Review: LoamLab Counterpunch Hand Protecting Grips
What are these, bar ends for ants?
LoamLab is a Squamish based company run by industry veteran Mark Haimes. The purpose of the Counterpunch is to protect your fifth metacarpal, AKA your pinky, from impacts with trees and other narrow trail features. I wouldn't fault you for being skeptical of the LoamLab Counterpunch at first glance. But after a year of on-and-off testing I've found some real benefits to these metal doodads.
Details
• Weight: 68 grams per pair or 164 grams with grips.
• MSRP: $29 USD or $44 USD with grips
• Compatible with ODI dual clamp grips
• Works with other open-end grips
• More Info: LoamLab
• Weight: 68 grams per pair or 164 grams with grips.
• MSRP: $29 USD or $44 USD with grips
• Compatible with ODI dual clamp grips
• Works with other open-end grips
• More Info: LoamLab
Installation
Installing the Counterpunch with LoamLab's own grips (or any open end grip) is simple. Slide the grip onto the bar. Slide the Counterpunch into the end of the handlebar making sure the flanges on the grip key into the endcap. Then tighten up the lockring and endcap to 2.5 and 5-6nm respectively. If you prefer a grip that comes with a closed end-cap then you'll have to cut the end off yourself.
This review is about the Counterpunch, but I want to touch on the LoamLabs grips because they designed to pair with the Counterpunch. LoamLab's own grips use a similar concept to OneUp's grips with cutouts in the inner plastic sleeve to allow rubber to contact the handlebar directly. The idea being that this will provide a similar feel to push-on grips. Overall, the LoamLab grips offered great integration with the Counterpunch. The shape was fine but the grip lacked texture and didn't work that well when wet. The LoamLab grips are also some of the shortest grips I've seen. This makes sense, though, because with the Counterpunch you tend to use only the outer end of the grip, so why not make the grip shorter? For me the length was not an issue as much as the lack of soft rubber and texture. I chose to cut the ends off a worn pair of Burgtec grips I had laying around.
I liked the Counterpunch, but opted to switch back to my trusty Burgtec grips after a few months on the LoamLabs.
Feel
LoamLab touts performance benefits and states "As soon as testing began, several riders reported improved control, and declared it the top reason to run them." While I did notice my hands pressing into the bar ends slightly, I wouldn't say that I felt a massive change in control. I've personally never had my hand slip off the end of the handlebar, and I don't tend to push or pull on my handlebars in that direction so I didn't feel any benefits in terms of control. For the most part I didn't feel the Counterpunch at all, and could focus on riding my bike as normal. Which is exactly what I had hoped for.
The Counterpunch doesn't change the aesthetic of your bike like a full blown hand guard
Protection
The main purpose of the Counterpunch is to protect your pinkies from trees. Do they deliver? Short answer: Yes. I smashed them into all sorts of rocks and trees over the past year and they have protected my pinkies admirably. I would recommend these to anyone who wants cheap insurance for their pinky fingers. I also noticed that, unlike a rubber endcap, the curved metal of the Counterpunch does tend to slide off trees slightly easier. Glancing off a tree with the Counterpunch is ever so slightly "slipperier" feeling than with a standard rubber grip. More of a "click" instead of a "thwack." All that being said, this isn't a magical product that lets you ride through anything. Neither are handguards.
Comment below if you have pinky scars.
How do they compare to handguards?
Obviously this isn't an apples-to-apples comparison. The Counterpunch and handguards have quite a different form-factor, but their goals are roughly the same. To protect your hands.
Hitting a tree is still hitting a tree. A plastic shield or small hook of metal can only do so much. I think the Counterpunch does a good job of giving you a better chance of getting away with clipping a tree, which can feel like a huge benefit if you're regularly cutting it close on tight sections of trail. Handguards don't specifically protect your pinky, and in my experience they don't protect your pinky as well as the Counterpunch. If your pinkies look anything like mine, or you've broken your metacarpal before, these might be a good product for you.
Unlike handguards the Counterpunch does not protect your brake levers
Handguards offer protection from bushes and thorns as well as crash protection for your brake levers. On the flip side, I've bent and broken multiple handguards while the Counterpunch seem pretty much indestructible. Handguards may protect your brake levers but they tend to be sacrificial. Pair this with the fact that most handguards are twice the price of the Counterpunch and the Counterpunch definitely wins in terms of value. It's also worth noting the crash that broke my brake lever was quite violent and I have a feeling handguards might not have made a difference.
My assessment is that the Counterpunch bar ends are better for clipping trees and handguards are better for bashing bushes. For the sake of science I tried both simultaneously at TranSierra Norte because I figured I would encounter both situations over the course of that race. I did. After I got over the look, I was happy to find that I was able to reap the benefits of both products simultaneously. The Counterpunch saved my pinkies multiple times on the tight forested stages and the hand guards worked well to fend off cactus on the lower elevation desert stages. If it works who cares if it looks a bit weird?
Doubled up on the doodads
I became particularly aware of the benefits of both the Counterpunch and the handguards when I returned from my trip and rode my other bike without new-fangled hand protection. As is often the case with product testing, you don't realize how much of a difference the product makes until you go without it. In this case I realized I was used to clipping trees and smashing my hands through thorn bushes with much less consequence. I was quickly reminded that both of those things hurt without added protection. I'd say both the Counterpunch and handguards are effective. The Counterpunch gives a big benefit on tight trails, while the handguards give a benefit on overgrown trails, albeit this benefit is less significant especially if you wear thicker gloves. It's honestly nice to have both when things get really weird.
