wrapping drop bars... advice sort

[ANTONISH]

I split an old inner tube lengthwise and wind that on first - it has to be stretched quite a bit but it's a cheap and easy way of getting some extra padding.
That is held at either end by a bit of electrical tape. Then I put cork tape over it in the normal way.

[reohn2]

Being controversially opposite to Brucey,I start at the bar ends and wind on the tape 'inward' and 'over' the 'bars.
I start with the end of the tape underneath the 'bars covering it with the first wrap this makes a slight bulb of tape facing down so it doesn't interfere with hand grip on the drops.
As I have the drops set high so I can use them for 60% of the time I wrap with the same overlap throughout the 'bars,wrapping with about 40% overlap I carry on under a little tension though not enough to take any cushion out of the tape(or gel pads)and finish off in the middle neatly with colour of choice electrical tape,I find if I cut the bar tape to a point where it ends I only need one width of elec tape which looks neat and tidy
If you started off correctly you finish wrapping back toward the rider which means if you use the tops a lot,say when climbing your grip tightens the tape up,as your wrists drop lower behind the 'bars,rather than potentially slackening/unwinding the wrap if you were to finish wrapping forward,away from the rider.
When my tape(and hoods) begins to show a little grubbiness after a few hundred miles I use baby/wet wipes to clean it,it comes up a treat and cleans off any nasty germs
Bontrager BarGel(mentioned in my previous post) is longer than most other tapes I've used and I find there's plenty left after wrapping 46cm drops and it's nice and grippy in all weathers.

[reohn2]

I split an old inner tube lengthwise and wind that on first - it has to be stretched quite a bit but it's a cheap and easy way of getting some extra padding.
That is held at either end by a bit of electrical tape. Then I put cork tape over it in the normal way.

I've tried this,and 3mm and 5mm neoprene cut from old overshoes/wetsuits and found it ineffective as it compresses under the tape.

[Brucey]

actually R2 I am pretty sure I am in the minority, the way I do it...

BTW although winding the tape on under tension can change the feel of it, on average it doesn't make the tape thinner per se, in that most materials (that are not open cell foams like neoprene) have a Poisson's ratio of ~0.5. This means that the tape is likely to remain constant volume, so what you might lose in thickness on any one turn, you gain in increased length and therefore more turns/more overlap.

Thus when I wind the tape on, it can be about 50% thicker on the tops than on the drops, by virtue of the increased overlap that I use on the tops.

BTW you cannot compress rubber inner tube in volume in the way R2 implies; solid rubber has a bulk modulus which is similar to that of steel.

cheers

[simonineaston]

As usual, you lot manage to be splendidly informative as well as offering different perspectives (AKA disagreeing ) - lots for me to think about there - will probably err on the side of less padding than more as have suspension!
Cheers folks!
PS who remembers Grab-Ons?

[Brucey]

You can still buy grab-on, and in fact you can often buy a cheapo version of it (that does not last, but can make a good base layer) in the pound shop.

Also, if you want a bargain basement handlebar covering, you can cut skinny inner tubes into 1" lengths, and slip/roll these onto the handlebar one at a time, so that they overlap one another. It doesn't last for ever but you can 'repair' it easily, and it costs nothing...

Another Brucey top tip is that you can increase the holding power of any tape by using a single length of double-sided tape down the length of the handlebar. Similarly a spray adhesive can work well too.

cheers

[reohn2]

.......BTW you cannot compress rubber inner tube in volume in the way R2 implies; solid rubber has a bulk modulus which is similar to that of steel.

cheers

Which I s'pose proves me right though in a different way,if it doesn't compress it can't provide a cushion just increases h/bar diameter.
Neoprene OTOH compresses all too easily IME and also becomes ineffective.

[Brucey]

well sort of; rubber inner tube can still provide some padding/cushioning by being displaced sideways wherever there is a local/point load. In fact I think that Gel works in a similar way (although it is of course a lot thicker); it too has a high bulk modulus, so it displaces rather than squashes like a foam would.

A lot of foams used in bar tapes are closed cell foams; these don't soak water up and they do stiffen as they are compressed. They do not have a very high bulk modulus, either.

BTW you can, weirdly, create foams with a negative possion's ratio, called (IIRC) 'auxetic' foams. Some types of real cork can have this property, too.

cheers

[tatanab]

Using cheap "cork" tape one very hot year in Spain I noticed that the tape must have been absorbing sweat from my arms and hands because when climbing I had sweat dripping from the tape as my grip alternately tightened and loosened as I climbed.

Brucey's idea of parcel tape or something as a first layer is a good one. If your tape is at all absorbent it can hang on to rain and so corrode your handlebars underneath. About 15 years ago I stripped the build up several layers of cloth tape only to find pin pricks through the bars in several places where they had corroded because the inner layers of tape simply did not dry at all quickly. So beware if you build up multiple layers.

[RickH]

My personal preference is the gel "underlay" (I got the Fizik) under bar tape of choice, rather than Grab-On type foam as it only adds the padding where your hands rest on the top of the bars but doen's make them overly fat & squishy. The gel doesn't need replacing when you retap the bars. It will probably deteriorate eventually but I don't know how long that may be. Mine has been on several years now & I've retaped the bars at least once.

Rick.

[andrewjoseph]

the gel padding on my bike is 8 years old and has been on 4 different bars. it hasn't deteriorated, softened, hardened or spread. i likes my gels i doos!

[Paulatic]

I'm struck and yes possibly amused by Brucey.'s concern over hygiene of the bars. Admittedly I'm a Geoff Mallock (James Herriot character knackerman) of this world and never suffer any stomach problems.

Perhaps the bar tape I recommend might be "copper foil tape" just have a section of it to hold your hand on. Kills all known germs [emoji4][emoji4]

[MGate]

Go to a pharmacy like Boots and buy some gel 'party feet' for about £3 - these are to make a pair of stilettos more comfortable for dancing round a handbag (so I'm told)! If you ride on the hoods a lot like me then you can put them under the tape in just the right spot.

BTW as I ride on the hoods a lot I wound the tape up from the ends - that way the wrap direction overlaps like fish scales where you need it to. Wife rides on leather bar tape and loves it - yes a bit of padding underneath.

Grab ons - remember them - outtasight - great big foamy grips!

Picture of 'party feet' gel pads at he bottom of this page: https://fiomull.wordpress.com/the-bikes/

[fastpedaller]

I've taken to finishing off my tape by using heat-shrink from the electrical wholesalers (they'll sell me 1M!) I think it starts off as 35mm diameter........ I just put a 1 1/2" length either side at the centre of the bar, then tape the bar and slide the heat shrink into place and heat carefully with a heat gun until it shrinks. Only downside is you have to be very careful not so singe some tapes

[foxyrider]

I've tried just about everything over the years - cotton, plastic, cork, 'leather' with various padding elements and wrapping patterns.

I have settled on 5mm cork, bottom to top wrapped with no padding finished with electricians tape. It gets replaced when it starts looking tatty (i use white on most of the bikes which is replaced @ once a year unless its become too grubby to clean - +1 for wet wipes there).

When i tried Lizard Skins it was terrible, the dye leached into everything and over a two week tour i had to rewrap twice as it just slipped about and not comfortable for me - terrible stuff. Specialized and Bontrager cork seems best for durability and comfort for me. I have relatively small hands so the gel pads made the bars uncomfortably big.