Hi All!

I just had the new riser bars for Marley arrive and was curious what's the best way to install BMX-style grips on them?



Sorry for poop mobile phone pic.

Spray some hair spray on the bar and inside the grips. Twist grips on.

After the hair spray dries, the grips will stay in place.

OK, will get hair spray from gf and install.

many thanks.

A few puffs of air from a compressor will help it slide right on. Also a good way to get them off.

+1 on the hairspray

Bike Shop has Hairspray and a nozzle for the compressor..

As mentioned...hairspray.

I find this to be the best way to install and remove grips

Hairspray or rubbing alcohol. Hairspray is good for getting fiddly grips to stay in place. Otherwise I've never had problems with new grips moving around and using rubbing alcohol to install them.

+1 on hairspray, but make sure it has dried completely before riding.

If there aren't already holes in the ends of the grips, I'd poke a hole into the end of one to help them air out.

I ordinarily don't use any adhesive for bicycle grips, but I have a fair amount of experience with off-road motorcycle grips. Hairspray is probably about the weakest adhesive you can use, and doesn't last very long, especially if you are riding in wet/muddy conditions. The only occasion I would consider using hairspray is if I didn't have an air compressor and needed something to lube the grip to get it on. Better alternatives are contact cement, spray paint, motorcycle grip glue, gorilla glue, super glue. I also safety wire my motorcycle grips, but I don't see any reason to do that on a bicycle.

Hairspray is almost an urban legend in my view. Yes, it works, but really, any liquid works as long as it isn't oil or grease. I generally use soapy water. It might take a day to dry, but it absolutely dries as well as anything else, and it makes removal easier when that time comes.

Removal is just as easy with the hairspray by pushing a stir stick under the grip and spraying hairspray in.

Hairspray is hardly urban legend when it works so well, and as you seem to note, the hairspray dries faster.

The adhesive doesn't have to be that strong...and it certainly doesn't need to be as permanent as contact cement, spray paint, Gorilla glue, etc. I've used hairspray for years without problems and it make removal much easier than the adhesives you are suggesting.

As for using air, I've never been successful with it nor have I seen anyone else either put on grips or, more importantly, take them off successfully with compressed air. I can get the grips on and/or off in much less time with much less noise by using CB_HI's method. I either use alcohol or just water.

For bicycles I don't think you need any adhesive at all and agree with [MENTION=152773]noglider[/MENTION] that people are actually just using the hairspray as a lubricant. I was referencing my experience with off-road motorcycles where the adhesive really does need to be that strong in case people were interested. Probably just adding to the confusion.

I'll post a video next time I do it. You will be amazed.

Ya know, I was in the same camp. I read about the method, but never made it work. I bought some grips and watched the mechanic put them on.. using an air compressor.

Hair spray is really more than just a lubricant. I can lubricate grips with just about any liquid...denatured alcohol, water, windshield washer fluid, soapy water, spit (in a pinch), etc...but none of those dries as quickly nor locks the grip in place like hairspray does. Even alcohol can take a day or more to evaporate from under the grip and the grip will rotate all of that time. Hairspray treated grips lock in place in a couple of hours.

Probably not. I'm familiar with the procedure and the underlying principle but in the numerous attempts I've witnessed, it's mostly just loud and counterproductive. And it uses a lot of air.

But have you been able to make it work? At my local co-op I've seen a lot of people empty our 100 gallon compressor tank trying to get a set of grips on and had to endure 5 or 10 minutes of a very loud air gun. Often I take the grips and the air gun out of their hands, spray in a little alcohol (which works better than anything but hairspray) and slide the grips on in less than 5 seconds with a whole lot less noise. Most of the time it takes me longer to find the spray bottle of alcohol than it does to put on the grips.

On a more practical note, the hairspray method doesn't require a compressor which isn't necessarily something that everyone has. I, personally, don't own one because I've never needed one. I have lots of fluids around that I can use and the spray bottle of Aquanet I bought in 1988 is right on my bench. It's a rather magical bottle since it has been used to install hundreds of grips and still contains enough spray for a couple of hundred more. Best $1.98 I've ever spent!

Yes, hairspray dries faster. If that's important, fine. To me, it's just not. We never have hairspray in our home, so I'm happy not to need yet another product to keep in stock.

Turns out there's already a video on YouTube so I don't need to make one. Don't you just love YouTube?
I think it's pretty amazing, and have done it dozens of times myself.

Air compressors are one of those tools that you think you don't need until you have one then once you have one you can't imagine what you did before you had it.

Interestingly Oury recommends against using solvents like hairspray with their grips saying that it degrades the grip from the inside out.

All this talk of using air compressors for a simple task is great, but I have my doubts that [MENTION=200073]acidfast7[/MENTION] is devoting apartment space to one.

Alternately, you can take about 4 or 5 largish zip ties and put them into the grips lengthwise so that the ends are sticking out. arrange them so they are evenly spaced around the perimeter. Shove the grips and zip ties on the bar, sliding the grips all the way onto the bars. Pull the zip ties out one at a time. It takes 5 minutes and there is no drying time.

My new digs are huge (by UK standards) even with a basement.

Average UK size:





Western EU comparison:

I use alcohol based window cleaner products. For mounting and removal.

Basement!?! I'd definitely suggest getting an air compressor. Doesn't have to be a huge one.

Important to the bike shop that has a customer picking up their bicycle and riding home in a couple of hours.