Peaty’s Products Launches All-New Monarch Grips – We Have Tested Them 1

Peaty’s Products, founded by none other than DH legend Steve Peat himself, launched their very first product, a tubeless sealant, in 2017. Since then, the brand has been growing steadily, adding product categories as they go along. Today, they are unveiling their very first grips, and as with all their products, they have put a lot of effort into the design process to come up with something that they feel will add as much value as possible for the riders. It would have been much easier to slap a logo on a me-too catalog product, but that’s not how they roll at Peaty’s. From the rubber compound to the elaborate designs, they’ve sweated the details and the result is a grip that aims to tick as many boxes as possible – keep reading to find out how they’ve done!

Peaty’s Monarch Grip Highlights

• Two texture options - mushroom (trail comfort) and knurl (race control)
• Two thickness options - thin (30-32mm) and thick (32-34mm)
• Soft 20a compound for the best grip level vs. durability trade-off
• Tapered grip body & offset core increases impact dampening on top while improving pop and feel underneath
• Zigzag thumb pad provides maximum pressure relief for your thumb
• High grip finger bars are cut inwards for maximum grip & feel on the bar
• Tapered core, made from 80% recycled ocean plastic, taps onto your bar to prevent grip slip
• Half flange and pinky ramp give a reassuring reminder of where the edges of the bars are
• 130mm grip area with a slim 8mm locking clamp and 3mm allen key bolt
• Grips available in black, red, mango, turquoise and slate
• Interchangeable anodized aluminum lock rings available in 12x different colors (sold separately)
• Grips MSRP: $31.99 USD / £24.99 / €27.99
• Lockrings MSRP: $14.99 USD / £11.99 / €13.99

Initial Impressions

There’s only so much you can do with a grip, right? Well, there might be more to it than you think – looking over the feature list of the new Monarch grips we couldn’t help but be impressed by the attention to detail. The 20a rubber durometer was chosen carefully, to provide just the right mix of stickiness, support, and durability. To cater to riders with different hand sizes and preferences, there are two different types of patterns and two thicknesses to choose from.

The thumb benefits from its own padding, a zig-zag rib pattern that is said to provide a good mix of comfort and support. For the main palm area, there is a ribbed version or a diamond-knurl version – the former offers more comfort while the latter provides more direct feedback to your hands. Around the back of the grip you’ll find a row of finger bars, and while there’s nothing new to the concept, the execution is still noteworthy here; the bars have been formed into blocks to allow them to conform to your fingers. They are also cut into the grips (as opposed to rising above the surface), to reduce the amount of rubber around the back of the grips. By making the grips thinner around the back, more rubber could be added to the top of the grips to provide more cushioning in the palm area. The grips are also tapered, growing progressively thicker towards the outside, which Peaty’s says provides a more natural feel under your hands.

To help keep your hands in place, Peaty’s went with a half-flange on the inside, and what they call a “pinky ramp” on the outside. These two elements let your hands know where the edges of the grips are, in both directions, and the inner flange also shields your hand from the hard edge of the lockring. On the topic of the lockring, it features a 3mm allen bolt and comes in a choice of 12 colors (the grip body itself is available in 5 colors).

On The Trail

The inner bore of the Monarch grip tapers to a slightly smaller diameter towards the outside, which means you need a couple of firm taps with your hands to fully seat it on the handlebar. Add in the sturdy lockring equipped with a 3 mm bolt (much better than the old 2.5 mm versions that are still in use on many grips), and you end up with a very secure connection.

Position the grips with the main palm area towards the top, then rotate them if need be to fine tune the fit to your exact hand position. The thumb comfort pad and the finger bars should feel like they sit in the right place of course. We tested the size L which suited both our testers who like a thicker a grip.

The compound is grippy and comfortable, neither too soft nor too harsh. Both our testers ended up preferring the more direct feel of the diamond knurl pattern, which provides a more instant connection and more precision in action. The ribbed grip feels softer under the palm, but the ribs can end up flopping around a little under pressure which can create a sensation of vagueness between your hand and the grip. Peaty’s has chosen a relatively shallow rib pattern which minimizes this floating effect compared to some other ribbed grips, but it’s still there to a certain degree.

Both grips offer enough comfort for all-day rides, the soft compound doing a good job of cancelling out vibrations and damping impacts. The tapered shape also feels good under your hands. The elaborate patterns provide a ton of traction, but they can also make themselves felt over the course of longer rides in rough terrain. By all means a grip to consider where outright performance is at the top of the selection criteria.

What’s The Bottom Line?

There are about as many ways to design a grip as there are companies selling them, but Peaty's has taken the meticulous approach to developing their first offering in this space, and the result really does tick a lot of boxes. The compound offers a good mix between comfort and support, and with two designs and two thickness options to choose from, many riders should be able to find their happy place here. Opt for the diamond-patterned "Knurl" model for maximum control, or the ribbed "Mushroom" model for extra cushion.

More information at: peatys.co.uk.

About The Reviewers

Johan Hjord - Age: 51 // Years Riding MTB: 19 // Weight: 190-pounds (87-kg) // Height: 6'0" (1.84m)

Johan loves bikes, which strangely doesn’t make him any better at riding them. After many years spent practicing falling off cliffs with his snowboard, he took up mountain biking in 2005. Ever since, he’s mostly been riding bikes with too much suspension travel to cover up his many flaws as a rider. His 200-pound body weight coupled with unique skill for poor line choice and clumsy landings make him an expert on durability - if parts survive Johan, they’re pretty much okay for anybody. Johan rides flat pedals with a riding style that he describes as "none" (when in actuality he rips!). Having found most trail features to be not to his liking, Johan uses much of his spare time building his own. Johan’s other accomplishments include surviving this far and helping keep the Vital Media Machine’s stoke dial firmly on 11.

Nils Hjord – Age: 20 // Years Riding MTB: 12 // Height: 5’9” (1m80) // Weight: 176-pounds (80-kg)

Always committed to having fun on his bike, Nils likes to keep his wheels in the air almost as much as on the ground. Although he enjoys going fast and is no stranger to burping his tires off the rim, he has dedicated most of his riding time to mastering manuals and making his tabletops flatter – but that doesn’t mean he can’t put the hurt on his wheels through a high-speed rockgarden too, when needed. Good thing his dad is a full-time Vital staffer with access to lots of bike parts that need testing!

Photos by Johan Hjord

View key specs, compare grips, and review Peaty's in the Vital MTB Product Guide.