The Oakley B-1B.
It’s hard to imagine a more iconic BMX grip from back in the day.
Back before Oakley made a name for itself with its high-end sunglasses, goggles and “lifestyle” gear, the company was known primarily for making motocross and BMX grips.
And one of it’s most popular grips of the era (in the 80s) was the Oakley B1-B grip.
Sought after by old school collectors, they’re now going for top dollar (especially if they’re in mint condition).
You would think that with such a following, Oakley would consider getting back into the grip game. If only for them to cash in on some of the nostalgia for old school BMX these days.
In fact, there’s even been petitions to bring back the B-1B and other Oakley grips of that era.
But Oakley so far has resisted calls to dive back into making grips.
Granted they have offered limited runs of the Oakley B-1B in recent years…however, unless you were an industry insider or had an “in” you were out of luck.
As fan of the B1-B that always kinda bummed me out.
Imagine my surprise then, when flipping through Dirt magazine, that I see a Charge Bikes ad that included a grip that looked remarkably similar to the B-1B, the Charge Bikes Griddle Grip.
The grips feature small cutout shield logos molded in thin krayton and bonded to lightweight contrasting plastic core. According to UK-based Charge Bikes, this is supposed to offer, “great texture and feel in all conditions, feeling soft and comfortable with or without gloves”.
Sounds pretty good to me.
And even though I haven’t tried them yet, I’m kinda ready to give them a go based on looks alone.
As an added bonus, while the B-1B grips had soft ends that tended to rip fairly quickly…the Griddle grips have color-matched low profile plastic end caps to keep things looking good, even after you drop your bike.
This grip may be the answer to my jonesing for that old school B-1B grip feel.
Now all I have to do is track down a place that sells them.
