bar tape tips please
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I did my first bar tape job this summer. When I took off the old tape I found a section of older tape had been left on the section where the previous owner kept his hand the most. I left it on as I found that double taping comfortable for me too. This might be worth considering. I retaped with ordinary Bontrager tape which seems bouncy enough for me on the single taped sections. I did fck it up a bit mind you. I had a few inches left over at the end and I soon realised that you should use all the tape because after a ride or two I found gaps appearing where the tape didn't overlap enough and got pulled out of place.
I think theres a few sites with tips on taping that you should google for but I didn't find it as hard as I thought it would be....although I did mess it up a bit I spose!0 -
Single layer tape, gel inserts like the Specialized Phat Bar Tape and a aero handlebar like a FSA Wing...
Can run 130-140 km with not so much pain in hands!0 -
Don't forget to start wrapping the tape on the bars at the open end of the bars (the drops) and work up towards the tops near the stem - if you do it the other way round, the tape edges will lift and tear where you rest your hands the most and it'll look shite in a few weeks.0
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I learned how to fit bar tape from this:
http://www.roadcyclinguk.com/news/article.asp?SP=&v=1&UAN=5920 -
Keebo,
Semper in excreta sumus, solum profundum variat!0 -
http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=71
Park Tools' guide is the one I used - Bike Ribbon Cork Plus tape being my chosen product (cheap, in case I messed it up, but actually quite nice).0 -
It's easy, follow the guides to get an idea but practice. The key is to get tension right so the exposed part of the tape, the bit not overlapped by the roll of the tape, is tight on the bars. Anyway, tape is cheap so if you mess it up, don't worry and you can always undo it and start again.
As a rule, single tape is fine and gel inserts don't work so well. Most pros use single tape and will train without gloves, only using them for races.0 -
Combining Zinn's words with keebo's YouTube clip (so helpful to watch somebody doing it) has done the trick.
Thanks for the help.0 -
Fizik bar tape - Nothing underneath - single wrap - Very nice.... Very tactile - though with my padded leather gloves, a little too tactile.
The other bike has "cork" tape, which I suspect is just some polymer - probably the best - highly waterproof, fractionally thicker, just sticky enough to allow me to slide my hands when I want to.
If you're in central London, Condor has a great selection of tape including Fizik and Specialized.0 -
Bronzie wrote:Don't forget to start wrapping the tape on the bars at the open end of the bars (the drops) and work up towards the tops near the stem - if you do it the other way round, the tape edges will lift and tear where you rest your hands the most and it'll look shite in a few weeks.
Thanks for that Bronzie. Settles a dispute I had with Edinburgh Bikes some years back. I bought a Super Galaxy off them and after a few rides noticed that the tape was opening up. Looking at everyone else's bikes, I noticed that they were all wrapped from the drops up and mine had been done from the stem down. I asked them to fix it and they replaced the tape THE SAME WAY! Guess what happened after a few more rides.
Eventually I put on some snazzy red tape myself, the right way round, which was great but....
first time you get oil on your mits in the middle of a ride, any colour other than black gets grubby and then looks really shabby. So, go for black.0 -
Titanium wrote:It's easy, follow the guides to get an idea but practice. The key is to get tension right so the exposed part of the tape, the bit not overlapped by the roll of the tape, is tight on the bars. Anyway, tape is cheap so if you mess it up, don't worry and you can always undo it and start again.
As a rule, single tape is fine and gel inserts don't work so well. Most pros use single tape and will train without gloves, only using them for races.
Bollocks.0 -
Nicolo wrote:Titanium wrote:It's easy, follow the guides to get an idea but practice. The key is to get tension right so the exposed part of the tape, the bit not overlapped by the roll of the tape, is tight on the bars. Anyway, tape is cheap so if you mess it up, don't worry and you can always undo it and start again.
As a rule, single tape is fine and gel inserts don't work so well. Most pros use single tape and will train without gloves, only using them for races.
Bollocks.
I've never heard of the Pro's using their bollocks on their bar tape :shock:
What do I ride? Now that's an Enigma!0 -
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first time you get oil on your mits in the middle of a ride, any colour other than black gets grubby and then looks really shabby. So, go for black.
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Apparently WD40 is good for cleaning bar tape... strange but some swear by it.
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I bought new cork tape (black, LOL) so I'll fit it this weekend. If I have any left over I'll tape my bollocks as well. I'll post a photo. ;-)0
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caw35slr wrote:I bought new cork tape (black, LOL) so I'll fit it this weekend. If I have any left over I'll tape my bollocks as well. I'll post a photo. ;-)
Please don't! but you might tell us whether you have taped them "stem down" or "drops up".
fnar fnar!0
