How hard to change hand grips on a bike?

[DebW]

Shhhh. Don't say this too loudly, but the secret to removing and installing grips is....

hair spray

Get one of those red plastic straws that fits on aerosol spray cans, put a tiny screwdriver under the grip, put the straw inside, and squirt. Wiggle it back and forth, spray further inside if you need to, and it will slide right off. To install the new grips, spray inside lightly and slide them on. In most cases, they will be firm in a couple minutes. If they keep sliding, you used too much hairspray, so slide them off, wipe inside with a rag, and try again.

[Becky]

Second the hair spray trick! I taught this one to all the boys at the shop, and they were amazed. No more cutting off old grips, and wrestling new ones on.

To the OP: I think what you're looking for are "ergonomic grips". I have a pair made by Ergon (GP1-S, I think) that are very very nice. They're bolt-on, which means that I was able to fine tune the angle without having to repeatedly take them off. Just loosen the Allen bolt on the clamp, move the grip, and re-clamp. IME, it took a few rides to find that perfect angle where the entire heel of palm evenly contacts the grip without causing discomfort, but now they're perfect!

[DebW]

Second the hair spray trick! I taught this one to all the boys at the shop, and they were amazed. No more cutting off old grips, and wrestling new ones on.

I originally learned to use soap. It works fine until you ride in the rain - then the grips may start sliding. My only exposure to hair spray before this year was that I grew up with a mother who used the stuff, and I absolutely HATED having to smell it every day. I still hate it when my mother comes to visit and sprays the stuff in my house. Stinks for an hour or more. Ug. The way we use hair spray in the shop, with the little straw and spraying only inside the grip, you usually can't smell it at all.