Bar Tape

soveda

Very much a newbie question but here goes:
What is the reason behind "cork" bar tape. What does the cork actually do?
And on that topic, what is the difference between different bar tapes really?

k-dog

You get a difference in feel - either sticky or dry - sometimes shiny and smooth - and a difference in thickness - which compensates for size of hands or padding wanted.

It's really down to personal preference.

Cork was used traditionally as it's durable, comfortable and not badly affected by water. Nowadays a lot of tapes are synthetic.