Race Face Chester Grips and the Knight's Conundrum

The excessively bright spotlights start to dim and the strong smell of horse manure and recycled sand forecasts an unpredictable good time. The seating position is a little off. My tired legs hint at cramping up at an inconvenient time. It's the desert after all and my skin and muscles are acclimatized to the 100% humidity levels we are often bathing in, on Vancouver's North Shore. Oh don't even get me started on my chapped, ripped and bloody lips. It is a miracle people survive in these conditions. Don't you dare make me laugh as the pain of my lip-skin being ripped apart is way too unbearable. But the "show must go on" as Father Freddy said. There is no time for pain, we are at a medieval crossroads. The craziest show on earth is about to start at the Scottsdale Medieval Times.

Wait, how did I even get here?

A couple of months ago, on the first ride with Lewis Brakes, I over-braked with the front as I touched the wheel down after a medium-sized jump on Ned's Atomic Dustbin. The resulting chain of events was a sore right side of my old body and a possibly small fracture on my left index finger. While the strength of the finger was not severely compromised, vibrations and bigger impacts caused a deal of discomfort on the joint for weeks. Hand comfort was paramount If I wanted to ride through the pain.

My cockpit is set up for comfort and Raceface's ERA 40mm rise bars do a great job of muting jarring, high-frequency vibrations. Race Face has been paying attention to providing comfortable rides for everyday folk and racers, and the ERA bars have been excellent at that task. For this trip to Arizona, Race Face slipped some 31mm diameter Chester grips on my 40mm rise ERA bars and the results have been excellent.

Chester grips come in 31 and 34mm diameters and 9 different clamp colour options. There is also a gum rubber option for both sizes. Chester Grips LTD takes the colour palate a step further and combines 4 grip and clamp colours. 20A Durometer rubber is sticky and grippy for gloved and bare-handed riders. The angled ribs are designed to wick the sweat off your hands and also provide a lovely soft surface to grab onto.

There are perpendicular ridges on the front of the grips for additional traction for your fingers and I have been playing with the orientation of these to see if they make a difference. For a bare-handed rider, they work very well in the orientation where the RF logo at the bar's end is in line with the horizon. I have mine set up in line with my brake levers to maximize grip.

For my size large gloves, the 31mm Chesters are perfect. The thin grip is comfortable and resists throttling thanks to the rubber dots on the plastic sleeve under the rubber. These provide a sure grip and lower the clamp bolt torque required. Carbon bars are happier when not choked to failure!

As the knights of the Medieval Times struck each other with all their strength, the sparks flew sky-high when sword and shield met. The impacts were so strong, the phantom pain it caused me was uncomfortable in the safety of my chair. My grandfather told me over and over again to take care of my hands as I would suffer greatly later in life if I didn't. I have not been as kind to my fingers as I should have. Broken, sprained, cut, coated in nasty chemicals, you name it. What if one of those six knights of the Scottsdale Medieval Times rode mountain bikes too and needed some comfort on their handlebars after a long night of sword-yielding and jousting?

I think Race Face nailed the grip comfort and shape with the Chesters. If it is fit for a rider, it is fit for a knight.

For the past few weeks, I have been quite happy with the Chesters, allowing many comfortable miles of riding on chattery and rough singletrack in the Arizona Desert. Day after day as the miles rack up, the grips have been crucial to my on-bike happiness.

For weight watchers, they come in at 112g (31mm pair), 135g (34mm pair), both with a 136mm length.

RaceFace Chester Grips 32 CAD/27 USD