The MTB equivalent of barkbusters? Regardless there's still nothing on the market that protects my gnome. Sorry buddy.
Durability
The Counterpunch have held up well, displaying only a light patina of scratches to let me know it's doing its job. The internal expanding mechanism seems tough and shows no sign of coming loose or ripping out. I'd guess the Counterpunch even adds a bit of durability to the ends of your fancy carbon handlebar. For those who are skeptical, LoamLab has a video involving a hammer that shows the Counterpunch bending with no sign of damage to a carbon bar.
Pros
+ Works as advertised and protects your pinkies from harsh impacts
+ High quality and reasonable price compared to handguards
+ Easy to install with open end grips
Cons
- Requires very mild hacking to work with closed end grips
- Doesn't offer brake protection like handguards
Pinkbike's Take
 | The LoamLab Counterpunch is a unique product that works as advertised. They have protected my fingers from countless trees and the rest of the time I forget I have them installed. They may not protect brake levers like a handguard but they offer simplicity, superior durability, work better to protect your fingers, and probably won't attract as much heckling from your riding buddies. The Counterpunch seems like cheap insurance when compared to a broken pinky and has earned a spot in my parts rotation, especially for enduro racing. |
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But yeah we will see.
Really I wanted to use that Drake meme with bar ends/inner bar ends.
www.pinkbike.com/photo/25885613
nobody will even talk to you...
Also, they are usually called 'bar ends'.
The comment is also very suspect. If you’ve ever put a hand on these, your hand fills the space and the counterpunch feels like an extension of your hand. There’s nothing for anything to “catch” on.
These bar-ends say: Yes, I have yet to ragdoll
Haha, that’s a lot of effort put into trying to not like something, lol.
But following your strange logic… maybe it’s better, maybe they’d catch a branch or tree and stop your bike from falling farther away from you or taking more damage.
Might have been something else, but a roch making that kind of cut, I can hardly imagine, and pictures from the crash site don’t seem to show many rocks: la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/image/LfvIb4OaTmgY2JzlwsSnAkjjgVg/600x400/outremer/2019/10/02/5d9498d2ba6fb_gracia.jpg
All mountain bikes should be long, slack, and any colour as long as it is dull grey or black. We wouldn't want anybody to stand out now, would we?
If you like something, do/use/wear it. Mountain biking is not a fashion show or a popularity contest.
What about just 'fun'?
What you call 'purposefully ridiculous' or 'cringy' someone else might just find funny or quirky.
Fair chance I find your bike boring and totally interchangeable with most other current day mountain bikes (slack and long and full suspension and a dull color), but you might feel it's the coolest bike out there.
I did not say he put that thing on his handlebars because he thought that other people would find it funny or quirky. He put it there because HE thought it was funny/quirky.
Did you choose the color of your bike because you think other people would like it? Or did you just choose the color that YOU like?
I run push grips so they work well as bar end caps as well.
It also makes brushing a tree into a non event. I have not managed to get in a situation where it grabs instead of sliding, but I also don't ride super narrow trails much.
No, I am kidding, noboby has had any problems with them.
HOWEVER the added width to your bars (12mm total) can be a nuisance if your riding in Alpine etc in which the trail - tree width is narrow (760-820mm).
Have since opened up the ends of my preferred grips and put the counterpunches back on.
I’ve had them for about three months now.
They are short enough that if you hit anything they slide, instead of getting hooked up.
Just a heads up that I’m not Dario. We were roommates at one point though!
For folks getting bucked off bars and hooking them, I wonder if they are not taking advantage of sliding their pinky right up against the loam levers, leaving a gap to snag. I’ve trimmed my bars slightly when I added mine. Perfection.
When I’m riding in new places, I don’t have the luxury of knowing every single tree and tight spot. These let me ride a bit faster and provide some hand insurance. Have saved at least one road trip from sitting on the sidelines with a busted up finger.
I loved the feel of my super chunkies, but couldn't get over their short life expectancy.
Both crashes were my fault and both times I could have spent more time looking for the missing pieces, but I've stopped running them because at $30 per crash (plus international shipping), the cost was adding up.
They definitely saved my pinkies a time or two, but I also left a lot of trash on the mountain side as a result.
As a prebut, I torqued them correctly and avoided the urge to over torque them out of fear that they might crack a carbon bar. If I was running an alloy bar, I might be more willing to tighten them significantly more.
www.pinkbike.com/news/inner-bar-ends-banned-and-other-uci-rule-changes-for-2022.html
Just thinking about how many things these will catch on going from the bike hung up in the shed to the trail head....
Look how far these better, super capable bikes have brought the sport! You now need a bike park to provide trails that are actually fun on these machines, where you can then ride at breakneck speeds and continuously on the edge of your skill level, dressed up in full face helmets, body armor and knee protectors. But damn those trees standing in the way of you schralping through every banked turn. There must be some protection from that, right?
Anyway, I wish you people fun with that experience, while I grab my 1994 full rigid mtb and hit the local trail dressed in whatever clothes I feel like, for a fun loop with my mate, without entry fees and lift cue's, just a few hours of physically active and reasonably safe fun, good times.
what saw guide is that?