Eurobike: With the system christened "Padloc", the American manufacturer WTB is breaking new ground and incorporating the shape of the handlebars into the assembly of the grips.
At least since the development of the 27,5″ Plus wheel standard by one of the company founders (namely Mark Slate) it should be known that WTB is a very innovative company.
For the 2016 model year, however, the Californians focused on a rather inconspicuous but nevertheless important component: the handle. So the question was asked how, when mounting grips, one could reconcile maximum security against twisting and the lowest possible physical stress on the handlebars, which is a critical factor especially with carbon.
Wastl from Shocker Distribution, distributor of WTB in Germany, presents the answer to this question with the Padloc grip system in the following video:
The advantages of Padloc are definitely given and with SRAM/Truvativ and Park Tool two heavyweights of the bike industry have already backed WTB. However, it remains to be seen which manufacturers will also jump on the bandwagon and how extensive the range of handlebars that are Padloc-compatible ex works will ultimately be.
