Minoura Space Grip - SGL-300 Review

Running out of handlebar space to put your bicycle accessories? With the Minoura Space Grip, you can "extend" your handlebar and place all your favourite accessories on the bike!

The space grip I got is the new quick release type, which allows it to be removed from the handlebars easily when not needed! Much better than the previous version which uses a metal band for clamping. The bar can also be turned 90 degrees with respect to the clamp, which allows mounting on the stem, handlepost, seatpost etc.

Also, this is the version with a longer bar, which should fit up to 3 lights if required. The clamp also comes in 2 sizes, 22-29mm for smaller diameter handlebars, or 28-35mm for oversized handlebars or seatposts etc. Within its stated range, the clamp size can be adjusted simply by turning a bolt to expand or close up the clamp diameter.

Another good thing I like about the bar is that it can be slid sideways, so that you can fit 2 wide accessories side by side, or shift it to one side to fit 3 accessories.

 Position bar in middle if you have 2 wide accessories, such as high powered lights or MP3 player.

Or you can shift the bar to one side, so that you can fit up to 3 smaller accessories, such as lights, cyclocomputer, bell etc.

The clamp is excellent as always, the same one as found on their clamp-on bottle cages. When used with the rubber shim provided, the clamp is super secure and rock solid! Tested the clamp by cycling along the bumpy Pioneer Road, with 2 lights mounted. At the end of the night, after 50+ km, the clamp is still in the exact same position! Great clamp strength and grip.

A close up of the clamp. (Yes I was caught in the rain!)

2 front lights: 1W S-Sun blinker and a 3W Innovity light for dark roads. Both are powered by 3xAAA batteries.

 

Another picture showing the extra space available for mounting accessories! Especially useful for narrow bullhorn or drop bars, with limited handlebar space.

One downside to this Minoura Space Grip is that it will cause your accessories to stick out from your handlebar, which is a big problem especially for folding bikes. However, the quick release clamp solves this problem by allowing you to remove the whole Space Grip easily, together with any accessories mounted on it!

For bullhorn handlebars or drop bars, this sticking-out of the Space Grip is not a problem, since the bar or shifters will stick out from the front anyway! The Space Grip merely expands your handlebar real estate by sticking out from the middle, which would be unused space anyway.

 The Minoura Space Grip does not stick out untidily because it is still between the bullhorns!

 Is this overkill? 3 front lights plus a bell!

Updates shown below!

Previously I noted that the clamp for this Minoura Space Grip look very similar to that of the Minoura clamp-on bottle cage. Today, I dismantled the clamps to compare the mounting methods.

Clamp for the Space Grip is fixed to the bracket using a single bolt.

On the left is the clamp from the Space Grip (22-29mm) and on the right is the clamp from the Minoura clamp-on bottle cage (28-35mm).

From the picture above you can see that both the clamps are very similar! 3 mounting holes, and both the bottle cage and the Space Grip uses the middle hole for mounting. This means that the clamps are interchangeable! Great for those who want to get the space grip, but cannot find it in the larger clamp size (28-35mm).

More pictures of the Minoura Space Grip, fully utilised! 3 front lights! 

 

My 3 front lights, from left to right: 5 LED front light, Innovity 3W light, and 1W (3 LED) S-Sun front light.

Of course, this Space Grip is not limited to handlebars alone! I can already imagine how you can mount multiple rear lights using this, especially for folding bikes with long seatposts. Since you can also turn the bar 90 degrees, you can come up with your own array of lights or accessories! And who says you can only use one Minoura Space Grip? With multiple Space Grips, multiple clamping locations, different mounting angles and different accessories, the possibilities are huge! I would recommend this to anyone seeking to add more accessories to your bike!