double wrap bar tape vs gel and wrap

bmca2010

has any1 used both of these methods of wrap on the bar? which did ya find the most comfy? i use gel and wrap and it seems to do the trick but after seeing this pic of bradley wiggins bars i've though of maybe double wrapping. looks super comfy

Blue Meanie

Pro's get special treatment, like new handlebar tape every day.

toontra

I use gel pads (fisik) on the tops and drops, then a layer of cork tape on the tops only and THEN wrap the whole lot in gel tape. So the tops have 3 layers and the drops 2. The result looks pretty much like BW's bike pic above. Personally I like the wider top bar that this gives.

BTW, this is on the bike I use for long-distance stuff (i.e. over 200 miles per day) so the contact points have to be totally painless, otherwise I'd suffer badly :shock:

vorsprung

I've used both

Gel beats double wrap

Toontra's method sounds good

Twostage

I need to do something like this. I always get numb hands after about 40 minutes, sometimes to the point where I can't change gear. This week I upped my commute milage and my little finger is numb all of the time (even now whilst I type this). I wear padded fingerless gloves and I've tried moving my hands around the bars but can't find an alternative position that I'm comfortable with. :?

rick_chasey

Twostage wrote:

I need to do something like this. I always get numb hands after about 40 minutes, sometimes to the point where I can't change gear. This week I upped my commute milage and my little finger is numb all of the time (even now whilst I type this). I wear padded fingerless gloves and I've tried moving my hands around the bars but can't find an alternative position that I'm comfortable with. :?

Lift your bars up a spacer or two.

spasypaddy

thin fizik tape for me. not a fan of overly wrapped bars

davis

Twostage wrote:

I need to do something like this. I always get numb hands after about 40 minutes, sometimes to the point where I can't change gear. This week I upped my commute milage and my little finger is numb all of the time (even now whilst I type this). I wear padded fingerless gloves and I've tried moving my hands around the bars but can't find an alternative position that I'm comfortable with. :?

It might not be your hands that are the problem. Shoulders or neck could be a possibility... In general, you should be able to use 3 positions (flats, hoods, and drops) on most bikes. Is your bike fit/position ok?

mtb-idle

you need specialized gloves with the pads on that protect the ulnar nerve

Specialized tend to do good gloves for this.

mossychops

+1 on the Specialized BG gloves. I used to get this a lot and it would start making my whole arm go numb. Didnt have it again after getting the gloves until recently as the pad is wearing flat it is slowly coming back. Time for some new ones.

Twostage

Rick Chasey wrote:

Twostage wrote:

I need to do something like this. I always get numb hands after about 40 minutes, sometimes to the point where I can't change gear. This week I upped my commute milage and my little finger is numb all of the time (even now whilst I type this). I wear padded fingerless gloves and I've tried moving my hands around the bars but can't find an alternative position that I'm comfortable with. :?

Lift your bars up a spacer or two.

I've got the bars as high as they will go spacer-wise. I use BG gloves already but must admit they are a bit old now so the padding is probably shot, could be time for new ones. I've heard, though, of people curing numb hands by stopping wearing gloves.

davis

Holy cow them integrated cable thingummies make it neat. Anyone know if it negatively affects the shifting smoothness?

Twostage By all means try different/no gloves, but how's your bike position/fit?

cjcp

Used double taping for cobbles, but single taping (Spesh) for everything else.

Mistakenly bought the Bar Phat tape with the gel pads for the tops and drops. Very comfy.

Blue Meanie

Numb hands? You're not going to like this, but try a 4-6 week course of press-ups and planks. You can even put an old pair of handlebars on the floor to make it seem 'bikey' :twisted:

itboffin

I've only ever had hand pain on my old flat barred hybrid, now I always wear spesh BG MTB gloves and use roubaix bar tape, is verrrry nice!

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Twostage

Had a look at my gloves and the padding where the ulnar nerve is was gone completely. So I bought some gel pads from a shoe shop which are designed for ladies high-heels, ah-hem, and did a bit of DIY on the gloves. Padding good as new now. I'll see how I get on with them.
Blue meanie, how does press ups and planks help ? Does it mean your upper arms take more weight ?

Lazarus

Is it me or does that stem look huge ?

I can see that with a little careful knife work the tops can be made to look neat and sharp as in the photo but how the hell did they do it on the end of the bars ?

Twostage

Lazarus wrote:

Is it me or does that stem look huge ?

I can see that with a little careful knife work the tops can be made to look neat and sharp as in the photo but how the hell did they do it on the end of the bars ?

The tape bulges at the ends so I think they have started off with the first wrap parallel to the end of the bar and then started up at an angle after that.

hstiles

davis wrote:

Holy cow them integrated cable thingummies make it neat. Anyone know if it negatively affects the shifting smoothness?

Twostage By all means try different/no gloves, but how's your bike position/fit?

The bike will almost certainly use Shimano Di2 electronic transmission, so it won't impact on shifting.

My hands get numb from time to time, but it's noticeably worse when I'm tired and leaning too much on the hoods. Your core muscles should be doing most of the work of keeping you upright rather than you resting your weight on your hands.

AidanR

@Twostage

If you can't take your hands off the bars and maintain your body position using your core muscles and back, then you need to either work on those muscles or change your position on the bike... or both.

unscarred

My cheap method: an old innertube sliced open and wrapped round the places on my bars where my hands tend to rest, then regular (cheap) bar tape over the top.

I mainly do this because I like fatter bars rather than for cushioning though.

Gussio

spasypaddy wrote:

thin fizik tape for me. not a fan of overly wrapped bars

+1