WTB Commander PadLoc 30mm Grip Review

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room first – admittedly before chamfering the edges of my new carbon bars to accommodate WTB PadLoc grips I thought about it a while.

I walked around the shop with the grips in my hand. I reviewed the location of the different textures impressed at the details WTB designed into the surface. I read up about the benefits of the PadLoc shape to eliminate rotational slip as well as their “Working Edge Design”.

PadLoc is a wedge shape designed into the grip and cut into handlebars to eliminate the potential for rotation. This allows the single lock collar to resist simple lateral thrust loads (side to side) rather than lateral and radial (rotation) – in short you don’t have to over tighten your grips potentially damaging your bars to keep them from rolling around.
The “Working Edge Design” intrigued me, but I was a bit confused on the specific trail benefits.

It was something I certainly wanted to know more about as I’ve had hand issues, lack of strength and occasional numbness, for my entire adult life. I have ridden nearly every grip with ergonomic or additional technology. The bulges on most ergo grips become unsettling as I change hand positions in varied steepness, terrain or conditions. After testing various ergonomic solutions, I always return to the standard shape the Commander offers.

WTB’s Working Edge is the colored wedge on the outer, upper surface. It is softer and thicker than the surrounding material. I found myself squeezing it between my fingers, rolling it around, pushing on it with the outside of my palm trying to understand what it was all about. I read on WTB’s site about the benefits, particularly regarding the ulnar nerve. Continuing down a Google rabbit hole I was amazed to learn how exposed the Ulnar nerve is and its peculiar routing through small bones such as the Hamate and Pisiform near the base of the hand. I learned about potential issues from compression where they meet and how dampening would improve performance and feel.

Even with the Working Edge the Commander grip remains the same diameter as the body, which I love, instead of the rise often found on the edge of many MTB grips. I run my hands to the very edge of my grips and the ramp common on the edge of many grips drives me nuts. The bottom of the Commander grip features distinct shapes to maximize finger and fingertip grip which feel great in your hand.

Knowing I liked the shape, impressed with the attention to detail in finger traction design, appreciating the fact that they couldn’t rotate, however still wondering about the functionality of WTB’s Working Edge I was willing to try (and knowing a lot of riders in my circle who ride narrower bars than I do in case I hated it and recut them). I had my bars modified.

It took about three rides for me to really understand the new grips, but they are now my personal favorites. Side note - I was coming back from an injury and running a new cockpit setup (width and height) as well – so if you’re simply adding the grips to your rig you might fully appreciate them even quicker!

Check out the grip details in this 360 degree video



On trail the grips work really, really well.

My hands feel stronger down even the roughest descents. I don’t find myself moving my grip all over at the end of longer rides for comfort (I move them in and out if I’m climbing steeps, but not like pedaling off the base of my palms, etc). I feel an excellent attachment to the bike, input quickly translates to direction changes. The Working Edge dampens the millions of impacts through the loaded outer section of your hand which keeps your hands feeling better, especially if you have proper ergonomics on your brake lever, shifter, and remote seat post alignment – but there is another benefit I noticed.

With PadLoc grips I am able to better weight the bars into corners providing notably more overall bike control. Cornering with the Working Edge Design provides a minute amount of dampening which in particular improves front end feel in blown out corners where the bike might wander a bit. It seems most notable when I encounter rougher terrain when committed in a turn – instances where the majority of the front end control is from loading the outer section of your inside hand – just where the Working Edge resides.

Reviewing my hands, it is apparent how much work the outer section of grip does holding onto a handlebar. I have consistent callouses under my ring finger and to a lesser extend my pinky, as well as disproportionate glove wear below them. It makes a lot of sense to have a bit of dampening to protect the highly stressed small bones, muscles and nerves packed into your hands. WTB has done it without creating a sloppy feel using the Working Edge.

The Commander grips have held up well. I tend to ride uphill without gloves (often this seems to lead to premature wear) and downhill with them which hasn’t been an issue with the Commander grips. I’ve tested them downhill without gloves and have no complaints. The grips look and feel new after several weeks of riding, even the tightly spaced bumps on the fingertip strip.

All and all I couldn’t be happier with these grips. They’ve improved my riding experience without me having to think about them once they were on – which is as good as it gets in riding in my opinion. The 30mm diameter has been very comfortable to me, I have average hands and wear XL gloves. WTB has different diameter and grip designs available depending on your preference.

If you’re in the market for more control chat with the expert staff here at BikeCo.com about what cockpit setup is right for your size, riding style, aspiration, physical limitations, and needs. We will get you dialed in with the best components out there like the new WTB Commander PadLoc grips!

Available Here

See you on the trails – Nate@BikeCo.com