Cycling UK Forum

Poised as I am to return to drop handlebars after a modest hiatus of, err, 45 years, I wondered if there had been any technological advances in the intervening period. What do folk wrap their bars with these days to make for a comfy grip? Are the leather tapes worth the extra money? Should I put anything between the tape and the bar? Any tips will be gratefully received.

Leather tape is mainly for looks, but can be slippery when wet.

There are lots of tapes on the market, but most people look for colour, cushioning, grip and durability. I suggest you look at online reviews.

Personally, I put one of the gel-like cushioning products on the bars before putting tape on, but you can make your bars too fat for a comfortable grip if you overdo the cushioning thing.

pwa wrote:the gel-like cushioning products on the bars before putting tape on, but you can make your bars too fat for a comfortable grip if you overdo the cushioning thing.

I was wondering if they'd make the bar too fat - I don't mind the bar getting a bit plumper, though.

The Park Tool website has a good guide to fitting bar tape. If you thought you new it all this may surprise you.
http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-hel ... n-drop-bar

Experimentation is the only way you can find what works for you. For instance, I found that a cushioning pad along the top straight sections, but slightly to the rear, works well for me. And a little on the outside edge of the curve where the bars bend round from the straights and towards the brake hoods. I keep the front of the straights, where the fingers go, as thin as possible. But this stuff can be wrapped, peeled off and wrapped again, so you can try and correct until you find an arrangement that works. My favourite tape at the moment is called Lizard Skinz (not sure of the spelling) which has good grip, looks good and has some cushioning.

That's a good guide, that Park one is! Lot's of tips on things I've always wondered about ! Thnx.

Leather tape is, as said above, slippery in the wet. I also found I got blisters in the wet and in the winter my gloves were also slipped around.

"Cork" tape - I use cheap Deda http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... edahbtp200 which is pretty thick and so gives some cushion. This has been my tape of choice for probably the last 10 years and I still use it on most machines. They also do a leather look alike tape http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... edahbtp240 so that's real imitation plastic leather.

Cloth tape - in days of old we used only cloth tape and added layers as it got threadbare, only removing the tape when the diameter was increased by about 1/4 inch. I have some Newbaum tape which I think is better (and longer) than Tressorex. http://hubjub.co.uk/index.php/store/bar ... ape-detail I have put gel pads under the tape, but it adds only about 1/16 inch - a millimetre or so, perhaps because I have taped the bars tightly, hence not enough to notice. Whether the gel adds anything for me I really do not know.

I find this video really useful;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6g3-55iVU0

I have very fat layers on on my bars - u could try a bottom layer of pipe insulation from B&Q and put a proper surface layer on top of that? I use the top straight bits a lot and like to rest palms on them so a decent size surface a good idea - also the larger the surface area the smaller the pressure on your hands and more comfortable.

My two favourite brands are ITM and DEDA, really depends what you want from the tape, if you have decent gloves then you probably won't need gel tape, if you don't have issues with your hands same again and can go for something less thick.
Sweaty hands, get tape with carbon on the underside which absorbs moisture.
also if your hands are particularly small or large I think the tape thickness makes a difference to the overall feel.

i like the fizik performance tape. lasts well and looks good, feels great. I also have some gel pads on tops and drops.

I recently put 3mm lizard skins dap 3.2 mm tape on my wife's bike, but this was too thick with the gel she had, so taken gel off tops.

I like Profile bar tape, which has a non-adhesive "gripper" strip (same as on some shorts or jackets etc) on the back rather than the regular double-sided sticky tape.
This means that if you get wrapping the bar wrong, you just unwrap and try again. When it starts to get tatty, you can also take the tape off and rewrap from the other end, and get a reasonable amount of extra life out of it.
As far as the actual tape goes, it's a regular decent quality "cork" tape.

I use two layers rather than gel padding.

On my “older” bikes I use black tressorex because nothing else looks right (in my opinion.)
On my more modern bikes I have tried most of them and am still to find one I really like. The last tape I bought was lizard skinz…it’s sort of tacky and am not convinced I like the feel of it.
I guess like me, and others, you just have to but something and see how you get on with it. Of course you may not be fussy and like the first one you try.

