THRASHED – DMR Brendog Deathgrip

The DMR Brendog Deathrip is a colab between Brendan Fairclough and … you guessed it, DMR. They’re new for 2016 and we’re having a blast giving them a good thrashing on our DMR trailstar test bike and on Team Wideopenmag’s race bikes (they’re sponsored by DMR by the way).

The grip was designed with Bren’s help and brings together inspiration from his favourite grips. The story goes that Brendan was struggling to find a single grip that worked for him. He liked elements of various grips … but nothing brought them all together. So, he worked with DMR’s Olly Wilkins to create the Deathgrip.

“I can bang on for hours about all the little details to be honest.

It took a really long time and Bren wanted to make sure it was absolutely exactly how he wanted it”

DMR designer Olly Wilkins

The main section of the grip is inspired by the ODI Ruffian, the mushroom style section comes from the classic ODI Longneck and the waffle section and flange draws upon the grips on Bren’s MX bike. The knurled underside of the grip is included for pulling up on the bars in wet weather to give riders that little bit of extra bite. The soft, comfy mushroom section is designed to stop blistered thumbs – something Bren apparently suffers with on big, gnarly tracks.

Below the surface there’s no less thought gone into the design. The inside of the Deathgrip is tapered meaning that it grips tightly onto your bars without the need for a lock-ring on the outside edge. That saves hassle and gets rid of any discomfort from your hand pressing into an outer lock-ring. “They make no sense and can fuck up your hands if you ride loads” Olly told us.

What do we think?

The DMR Deathgrip’s knurl/mushroom design isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea – but we like it a lot. The “built for comfort” mushroom section is soft and comfy and the waffle section brings loads of grip whilst keeping everything low profile.

There’s a thick and a thin version and a soft and hard version… generally speaking the thick, soft version seems to be the preferred choice round here but we know loads of riders (with big and little mitts!) that are loving the thin version and harder compounds. The thick version takes the sting out of longer, rougher trails more effectively in our experience. Try before you buy if you can!

What’s good?

• Comfortable with loads of useful features
• No outer-clamp reduces fatigue and discomfort
• Great price
• They look awesome (camo for the win!)
• Thick and thin and soft and hard options to suit your style

What’s not so good?

• No outside clamp means the outside of the grip can get damaged more easily.
• Try before you buy to make sure you like the combo soft/hard/thick/thin.

Learn more about the DMR Brendog Deathgrip at the DMR Bikes website.

Look out for our full feature on the design of the DMR Deathgrip with Olly Wilkins and Brendan Fairclough in the next few weeks.

We’re grabbing them both for a chat at Fort William World Cup and we’ll tell the full story of the Deathgrip. Stay tuned!

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