LesterOfPuppets

Well, bar will likely get scratched by screwdriver, if that's something you care about.

RaleighSport

Just had to remove a set of grips myself from the bike I PMed you about, I used a screwdriver very carefully to open up the end sprayed in some windex and with 3 twists it popped right off. However I was very diligent with the screw driver and it already had a slightly angled shaft that played in my favor.

Philphine

that's why i stopped using oil and switched to soap water. if you doing something quick, like swapping handlebars around, you can just slide them off and stick them back without having to wipe down the bar and trying to get a rag in the grip to get the oil out. plus the soap will have a little tackiness to it once it dries.

here recently i've also used windsheild washer fluid (it was where i was working. i guess it could be comparable to windex). not sure if it has any tackiness once it dries, but it worked as well for removal.

simonplatt

no it doesnt, if you use the right screwdriver as mentioned.

pat5319

agreed!!, I keep cheap can around just for this and cleaing rims and brake pads, not only gets grips off ir acts like glue after drying to keep grips in place

LesterOfPuppets

If you have peened, matte finish silver grip area then a screwdriver will often leave no trace of having been there. If you have black bars or polished silver bars there's a pretty good chance (maybe 25% for black peened bars - 70% for polished bars) you'll leave a mark, no matter how careful you are. It's not something that matters to me because, hey, it's always under the grip, but for some people...

Probably want to keep screwdrivers away from carbon bars as well.

No drivers on anodized bars either. If you score some NOS of these, chopsticks or bamboo skewers only!

altecw

^ what he said. I've been able to pull grips off with just elbow grease.

Jumpa

ROGER THAT ULTRA!!! I used some Remington Wonderlube spray to juice up a brake cable the next day "I must have over sprayed a little" because as I was taking off I hear "SLOOP" it came off with minimal effort. The thing is I wasn't expecting it to come off and ended up ass up and over the bars on the ground, still & only holding the grip wondering WTF just happened to me "I didn't even get out the gate!!" . ...Yes a bit of oil works very well

BHOFM

Slip in a pop-sickle stick, spray in a shot of Windex, slip them off.

Took longer to type this than to get them off.....

roots4x

WD40 always works for me. The best part is that it comes with a little red tube that will slide into the grip.

WD40 is a petroleum product, I believe, but it'll dry and keep the grip tight on the bar after it dries.

xizangstan

I've read that WD-40 is made from fish oil.

I try to use power tools whenever justified. Try WD-40, then inject compressed air from a standard shop or gas station air compressor. You might try a needle injector - the type used to air up basketballs and footballs.

xizangstan

I've read that WD-40 is made from fish oil.

I try to use power tools whenever justified. Try WD-40, then inject compressed air from a standard shop or gas station air compressor. You might try a needle injector - the type used to air up basketballs and footballs.

Matt Gaunt

Yep. There really is no need to use anything else. Particularly, WD40 seems like a waste of time and effort given that you have to use some sort of alcohol-based substance to remount anyway. Just my £0.02.

LesterOfPuppets

That sounds like the best possible non-marking tool! I never thought about that cuz I never have popsicles in the house. I'm gonna have to grab a handful the next time in the coffee shop, though! Should be way easier than chopsticks. I'm kinda worried about their strength, but...

jolly_ross

You can use oil if you like, but wash the grips in hot soapy water straight away after getting them off. Silicon spray lube might be good if you have it - wiggle the straw in under the grip if poss.

cyccommute 

WD40 is a petroleum product...not fish oil...but so is motor oil, diesel fuel, kerosene, wax and, for that matter, carbon fiber. Just because the material is a petroleum product doesn't mean that it will eventually evaporate at room temperature or even at temperatures that we humans find slightly uncomfortable.

The flash point of WD-40 is 122 F (50C) and the boiling point is around 365F (185C). With that high a flash point and that high a boiling point, there's not going to be much evaporation at ambient temperatures. WD-40 also contains mineral oil that has an even higher flash point and boiling point. If you pour the stuff out and wait around for it to evaporate, it's going to take a very, very long time as it would under the grips of a handlebar. It will probably oxidize and polymerize before it will evaporate. I...and I might speak for many here...would rather not have my grips spinning around like tops while I wait for the WD40 components to polymerize.

WD40 is just silly and messy when it comes to handlebar grips. It might take them off lickety split but so will a knife. If you want to keep the grips, use water, windex or alcohol.