I've tried quite a few makes of cork tape,BBB,Raleigh,Deda,Cinelli,3T,etc.
I've found the best to be Bontrager Bar Gel tape,it gives a very cushioned feel and has a silicon tacky strip on the back instead of adhesive tape,which means you can retape the 'bars without it slipping or coming undone.It costs more but lasts far longer and is better quality than anything else I've used.
I also use FiziK gel pads underneath,these are four shaped and tapered silicon pieces that add extra padding without making the 'bars too bulky.

EDIT:- I ride mostly without gloves only using full unpadded fleecelike gloves in winter,with waterproof mitts over the top in very cold or wet conditions

there are more different materials and methods for taping bars than you can shake a stick at.

I think it is worth differentiating between bar tape that you might use for an occasional sunny day ride and bar tape that will survive repeated soakings and that you want to last.

In the latter camp I have for many years used Bar Ribbon, made by Ambrosio, or similar product. This is washable, not too expensive (about £5 if you shop around), gives a little cushioning, and with a little effort can be applied so that it won't come off again too easily. I am sure I put it on differently to most folk;

1) I usually out a base layer of tape to seal the surface to the handlebar so that sweat cannot corrode it so easily. I normally use parcel tape for this purpose, and insulation tape near the brake levers.

2) tape the cables (and cable guides if fitted) to the bars using insulation tape. You can wind this on with a fair amount of tension, so that it holds everything snug.

3) Apply the bar ribbon. I start at the middle of the bar and work outwards, winding forwards over the top, with a good overlap on the first 3/4 turn. When touring the tops take the brunt of the load so you can apply a generously overlapped layer there and still know that you have enough for the drops. The trick is to apply the tape with a fair tension (i.e. it must be stretched by about 15-20% as it goes on) and to overlap by just less than 50% on the outside of the handlebar bends.

4) If you make a mistake you can usually unwind it and have another go, but after the tape has been on for a while (days or weeks), the adhesive sets so that you can't do this so well.

5) Do use the short trim piece behind the brake lever.

6) If, like me, you use the drops only occasionally when touring, you need less of an overlap to the tape on the drops, and you can use the whole length accurately.

7) I normally finish the job by tucking the end into the bars and using an expanding plug (one with a screw in it) to hold the end of the tape securely.

8 ) I normally use white tape, occasionally black if it is a bike that I do shorter journeys on. If you scuff the tape on the drops, you can 'repair' it using insulation tape, well enough that it will last a few more weeks (or longer). It is a good idea to put a few turns of insulation tape to cover the joint between the tape and the bar centre sleeve, simply because this stops the sweat and water from getting under the centre sleeve of the bars (if you have one, which you should IMHO).

People will try to tell you that my method is the wrong one because I am starting at the wrong end of the bars, and that it will somehow come unravelled or will ruck up on the outside of the top bends. Well they are right, it might do this with other tapes or even this stuff it isn't applied exactly as I have described. The benefit to this method is that you get to wind the tape on so that normal gripping makes the tape self tighten top and bottom; I've never had the tape come undone when it has been done this way. Also you have a far chance of removing a faulty ergo or STI without having to retape the whole bar, because you can unwind it from the drops.

Why washable white tape? Well if you ride hard, you will likely eat whilst riding or eat without having washed your hands since touching the bar tape, which can soon becomes a festering mess of sweat, germs, and food detritus. Non-washable bar tape will therefore give you stomach upsets, and with white (or at least light coloured) bar tape it is simply easier to see if it is reasonably clean or not. Back in the days of cloth tape, stage race riders would have new bar tape every day and this was as much to do with hygiene as it was anything else. If you like the look of cloth tape, shellac improves it from both a durability and hygiene standpoint.

IMHO Gel beneath the bar tape ( which rarely stays put anyway) shouldn't be necessary; if you find it is, it might be that you have a medical condition of some kind or more likely that your riding position is bad so that you have too much weight on the bars when riding normally. [ My arms and hands get tired on long freewheeling descents because that is the only time there is much weight on them.] If you must have gel, have it in your mitts.

I have tried many other bar tapes and many other methods of applying them but this is what works best for me. If I were to criticise the tape, I'd argue that the surface gets a little slippy when wet, despite the surface texture, and I'd like it if it were as soft to the touch without tearing when you take a fall. But perhaps those things are unrealistic objectives.

cheers