Getting rubber bar grips to stick?

[nirakaro]

Flat bar bike with rubber grips. They've got a flat section to rest the heel of your hand on, but over time they rotate so that section vanishes downwards. What's the easiest way to make them stay in place? A squirt of hairspray on the bar before fitting them maybe? Only I haven't got any. I was thinking of drilling and tapping a tiny screw into the front of the bar, but that seems over the top. Any bright ideas?

[oldun]

I just use contact glue on the bar and then quickly slide the grips on . If they ever have to be removed then a Stanley knife does the job .

[Ugly]

I use hairspray to do the job, takes a while to dry but acts as a lubricant to slide the grips on, mind you have to do it when the wife is out and return the can to the confusion that is her dressing table!

[Jdsk]

I just use contact glue on the bar and then quickly slide the grips on . If they ever have to be removed then a Stanley knife does the job .

That's what I'd do.

Jonathan

[mjr]

Hairspray and leave overnight to stick. Can be broken by using a thin straw to squirt penetrating oil between grip and bar. I used glue once and I've still not got it all off the bars

[PH]

I’ve used hairspray as well, never tried removing till they were worn out so destructive methods used.
My flat bar bikes now have Ergon grips, I not only prefer them, they’re also clamped in place.

[n0ct0]

+1 for hairspray.

An old BMX trick was spray paint, but that seems over the top.

[gazza_d]

Another vote for hairspray. The cheap stuff is normally like spray glue. I actually bought a tin purely for grips. It's coppers from a supermarket.

[DevonDamo]

I'm a big fan of flared grips, but I wouldn't use any that didn't clamp on to the bars. You can put a lot of turning moment onto them through the heel of your palms, and I can't imagine a set of friction-fit grips resisting that. I've bought various makes of flared grips which fit by tightening an aluminium ring clamp with an allen bolt, including Specialised, Dahon and Lidl's own brand (crivit?) Prices ranged from £25 to £5, but they all worked brilliantly. Save the hassle and just get a pair like that. Plus, it normally takes a few trial fits and small adjustments before you get them into the perfect angle where your palm can rest on them and they can act as shock absorbers - doing all those adjustments after you've 'glued' them in place would be extremely difficult.

[Redvee]

Another tip I was told was GT85 You only need a small squirt inside the grips to slide them on the bars and get the grip into position. When I heard I didn't think it would work but when I tried it the grips held firm.

[2_i]

I stick a piece of surgical tape to the handlebar and slip the grip on top. In the end, you want the grip to be removable without damage.

[mattsccm]

WD40 or any of the solvent based aerosols kicking around. Lubricates it on and the sticks it firmly enough that it needs another squirt to get them off. Always good enough to hold the grips on m/c throttles which are being continually twisted.

[francovendee]

I'm a big fan of flared grips, but I wouldn't use any that didn't clamp on to the bars. You can put a lot of turning moment onto them through the heel of your palms, and I can't imagine a set of friction-fit grips resisting that. I've bought various makes of flared grips which fit by tightening an aluminium ring clamp with an allen bolt, including Specialised, Dahon and Lidl's own brand (crivit?) Prices ranged from £25 to £5, but they all worked brilliantly. Save the hassle and just get a pair like that. Plus, it normally takes a few trial fits and small adjustments before you get them into the perfect angle where your palm can rest on them and they can act as shock absorbers - doing all those adjustments after you've 'glued' them in place would be extremely difficult.

I agree, If you do manage to get the non clamp type to grip it's then hard it's to get them off.

Very easy to put on and off if they're the clamped type.

I bought mine from Rose Bikes, about £15 I think.

[djnotts]

Hairspray to fit/fix, washing up liquid to remove.

[alexnharvey]

I'm a big fan of flared grips, but I wouldn't use any that didn't clamp on to the bars. You can put a lot of turning moment onto them through the heel of your palms, and I can't imagine a set of friction-fit grips resisting that. I've bought various makes of flared grips which fit by tightening an aluminium ring clamp with an allen bolt, including Specialised, Dahon and Lidl's own brand (crivit?) Prices ranged from £25 to £5, but they all worked brilliantly. Save the hassle and just get a pair like that. Plus, it normally takes a few trial fits and small adjustments before you get them into the perfect angle where your palm can rest on them and they can act as shock absorbers - doing all those adjustments after you've 'glued' them in place would be extremely difficult.

I find much the same and also now only use "lock on" grips in this style. Certainly without any glue or hairspray I find the rubber ones just rotate round so the heel pad faces downwards and once they start to go they also stretch and the situation gets worse.

I have found the GT85 method didn't work. I suspect that contact glue or hairspray might work but it's not very clear from the other replies whether people are have found it works specifically for flared grips vs regular grips.