Matt Gaunt

Amen.

roots4x

Have you actually tried WD40? No, huh? I have used it many many times and after a day, the grip is on tighter than you could imagine. I wasn't implying that being a petroleum product makes it dry quicker. Quite the contrary, I was stating that it may damage some rubber grips, but it always works just fine for me.

Please tell me you for some reason knew the flash point and boiling point of WD40 before posting that. I can't imagine someone would go to the trouble of trying to prove a person wrong by researching and stating irrelevant facts. Go ahead, try it, your grips will be bone dry and stuck to your bar lightly.

EDIT: you ever notice that puddles of water will evaporate even when it's near freezing? That's a desirable property since it's not often close to the boiling point of water in Chicago during fall/winter.

roots4x

Hmm, have you tried it? Like I said, I have and it requires no washing. Contrary to popular believe, WD40 WILL evaporate and leave a slightly sticky residue that is perfect to keep the grips from spinning.

I understand the skepticism, but I HAVE TRIED IT and people are trying to prove how smart they are by pretending to know what happens when they haven't tried it. I just do not understand that mentality on a message board where we are trying to share tips and tricks.

Matt Gaunt

I have not, and your point is a valid one. Apologies if I misled you.

My point was that when you have found a substance that definitely works (for me, hairspray), why risk something that has a chance of not working?

How long does it take for WD40 to evaporate in this application?

cyccommute 

Nope. I haven't tried WD40. But I haven't tried bearing grease, motor oil, Pam and anything else that is a lubricant. That's what WD-40 is...a lubricant with some solvent added. I wouldn't reach for a lubricant because I want the grips to stick to the bars, not rotate around them.

I've used alcohol and had the grips stick to the bars after 10 minutes because alcohol isn't a lubricant. I've used water and had it stick within a few minutes for the same reason. I've use hair spray and the grips are stuck in place after just a few minutes too. All of the above won't damage the grips which is a plus.

Look at my signature. I'm a chemist. I know lots of chemical things. Because it's the field of chemistry that I do a lot of work in, I just happen to know lots of stuff about fuel properties or know where to find them relatively quickly. The point of giving you the flash point and boiling point of kerosene is that it is much harder to evaporate than alcohol, acetone or even water. The harder a substance is to evaporate, the longer it persists and, in this application, the longer you are going to wait for the grips to stick in place.

You might be getting some grips to stick with WD-40 but that's only because you are damaging the grips. Since the question asked by wernst was how to remove the grips without damaging them, perhaps he would like to stick them back on the bars without damaging them.

Yep. But you can't accuse me of stating irrelevant facts and then stating some of your own.

Water is kind of different. But I suspect that if you really observed the evaporation of water a low temperatures, you'd see that there is wind involved. You don't have that with WD-40 under grips. Another irrelevant fact: Water can go from the solid form (ice and snow) to gaseous form (water vapor) without going through the liquid phase. It's called sublimation. But it also requires air movement or a good vacuum. Still has nothing to do with WD-40 used on grips.

cbchess

+1 WD 40 work like a charm. It works great for installing rubber grips too, they slide right and then stick like crazy. Just use a small amount and it evaporates and leaves the rubber grips nice and tacky and they will never slide or twist. works best on oury grips.

it doesn't make a mess at all and it dries pretty quick.

gruppo

I've removed and replaced grips 100's of times on motorcycles and bicycles for over 40 years using a chop stick (Wood or plastic) and Coleman fuel (A few drops). Takes but a few seconds and the grips stay put - and, yeah, yeah, I don't want to hear it...*

However, since their introdution I've switched to clamp-on grips, which is the best solution.

*I don't subscribe to threads, so I won't read it anyway.

Iowegian

Yesterday I had good luck with snow and a tire iron. I just scooped up some snow with a tire lever, inserted the end of the lever under the grip and let the snow melt and run down the lever under the grip. Voila.

(I was working in the parking lot of the local co-op at the time. Usually I'd just run to the sink and get some soapy water)

roots4x

You know what's awesome though? You say you're a chemist and you think you know so much. But you are so wrong and that's really all that matters. I have done this many many times and within hours my grips are tight on my handlebars with no oxidation (steel, aluminum) and I repeated this many many many times in high school on my old trek and Schwinn.

I mean, do you think I'm making this up for fun? I tell you my grips stick right on yet you don't believe me? Lol.

As a scientist you should know that FACTS and EVIDENCE trump conjecture and hypothesis every time. LOL. Done.