How best to remove stubborn grips from a carbon handlebar??

daniel_b

Chaps,

I have a carbon fsa handlebar that isn't fitted to a bike at present.

I want to fit it on to my Palisades, and the bar currently has Specialized body geometry grips, which are fine, but not my cup of tea.

However, they would fit nicely onto my gf's commuter ridgeback hybid, which currently has some pretty basic ones on.

With previous grips, I have managed just to wrap my hand around, and work it off the bar, sometime taking a bit of time, and maybe more than one visit, but I get there in the end.

These ones seem rock solid, and I can't get any movement at all.

I'm not sure how much of this is down to the fact they are not fitted to a bike, in that I am having to brace it with one hand, but I also wonder if the previous owner might have used some kind of substance to stick them on, have seen hairspray mentioned before I think.

So is there a good solution to removing them and keeping them intact, without damaging the carbon bar?

Do I need to soak them in hot water, or chop the end of and try and get some hot water uner the grip somehow?

WD40?

Any previous knowledge gratefully received!

Dan

nicklouse

compressed air and blow them up and off.

GOLDGPR

All ways used hairspray to put grips on then just lifted the grip edge to make a gap big enough for the WD-40 pipe to go in spray in then start twisting from that end. just keep spraying & twisting further and further down the grip should loosen things off.

Wipe down the bars and should be like new and no resedue of the hairspray left.

G

Chris`I

GOLDGPR wrote:

All ways used hairspray to put grips on then just lifted the grip edge to make a gap big enough for the WD-40 pipe to go in spray in then start twisting from that end. just keep spraying & twisting further and further down the grip should loosen things off.

Wipe down the bars and should be like new and no resedue of the hairspray left.

G

+1

Obviouisly dont use anything sharp that can damage the carbon to make the gap

daniel_b

Thanks for that chaps, alas I don;t have access to compressed air, so looks like the WD40 route is the way to go.

Just need to find something to tease the end of the grip up with to get the WD40 in there!

Cheers

Dan

the-nasher

soapy water's always worked for me and is completely harmless

shin0r

Spray more hairspray in there - it will loosen the grip up nicely. You then won't have the problem of WD40 contamination when/if you re-use the grips.

artillerydave

shin0r wrote:

Spray more hairspray in there - it will loosen the grip up nicely. You then won't have the problem of WD40 contamination when/if you re-use the grips.

agree completely with this, hairspray on and off for grips, always have can to hand in the workshop, and I'm bald as a coot!!!

BlackSpur

Daniel B wrote:

Thanks for that chaps, alas I don;t have access to compressed air, so looks like the WD40 route is the way to go.

Just need to find something to tease the end of the grip up with to get the WD40 in there!

Plastic tyre lever.

allthegearnoidea

if you have any of the Tiny screw drivers you can get for model making etc, you can put some tape over the metal end to prevent oit scratching the bars to lift them enough to get a spray in!

daniel_b

Thanks for all the tips chaps,

the tyre lever and covered precision screwdriver all make sense, I shall try both and see how I get on.

Reckon I will try the soapy water thing first, and go on from there, might have a crack at the weekend.

Cheers

Dan

forgotrafe

nicklouse wrote:

compressed air and blow them up and off.

Awesome suggestion Nicklouse.I just did that on my grips and they were literally off in 2 seconds. Thanks.

streako

Put the kettle on right away!

By far the best and cleanest way I have found is to pour freshly boiled water over the length of the grips, one side at a time, and try to twist the grip with your hand until it starts to move. Once it starts twisting you should be able to pour water under the inner side, allowing water to penetrate to the other side.

This method works well as the heat expands and softens the rubber thus allowing it to come loose. I would recommend a full kettle per grip.

Sikora

streako wrote:

I would recommend a full kettle per grip.

:shock: Just think of your carbon footprint!!

I used a hairdryer on my old grips - A biking glove stops your hand getting too hot as well.

daniel_b

the-nasher wrote:

soapy water's always worked for me and is completely harmless

Thanks for this post mate, I had a crack this morning.

The key was I decided to use my workstand, as the handlebars aren't attached to a bike!

Locked it in so the bar was vertical, and eased the grip back with my finger, and poured a bit of hot soapy water under the grip, then squished it about a bit to work the water down the grip.

I then used my fingertips on the top edge of the grip, and heaved it downwards.

Took about 5 minutes for each grip, and my fingers are still sore, but I got them off!

Took the grips off my gf's bike, and fitted these ones, used a bit of water to get them to go on more easily.

Also swapped out my handlebar on my Palisades for the carbon one I had from the highway one, involved swapping the grips over, as well as the bar ends/shifters/brakes.

Replacement bar feels notably lighter, 145grams it says, and is a little bit narrower too, I always thought the original fit ones were a tad wide, but never got around to chopping them.

Cheers,

Dan

Mc Smiley

Use the brake and gear shifters, loosen them off and just pull. It worked a treat on my specialized grips on my USE carbon bar.

I know have the problem of fitting them, can anyone help i know about the hair spray making it stick but i can't manage to get the grips on the bar in the first place :evil: