We now have the first of the new Jones H-Grips, and wanted to show some photos of them with their new bar plugs, as well as the new Jones Loophole Pack, made for us by Revelate Designs.

As I mentioned in the last previous post, the new grips are made of EVA foam, so they’re light, but they’re firmer than the standard foam grips that most folks are familiar with, at 55 durometer versus the usual 50.  Jeff likes this firmness best because on hard impacts your hands won’t bottom out on the handlebar itself, even once the grips break in and soften up a bit, as EVA foam grips tend to do.  The grips are designed to fit the 710mm H-Bars perfectly, but they can be cut down to fit the 660mm versions as well.

Jeff also made sure the details are just so: the ends of the grips are beveled to meet the angle of the bar plug, so that it can protect the end of the grip better, which is really important when you’re laying the bike down on its side.  The grips can be used, and will work fine with the bar plugs that come in the H-Bars, but we wanted to include larger, more protective bar plugs with our grips so that they won’t get torn up as easily.  We made our bar plugs with a captured nut in the wedge, which allows you to tighten and loosen them easily, without having to worry about the nut coming out and leaving the plug stuck in the bar.

Below is a weight breakdown of the two comparable grips for 710 H-Bars (all weights are for a pair).

Comparing them grip to grip (no plugs) this brings them in at about 74 grams (2.61 ounces) less than the comparable ESI 8.25″ Extra Chunky grips,  which we will continue to use and sell as well.  The grips are available now in our store, so head on over and check them out!

The new Jones Loophole Pack should be arriving the week of November 16th, and we think it’s going to be a great update to the designs we’ve had in the past.  Revelate Designs is making this one larger, with a lid that can open up completely so that you can really see what’s going on inside.  It manages to be larger while fitting in the same space by extending above the bar a bit, as well as below it.  From our testing, this doesn’t interfere with a Sweetroll, and still lets you use the hand positions on the crossbar, so it seems to be a win-win situation!  Inside, it has a zippered mesh pocket on the underside of the lid, and an elastic band along the back wall for small round items like lip balm or CO2 cartridges.  The packs are available for pre-order, and will begin shipping as soon as we get them (hopefully the week of November 16th).