SDG Open Core Thrice Grips

With a comfort-enhancing core cutout, soft rubber and well-considered textures, the SDG Open Core Thrice Grips deliver great comfort and awesome traction, with or without gloves. For less than £20, they seriously punch above their weight.

SDG Open Core Thrice Grips – Technical details

Despite their relatively meagre asking price, there’s a whole bunch of design goodness in the Open Core Thrice Grips. The Open Core refers to a cutout in the plastic core under your palm, there to promote vibration absorption in the 20A rubber compound.

That core is tapered, too, with a smaller diameter towards the clamp, and the whole thing adopts an ovalised shape. SDG says this results in a more natural hand position. The ends are slightly flared, too.

There’s an inboard flange that covers a quarter of the grip’s diameter and, of course, there’s a single locking ring.

As for the texture, it’s built of four zones, if you will. The majority, or the base of the grip, is lined with a knurl pattern; there’s then a raised palm bed and a ribbed thumb section. Where your fingertips sit are ramped and undercut ‘grabbers,’ as SDG calls them. These allegedly boost control while adding useful leverage when lifting the front wheel, cornering, and performing general bike manoeuvres.

They’re 135mm in length and available in 10 colours, including a couple with coloured lock rings.

SDG Open Core Thrice Grips – Performance

Compared to many grips the textures here aren’t terribly pronounced, but that’s no bad thing, as the subtlety has paid off. Thanks to the brand’s more conservative approach, these grips are very easy to gel with.

The whole of the grip damps out vibration usefully. The thumb ribs offer a touch of movement, while the slightly raised palm pad (a thicker slab of rubber) brings further damping and an extra touch of comfort-inducing squidge thanks to that cutout beneath.

The finger grabbers sit rather proudly; not so much that they’re distracting, but just enough to be useful. They can be felt even in gloves, and give good traction and a confident feel.

Since testing the OneUp Components Goldstone grips, I’ve been a fan of outer flanges. While the ones on these grips are very small, they still manage to instil some level of security when leaning the bike into corners and moving it around.

It’s also nice to see the small inner flanges. I’ve not found them to add much while riding, but when working on the bike with it stood upside down, they keep the controls from scraping the ground.

Something I rarely feel the need to praise is the orientation of the locking collars. They’re positioned so the bolts face upwards, and it makes for super easy installation, removal and adjustment – you don’t need to thread an Allen key through a dropper remote or gear shifter to reach them. They can pool water and encourage rust, however.

The grip’s taper and oval shape are pretty discreet. Neither are terribly noticeable under the hand, but that’s by no means a bad thing. Again, the name of the game here is subtlety.

Durability isn’t too shabby either. Although the rubber is soft, it holds up rather well. After several months of riding they’re still looking and feeling great, though they’ve naturally lost some of their sharper edges.

I’m clutching at straws to find a downside, really, but I have found one – there’s only one diameter available. Generally, grip thickness is a very personal preference, but SDG doesn’t offer any options here. That said, I’ve had a great time with the standard diameter.

SDG Open Core Thrice Grips – Verdict

It’s pretty tough to find a good pair of grips for under £20 these days, which already makes these look rather great at £18.95. There are a few contenders, however. The old version of the DMR DeathGrip that’s still available will set you back £23, and not only is the Thrice more modern, but I reckon it’s a good deal more comfortable too.

Burgtec’s The Bartender Grip is cheaper at £15.99, though they’re a thin 30mm diameter and offer nothing but a knurl pattern. For me, these SDGs are miles ahead, even at £3 more.

The Open Core Thrice grips pack a price-to-performance ratio that’s pretty tough to find in 2026. They offer top-notch comfort, plenty of traction and a slew of modern features reserved for grips often £10 pricier. Basically they’re great, and they’re not even expensive.