Oxford HotGrips Pro review | Keep your hands toasty without lifting a finger - currently 30% off!

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Heated grips like these Oxford HotGrips Pro are essential kit these days, and not just to stop your hands freezing in winter. There are occasions all year round when I find they come in handy, such as on a late evening or early morning ride in summer when ventilated shorty gloves just can’t quite cut it.

Oxford’s HotGrips have been available in several different guises over the years, and always perform strongly, often outgunning OE set ups. This latest version, the Pro, is the most compact and advanced product in the line up to date.

Are they easy to fit?

The instructions are clear and easy to follow, making the whole job of fitting them relatively simple. First remove your old grips – I had to give mine a firm twist to break the adhesive holding them on, then gradually worked them off, twisting back and forth whilst pulling them towards the end of the clip on.

Before test fitting the HotGrips I had to file down some ridges on the throttle tube (this is detailed in the instructions), but even then, the fit was pretty tight.

Wiring them in is direct to battery, using a fused loom that comes with screw together waterproof connectors. After checking they worked, you’re then supposed to remove the grips and refit with the superglue provided in the kit.

My throttle side grip wasn’t going anywhere, so I left it as is, opting to just glue the left hand grip, which also houses the controller. I did have to trim a little off the end of the throttle grip to prevent it snagging on the bar end, which again is mentioned in the instructions.

How do they work?

Operation is by a single button on the left hand grip, with a small, but bright, LED to indicate heating level. Hold the button in for a couple of seconds with your thumb, and hey-presto the red LED illuminates and they start heating up.

It only takes a few minutes for the element to reach the maximum temperature of 45˚C, which the inbuilt thermistor maintains whether your hand is on the bar or not.

Subsequent presses of the button cycle through the three heat settings, each of which has a different coloured LED – white for 40˚C and blue for 35˚C. The LED is only just visible as, on my bike anyway, it’s outside of the natural line of sight when riding.

This doesn’t bother me at all, other than to confirm I’ve switched them on, as heat is all about feel. It’s worth noting that the LED dims after being on for a short time to prevent distraction at night.

Switching them off is the opposite procedure of turning them on, just holding in the button until the LED extinguishes. Should you forget, the HotGrips Pro have a built in Battery Saving Mode that monitors the battery’s voltage and shuts them off when it drops to a certain level, indicating that visually with a flashing green LED.

Are they hot?

Yes. The temperatures given by Oxford seem accurate, and the HotGrips are plenty hot enough, keeping my palms warm even when ambient temperatures dropped below zero.

My prior experience was with Oxford HotGrips Evo, which have a bulky nine step controller that mounts to the clutch lever bracket, and the Pro are certainly as effective. Having ‘only’ three settings initially seemed like a backward step, but I’ve not found myself hankering after a greater spread of setting with the Pro.

Heated grips are only half the story in keeping your hands properly cosy in cold weather, and I generally use them in conjunction with heated gloves that warm the tops of my hands and fingers. Most of the time I have the HotGrips Pro set to the medium or low settings, otherwise my hands start to sweat.

Looks

Oxford’s HotGrips Pro have a clean, factory fitted look, and the low profile button and LEDs make the installation particularly tidy. Other than seeing the Oxford logo when you look closely, you wouldn’t know they weren’t standard equipment.

Other options to consider

Verdict

Oxford’s HotGrips Pro provide effective and consistent heating whatever the conditions. They’re easy to fit, simple to use and look OE, plus the soft silicone grip surface makes them comfortable in use, even when they’re switched off.

Performance so far has proved faultless, and, although not the cheapest on the market, I wouldn’t have to think twice about spending my own money on them.

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