Double wrapping handlebars

JamesFree

Just a quick question here, im think of double wrapping my handle bars for a little extra comfort from the awful roads round here.

Having never wrapped bars before is it pretty simple ? Do I simply just wrap another lot of tape over my existing tape or does the tap underneath got to be laid in a special way ?

Thanks

amaferanga

Have you thought about getting some of the gel inserts like those that come with Specialized Bar Phat? It'll look less odd than double-wrapped bars.

hopper1

Double wrapped bars will look like sausages! See Bhima's old bike photos :shock:

One layer of Fizik MicroTex and MTFU!

JamesFree

I have looked into them, but have some spare wrap at home so thought I would give the freebie version a go first

Monty Dog

I have done it the past - first time at the Paris-Roubaix Cyclo - it works as well as any gel tape IME, but can feel weird, particularly if you have small hands and thick gloves.

redvee

Fizik Micro Tex on top of the Specialized gel pads fitted to the bike as standard.

Harry182

Or save up for some carbon bars.

Barteos

awful roads = wider tyres

JamesFree

Harry182 wrote:

Or save up for some carbon bars.

Do carbon bars make that much difference ? How much would I be looking to pay for a decent set of bars and im guessing I would have to change my stem too for a carbon specific one ?

Im currently running deda newton stem and bars which are nice and light

redddraggon

JamesFree wrote:

Harry182 wrote:

Or save up for some carbon bars.

Do carbon bars make that much difference ?

Not in my experience - it's all in the head.

JamesFree

So basically I just have to man up... I guess thats cheaper than carbon bars

Hals1967

Slightly OT but riding home from work today not wearing any mitts in a heavy downpour - my bar tape was slippery as hell. Never noticed that before because I usually wear mitts.

The tape on my work-bike whilst not double-wrapped is pretty thick and to be honest needs re-doing because I made a pig's arse of the job, looks a bit like big blue rippled sausages.

alfablue

Think about the stem or top tube length too - is to much of your weight going on the bars because they are short? Then better padded gloves, then bar tape, carbon bars way way last resort (and probably not then).

Cleat Eastwood

I double wrapped my bars. And I think boonen does too but he says thats becaus ehe has big hands. I used a waterproof bartape first and then a normal type of bar tape. It feels better than having it single wrapped and it does remove the road buzz.

stokepa31

redddraggon wrote:

JamesFree wrote:

Harry182 wrote:

Or save up for some carbon bars.

Do carbon bars make that much difference ?

Not in my experience - it's all in the head.

They make a huge difference in my experience and in particular if they have flatter tops to spread the load.

you will get more comfortable on a stndard bar though as you develop more wrist strength etc so dont do too much too soon until your body adjusts to the setup

Garz

JamesFree wrote:

So basically I just have to man up... I guess thats cheaper than carbon bars

Or loosen the grip..

pomtarr

Wiggo does it: http://velonews.competitor.com/2009/10/photos/wiggos-ride-wiggins-opts-for-a-double-wrap-on-the-bars_99259

cjw

stokepa31 wrote:

redddraggon wrote:

JamesFree wrote:

Harry182 wrote:

Or save up for some carbon bars.

Do carbon bars make that much difference ?

Not in my experience - it's all in the head.

They make a huge difference in my experience and in particular if they have flatter tops to spread the load.

you will get more comfortable on a stndard bar though as you develop more wrist strength etc so dont do too much too soon until your body adjusts to the setup

+1

Both on my MTB and road bike. I have switched from ali bars to 3T ergonova in an attempt to stop tingling fingers at the end of relatively short rides and it worked really well. The only thing I changed was the bars - gloves + tape exactly the same - also I seldom hold the flat tops of the bar, almost entirely the hoods or drops. Carbon bars greatly reduced the road buzz. Also found the same on my MTB.

redddraggon

cjw wrote:

stokepa31 wrote:

redddraggon wrote:

JamesFree wrote:

Harry182 wrote:

Or save up for some carbon bars.

Do carbon bars make that much difference ?

Not in my experience - it's all in the head.

They make a huge difference in my experience and in particular if they have flatter tops to spread the load.

you will get more comfortable on a stndard bar though as you develop more wrist strength etc so dont do too much too soon until your body adjusts to the setup

+1

Both on my MTB and road bike. I have switched from ali bars to 3T ergonova in an attempt to stop tingling fingers at the end of relatively short rides and it worked really well. The only thing I changed was the bars - gloves + tape exactly the same - also I seldom hold the flat tops of the bar, almost entirely the hoods or drops. Carbon bars greatly reduced the road buzz. Also found the same on my MTB.

Well I found it was all in the head. I don't have any issues with alloy bars - if you are suffering from road buzz your tyre pressures are to blame not your bars.

cjw

Nope... same tyre pressures too.

manofsteel

I double wrapped mine on my CX bike and it made a big difference on HONC this year where it was dry and bumpy.
I only did it on the top section so it didn't interfere with reach to the brake levers when on the drops.
Hope this helps

MeatyLegs

Might try some double taping, just ordered a new shorter stem to try and reduce weight on my hands.
So ill see how that works first and then might get tape.
Although i dont really fancy having sausage bars like Wiggo above!

Bunneh

Done double tape on my Ribble. Bought some tape at £13 from a very LBS, it started to unravel and move so got some cheap stuff from High on Bikes. Double wrapped it and it's so super comfy!

father_jack

Chocolate bars are the best.

redvee

Father Jack wrote:

Chocolate bars are the best.

Not in this weather they aren't if you haven't got access to a fridge

carl_p

Mine are partially double wrapped. I taped bits of old bar tape to the main contact areas on my bars and put Fizik Microtex on top of that. The Fizik tape is quite thin so it doesn't look great to be honest and it makes fitting more tricky, but it has improved comfort a bit

muchalls

Anyone know where I can get some cloth tape?

Seriously though- a pair of crochet backed mitts, cloth taped alloy bars. JOG-LE Circa 1982