Bar Tape

Steve_b77

I picked up my new road bike on Sunday, it came with Outland Cork bar tape and it's not quite wrapped far enough along the top flat bit of the bars.

There's a gap of a couple of inches before the bar widens for the OS bit @ the stem. Also it's white and I imagine it'll get very grubby very quickly.

The bike itself is white with red & black graphics, so I fancied changing the tape to red stuff.

I've seen the Specialized Phat S-Wrap stuff in Evans for £12 is this a good buy?

I don't big hands (large sized in gloves) so don't need really thick stuff.

Steve_b77

surely someone has an idea?

Slow Downcp

Deda bar tape - half the price and just as good IMHO

Steve_b77

Is it just as padded like the Specialized stuff?

Slow Downcp

Not padded, but fairly thick. I've never used any padding on my bars, or felt the need to.

Smokin Joe

Padded tape feels horrible IMO. I like to wrap it nice and tight so I can feel the shape of the bars underneath.

In fact if it wasn't for something to grip and the fact that bars look ugly without I'd happily not bother with it.

redddraggon

Deda tape is pretty good, I use on most of my bikes - I normally found it the cheapest too, but that's probably not true anymore.

dennisn

I like cork tape. Have used it for years. Have used lots of different brands(cheapest usually applies here). Strangely enough it's all turned out to be CORK TAPE just like the last roll of CORK TAPE. In other words it's nothing worth obsessing about IMHO.

Andy140

I have the Specialized Phat S-Wrap - highly recomended........

hopper1

Steve_b77 wrote:

I picked up my new road bike on Sunday, it came with Outland Cork bar tape and it's not quite wrapped far enough along the top flat bit of the bars.

There's a gap of a couple of inches before the bar widens for the OS bit @ the stem. Also it's white and I imagine it'll get very grubby very quickly.

The bike itself is white with red & black graphics, so I fancied changing the tape to red stuff.

I've seen the Specialized Phat S-Wrap stuff in Evans for £12 is this a good buy?

I don't big hands (large sized in gloves) so don't need really thick stuff.

That sounds about right to me!
I have white cork tape, too, and it's been fine in the winter, so far....

LazyLoki

White tape isn't as bad as you might think. If it gets grubby a bit of citrus degreaser on a rag brings it back up good as new.

rake

phat tape is excellent. good grip and feel plenty long enough. i cut several inches off. if you start from the stem and work outwards you can avoid using any tape to hold it in place,just trap the fist loop tightly under the second. it has a sticky back as well.

pianoman

I have white cork tape, too, and it's been fine in the winter, so far....

So it's not raining and muddy in Norfolk then? Just on the west side of the country instead I guess :shock:

Black or titanium-esque grey are all I would ever put on my bike.

aarw

rake wrote:

phat tape is excellent. good grip and feel plenty long enough. i cut several inches off. if you start from the stem and work outwards you can avoid using any tape to hold it in place,just trap the fist loop tightly under the second. it has a sticky back as well.

...and your tape will look a mess and not last as long. you naturally push the tape downwards on road bars when cycling. The exposed edges of the tape willl likely end up tatty after a month. There's a reason why you start at the bottom of the bars.

ajb72

i've tried a few brands and gone back to the specialized phat tape - good compramise between comfort and style. I find it's not too sticky on the adhesive either, so easy to re-use if you swap bars or tinker with your levers etc.

Only potential downside I can see is the colour choice. I looked at red as my frame is a similar colour combo as the OP, but the specialized red looks more pink to me!

rake

aarw wrote:

rake wrote:

phat tape is excellent. good grip and feel plenty long enough. i cut several inches off. if you start from the stem and work outwards you can avoid using any tape to hold it in place,just trap the fist loop tightly under the second. it has a sticky back as well.

...and your tape will look a mess and not last as long. you naturally push the tape downwards on road bars when cycling. The exposed edges of the tape willl likely end up tatty after a month. There's a reason why you start at the bottom of the bars.

i noticed that after i did it. got the idea somewhere else. i will see how it holds up. did you try it and have it rip or saying how it looks.

Bhima

Smokin Joe wrote:

In fact if it wasn't for something to grip and the fact that bars look ugly without I'd happily not bother with it.

Have you tried riding without tape? I don't use handlebar tape and I still get a lot of grip, even in the wet. I've got silver bars though, so far from "ugly".

pianoman

Have you tried riding without tape?

Is that to show off your carbon bars :P

Maybe it's possible to grip a bare bar well if there's gloves out there on the market to grip them with. Might be an opening for it in an overcrowded market?

Then again, I've always thought a shifter-hood mounted cap gun holster would be for scaring off dangerous animals - one click does the trick. No more dog attacks on cyclsts