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An Architect's Custom 3D-Printed, Leather-Wrapped Bicycle Handlebar Grips

Designed with repeatable manufacture in mind

By Rain Noe - March 26

in Bikes | Digital Fabrication | Manufacturing

Michigan-based Brian Oltrogge is that rarest of architects: One who is deeply immersed in actual hands-on fabrication. On his Instagram and YouTube channels, he covers projects pursued out of personal interest, covering casting, metalworking, welding, woodworking, CNC milling, 3D printing, etc.

His latest project, which involves both 3D printing and leatherwork, came about when the handlebar grips on his bicycle finally aged out. "Most all grips I have used eventually break down," Oltrogge writes, "coating your hands with slimy rubber compounds. I knew I wanted to upgrade my human machine interface to a nice leather-wrapped, ergonomic design that would be fairly easy to reproduce if I needed another set."

Oltrogge 3D-printed the structure…

…and wrapped them in Kodiak leather, which is "pretty good for items that will be exposed to the elements."

In the build video below, Oltrogge runs through his process, which is done with repeatability in mind (i.e. for the next time the grips wear out). So I guess you can't call these one-offs. It's a sponsored vid, but it's easy enough to blow past the sponsored part and get to the good stuff:

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Null Null

7 months ago

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I haven’t watched the video, but I agree with Huw that these grips are a nice home-brew version of the Ergon G1 grips. If the are anything but TPU under the palm they’re going to be pretty uncomfortable.

The innovation might lie in the process of home manufacturing. However, the first grips to feature an ergonomic bulge for the hand that gained wide recognition were the Okakey 3 grips, produced in 1980 for BMX. They made some earlier versions with a less prominent “bump” but these would predate the Tange grips you mentioned by several years.

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Null Null

7 months ago

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http://www.o-review.com/forum_detail.php?ID=4118

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Huw Gwilliam

7 months ago

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They're nice - but it has to be said he's more than 'borrowed' the design of long established grips by Ergon, available in cork and rubber. So they're more of a home knockoff than he's admitting.

https://www.ergonbike.com/en/product?a=griffe

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- Dee An
  
  Huw Gwilliam
  
  7 months ago
  
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  Have you a source for Ergon being the first to make bicycle grips in that shape? Ergon's website claim they were the first to do so in 2004.
  I haven't found anything to contradict them, though I've found a 1992 reference to BMX grips from Tange that have a protrusion for the palm of the hand.
  If Ergon's claim is true, I'd raise an eyebrow only because of the innovation and striving for product differentiation that the cycling industry is known for.
  
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