Rode to work this morning and got to test out the Hippo Hands for the first time. It was pretty chilly this morning even though the high today ended up in the 50s. The Hippo Hands are fairly narrow but they fit the bike ok. It was a bit weird not being able to see my hands or the controls. I practiced a bit before leaving the driveway. It was a quick adjustment. I started out without the heated grips turned on and was comfortable. I thought I'd take highway 93 part of the way so I could get up to speed for this test. The weather is certainly getting warmer so I may not need these at all in a few weeks.
About half way to work I turned on the heat. High got warm very quickly and was a lot warmer than I remembered. :-) It was toasty warm! I actually had to turn the heat down. Sweet! On the highway, the bike didn't seem to handle any differently. I didn't think it would but you never know until you try. It wasn't a windy ride anyway so that was a good thing too.
The openings are not very large. My right arm would catch the edge if I wasn't careful. But, I can adjust that. Because they are so narrow, the tops of my hands touch the top of the inside of the hippo hands. But, not enough to make me worried. The hang guards will keep the hippo hands from collapsing.
I'll post photos later.
I think I'll like these very much. :-)
Nice review. I think that I would have trouble not seeing the controls (but that's just me).
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading your blog. I like your bike choice as it is one that I consider when I think I want a modern bike.
I really thought I would have trouble with that too. But, I practiced hitting all the controls a bit in the driveway before leaving and that seemed to help. I adjusted to that more quickly than I thought I would especially since the bike is still very new to me.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the nice comments and for reading!