FWIW, I raced with a guy on Thursday who was using grips (everyone else had tape), and he had to drop out of a race because his hands hurt so bad.
Tape > Grips
Similarly, I switched from track drops with cloth tape to road drops (traditional) with cork tape, and the difference in comfort is pronounced.
[quote=“bonechilling”]FWIW, I raced with a guy on Thursday who was using grips (everyone else had tape), and he had to drop out of a race because his hands hurt so bad.
Tape > Grips
Similarly, I switched from track drops with cloth tape to road drops (traditional) with cork tape, and the difference in comfort is pronounced.[/quote]
True hipsters don’t race.