Wooden Bicycle Handlebar Grips.

Hello.

Have you ever thought of having wooden handlebar grips ?

I thought about it a lot; I didn't think that it would be possible but I tried and was amazed by the results.

So comfortable and tactile and very beautiful.



PS
I used these grips on my 1930's path racer project; Please feel free to check it out.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Assembling-a-path-racer-with-a-1930s-budget/

Step 1: Step 1. The tools and the materials.

Materials-

The wood that I used was an old curtain pole that had been in my neighbour's garden for about two years; it was rotten at the ends but that was no problem as I only needed about 8" of it. ( I chose it because it was just a little bit wider diameter than my handlebars; I also looked through my firewood but nothing was uniform enough.)

I used UHU contact glue. (Update: I used Two Part epoxy resin glue because I wanted to be sure of the grip).

Tools-

The tools that you need are a drill and a 22mm spade bit.

(A drill press would be good and a lathe would be untold but I have neither of these.)

I also used a file,  a rasp and some sandpaper.

Comments

[FriendOfHumanity]

Yahoo!

I just found out a few minutes ago that I've won a prize for this Instructable so thank you to anyone who voted; I'm smiling my face off.

[IamWe]

Good idea and a great bicycle. Congratulations with your prize for this Instructable.

[lightnin9]

Awesome idea! I wonder if bamboo would work well too? It would be a lot easier, since it comes already hollowed out. But it might be too slick.

[FriendOfHumanity]

Hello lighnin9,

That's an interesting idea.
I suppose that you could roughen them up a bit with sandpaper or even carve crosshatches into them. . . . . . .

......uhmm, such an interesting idea, in fact, that I just opened another window and typed in

'crosshatch bamboo'= nothing,

then 'bamboo grips'= http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?client=safari&rls=en&q=bamboo+grips&oe=UTF-8&redir_esc=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=12604614674084532010&sa=X&ei=4C1QUJXjBuST0QW08IHYCw&ved=0CCkQ8wIwAQ#ps-sellers

 Go for it !

[nathan701]

I Would advise not to use bamboo (i've worked in the wooden flooring business).
Except if you are planning to never use it in the rain and keep it in a very dry place.
Bamboo get's mildew very quickly and it's not possible to sand it away because it really penetrates the bamboo.
If you want to make bamboo handles anyway I advise you to first let it dry for a good time because otherwise it will just crack and afterwards finish it.
Meanwhile you can admire my hand sewn leather grips. :)

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-your-bike-look-like-new-again/

[Katusha]

These are beautiful!

[FriendOfHumanity]

Dear Katusha,

Thank you for your complimentary reply.

Wood Is good.

Kind regards

FOH

[keremulu]

That truly is a beautiful bicycle. I'm very fond of the dropped North Road style handlebars. Looks great.

[FriendOfHumanity]

Dear Keremulu,

Thank you for your comments.

The bike is relatively modern, but it is my attempt to recreate a 1930's style path racer.

North road bars are fun to ride.

Kind regards 

FOH

[afleming2]

Instead of gluing the grips on you could try to split them and use lock-on grip clamps.

[FriendOfHumanity]

Hello,

Sounds good; I even thought about how to do that but couldn't figure out how to : Also, I didn't want to split them.

Can Lock-on clamps be bought or do you have to make them?

[ohthatshowitworks]

Folloing that Cool handle bar grip Instructable, I feel the need to post my Cork handle bar grips.
I'll just have to make another pair. [ oh the pain ;) ]

Any one interested?

[paganwonder]

I applaud your willingness to build without the right tools (lathe, drill press)...I have "tooled up" over the years but I often feel my creativity has suffered for it. It is often the road less traveled that brings us to the finest realizations. Thank you for sharing.

[FriendOfHumanity]

Dear Paganwonder,

Thank you.

Yes you could be right ; I've never thought about creativity pertaining to a lack of tools but I know that being too mean to buy any materials certainly makes me scratch my head a lot.

if you do have a lathe though, you could certainly make some very nice grips.

[mga12]

(removed by author or community request)

[FriendOfHumanity]

Hello Mga12,

When using the contact glue It was just a matter of moving the brake levers inwards to get them out of the way and then gently tapping the grips off with a mallet.

Now that I have used Epoxy resin it will be much harder I assume; it could be that the shock from a hard tap would free the epoxy from the shiny alloy bars but I am just guessing.

(I upgraded to epoxy because I worried about the grips coming off when using contact glue only)

I did not foresee any reason to change my brake levers (it's not a component that usually fails or wears out)   so I wasn't really thinking that it would be a problem; but I am willing to accept that the grips may have to be destroyed to be removed. . .  in which case I'll get another old curtain rail.

Thanks for the comments.

[l8nite]

that really is a great look, thank you for sharing the idea and project

[FriendOfHumanity]

Dear I8nite,
Thank you, it's a pleasure.

[onrust]

A very nice look to the bike. Well done.

[FriendOfHumanity]

Thank you Mr. Onrust