I have an old road bike (early 80s miyata) that i am messing around with, planning on swapping out the stem which necessitates removal of the grip etc on the handlebar. It has the solid foam type grip, tried shooting some alcohol under it and peeling it back, this stuff is tenacious.

Is there any value to saving this or should I just cut it off and get some nice bar wrap to replace it with? are there any tricks to removing/re installing this type of grip?

Cut it off and go for some good bar tape.

Those sell for about $7 new as a set... +1 Cut it off and go with paded tape.

Slip some diluted dishwater liquid between the foam and the handlebar, and then start trying to move it around until it slides away from the bars...add more water and dishwater liquid as needed. An added benefit of using dishwater liquid is that the grip will be already cleaned by the time you remove it!

You might be able to cut the foam grips to size and use them as mountain bike handlegrips in a pinch. Just don't forget the bar end plugs.

I find that as soon as I get rid of something I wind up needing it. The list of things I regret getting rid of is pretty long.

Murphy's Law of Parts: "The part you toss out today is the same part you will need two days from now."

Cut if off. Burn it. Bury the ashes.

+1

Just cut it and strip it off.

When I went to clean up a Ross Diamond Cruiser with red bar foam, my first thought was cut it off and replace it with new. No problem finding it in black, but there was no red to be had. I was able to slide the old stuff off with a few squirts of soapy water and then soaked and scrubbed with dish soap to remove the dirt and bring the color out.

I just cut it off and use regular bar tape. Most of the time it's starting to rot anyway and leaves little black stuff all over your hands if you try to ride on it. It also seems to be less durable than most regular bar tape.

Awesome!

red, white and black just happen to be my favorite colors.

If it still feels soft and supple, I'd save it, using the soap and water trick mentioned above. The soap isn't even necessary; get a little water in there and work it around, the grips will come right off.

If it feels dry and crusty, slash rip toss and good riddance.

Toss it.

My opinion, get rid of it.

If you have an air compressor, use the air gun nozzle thingy and shoot air between the foam and the handle bar. When shooting air, move/slide it off. The foam should come off without any problems. No mess, easy and fast

Installation of new foam pads can be done the same way.

I never installed foam pads like this, but I suspect that they are similar to installing MTB grips. The single best way to do this, is to spray a couple of squirts of old fashion cheap hairspray in them then slide them where you want on the bars. When the hairspray evaporates, they are set in place.

Slip it off as mentioned by others. Put it in a Ziploc bag and toss it in a corner. Keep it in case you need it, but out of the way so it won't nag you that you haven't used it.
-Gene-

I'm sorry, but I have to ask two rhetorical questions:

1) Why would anyone want to keep them?

2) Why would anyone consider putting new ones on?

I'm fighting hard to not bring up Dork Disks.

I think dork discs are another matter entirely.
Foam grips aren't the end of the world, and really don't feel all that bad in use. They just have a bad stigma because they were on cheap bikes.
If they're in good condition, there's no reason not to use them, aesthetics aside.
-Gene-

To each their own I say.
This is the Classic & Vintage forum not the
"Only Rare & Expensive " Forum
I am not picking a fight RFC cause I know how you feel about foam tape and dork discs but there are many accessories that seem ugly, useless and downright ridiculous but some still like them.
I sold a late '60 Murry ladies bike a few days ago and they asked if I had any colored tassels for the bars! Go figure!

You can try taking it off, you need to take the brake levers off at the same time, because the brake levers will be in the way. Foam plastic tends not to last long periods, after 30 odd years it will probably crumble to dust, or it will be all gummy, if it has had pressure on it. If it comes off in one piece and it's in decent condition and you can get it clean, it's up to you. Don't be surprised if it starts to come apart, if it does, or you can't get it clean then dump and replace.

No worries. My apology to you. I was just jerking your chain a bit. On this forum, you can always get a rise by bad mouthing Dork Disks and foam rubber handbar condoms. If I were in the bike flipping business, which I'm not, I might have a different attitude, though not a different opinion.

+1 on that.
I am not a fan of them either!

Foam grips sure are comfy. I wish they were prettier.
As for dork disks, I had a freewheels disintegrate recently and chew up some spokes. I'm not racing to put the things back on my other bikes but I wish I had one then.