Posted on September 20, 2022 by Zach Overholt
If you’re a fan of silicone grips, Wolf Tooth Components has you covered. They offer silicone foam grips in four sizes, two shapes, and 10 colors including the Fat Paw Grips, Karv Cam Grips, Razer Grips, and Mega Fat Paw Grips, which are the thickest foam grips on the market.
Starting today, they also have you covered if you prefer lock-on mountain bike grips made from rubber. Specifically, softer rubber that provides a level of vibration damping to keep your hands happy on rough trails.
Wolf Tooth Components says that during prototyping for the Echo Lock-On Grip, they started with three different rubber compounds. It ended up being the softest 20A durometer rubber that ended up as their pick since the rubber was easily compressed and absorbed vibrations. Yet they claim the rubber is still durable in the long term.
The grips feature an alternating diagonal pattern with angled ribs meant to help keep your hands in place. Of course, ‘WOLF’ and “TOOTH’ are molded in to the left and right grip respectively for a bit of flair.
Measuring 132mm long and 32mm in diameter, these grips are on the thicker side – but not to the extreme. And the rubber has a nice ‘squish’ to it making them feel a bitt narrower than the width would imply.
Even though these have a single lock-on collar with a 3mm Allen, there is still a full length plastic sleeve on the inside of the grip. That single lock-on collar makes them compatible with any bar end plug including the WTC Anodized Plug, but more importantly, you can use them with the Wolf Tooth EnCase System Multi-Tools.
The grips are also safe to use on any handlebar with a 22m diameter. As you would expect, the metal bits are all made in the USA in-house by Wolf Tooth Components. The plastic/rubber grip assembly has been sourced from Taiwan.
We got an early sample to check out, and they checked in at 107g for the pair of grips, and 18g for the anodized bar end plugs.
As soon as you wrap your hands around the Echos, your first thought is that “these feel nice…” Thanks to grips like the Ergon GA2 and GE1, it’s been a while since I’ve ridden a traditional round grip. Wolf Tooth has created a grip design that should work for a lot of hands provided you like your grips on the thicker side.
The rubber is wonderfully cushy under your hands, and the ribbed texture provides a lot of grip even in incredibly humid conditions. I haven’t had them long enough to comment on their durability, but it seems like they should last a while. Add in the ability to use their EnCase system, and the Echo grips should be a hit.
Available in the same eight colors as their Anodized Bar End Plugs, pricing starts at $29.95 for a set with plastic bar plugs. Anodized Bar End Plugs can be added for $19.95 per set, and you can also add the entire EnCase System Bar Kit One to your order for another $119.95.
Available now, with all of the individual pieces eventually available as replacement parts – no need to throw away the whole grip set if you snag one side on some rocks.
Zach Overholt is the Editor in Chief of Bikerumor. He has been writing about what’s new in the bicycle world for 12+ years. Prior to that, Zach spent many years in the back of a bicycle shop building and repairing nearly every type of bike, while figuring out how to (occasionally) ride them.
Based in Ohio, Zach is now slowly introducing a new generation to cycling and still trying to figure out how to fit the most rides into a busy schedule as a new dad.
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Wolf Tooth really does get the details exactly right sometimes. The lettering and grip pattern look awesome
They do do thing well at times, but I have also seen very poorly designed items from WT as well.
More cushy than an ESI grip? Sign me up!
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