New Product: Neken SFH (Int. & Small) Grips

Last year, when Neken released their all-new SFH Handlebar and Grips, we rated the things highly. As did off-road Yamaha racer, Josh Green, who’d been testing (and racing with) the SFH bar-and-grip combo before they officially went into production. In short, the SFH bars (which stands for “Smooth Feeling Handlebar”) use a smaller tubing diameter at each end (18mm OD, instead of the conventional 22mm), and marry that with thicker-walled grips (4mm, instead of the conventional 2mm). The result is that your grips retain a standard outer diameter (the same 31mm OD that most grips generally use), but offer more cushioning and shock absorption for your hands, thanks to the extra material in the grip itself.
The only criticism we made in that 2019 product review (aside from the fact that, if you use Neken SFH bars, you’re limited to using Neken’s SFH grips), is that these SFH grips only came in one compound (soft) and one outer diameter (31mm OD). In other words, we said Neken had failed to really take advantage of their bar-ends’ unique 18mm OD by producing other optional grips with 2mm and 3mm sidewall thickness – thereby reducing the grips’ OD, and giving consumers with different sizes hands and grip preferences more options. After all, Neken was uniquely positioned to be able to do this (not forgetting ProTaper’s Micro-Bar, but that’s only available for Junior bikes).
Well, we’re glad to say that Neken has now done exactly that. Late last year, the French company released two more size options for their SFH Grips: an Intermediate 28.5mm and Small 26.5mm (made primarily for Junior riders). As with the original 31mm SFH Grips, the new 28.5 and 26.5mm options are available in either grey or black, and only one (soft) compound.
Stay tuned for our feedback on these smaller-sized Neken SFH Grips in the coming months.