctly so that the crown logo on the end is facing upwards. This will set a good default position for the finger bars and thumb pad. Roll forwards or backwards slightly to suit your riding position and preference.
- Tap the grip fully onto the bar to ensure the bar is driven fully into the tapered core. A firm whack with the palm should be fine—no need for a hammer!
- Tighten the 3mm Allen key on the lockring to 3Nm.
- Ride!
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