There are a few reasons you might want to replace your grips. There’s a wide variety of ergonomic shapes and different color options on the market. They’re easily customizable to add some flair to your bike, or you may be looking to replace them if they get worn from extended use.
The steps seem simple (slide off old grip, slide on new grip), but they’re often quite difficult to work with. Here’s a trick I picked up for replacing particularly stubborn grips.
All you need for tools is a flat head screwdriver (preferably a relatively thin one), a can of WD-40 with the straw, and Windex or a similar window cleaner.
Grips can really stick to the handlebars and sometimes won’t budge from any amount of twisting or pulling. Take your flat head screwdriver and slide it in between the grip and the bar. This might scratch the bars slightly, but it will always be hidden by your grips. I wouldn’t recommend doing this on a carbon bar however, as even a scratch can weaken it.
Extend the straw on the WD-40 can and slide it in along the screwdriver as far as you can. Spray a small amount here at the far end of the grip, pull the straw out slightly and spray again.
Once that lubricant is between the grip and the bar, twist and it should easily slide off. Be sure to wipe off the excess WD-40 with a rag or paper towel. You could slide the new grip on with remaining WD-40 but it takes a long time to evaporate and your new grip would not stay in place.
Instead, dry it off thoroughly and grab that window cleaner. Spray a small amount on the bare handlebar and slide the new grip on. The alcohol in the window cleaner will evaporate very quickly and allow the new grip to stick to the bar.
I’d recommend giving it a half hour to an hour to dry before you ride it just to be sure the grips are secured. Your hands will thank you for a fresh pair of grips!
Thank you. About to do exactly this on some old sticky bike grips 🙂
Since when dies window cleaner contain alcohol??
It appears to have been part of the Windex patent from the very beginning! It’s partially why it evaporates so quickly and works well in this application. Once it’s evaporated, the grip will no longer slide easily and will be well seated in place.
Thank you so much! I’ve been riding with sticky handle grips for years and just took them off in less than 5 minutes thanks to your post.
Glad it helped!
Thanks for the tip. I am an older female biker with a Montague Boston and need to replace the factory grips with a griop designed for arthritic hand comfort. Very discouraged to see all the You Tube videos assuming that you have a guy around to wrestle these beasties from their “grip” on your handle bars. You solution looks as if I can do this myself, I just need a thin, long-handled screw driver…remarkably, I actually have the WD-40. First, must buy an allen wrench for the new handle grips…of course, do not have the correct size! Will keep you posted!! FYI to anyone with an arthritic hand challenge…have been using foam pipe insulation slipped over the existing handle grips & it provides huge relief!!