Nothing says “amateur” more than an imperfect handlebar tape job, a dirty bike or a nasty grimy chain. Conversely, a clean bike feels faster. And new handlebar tape and a clean chain imbue a rider with extra fortitude and a little extra snap in the legs.
The professionals don’t need to wrap their own bars-they have full- time mechanics who can do it blindfolded. No matter how carefully I did my handlebar tape around shop owner George, he would regard the job, and then cruelly shoot me a look that said “amateur!” I have studied him wrapping tape. It looks effortless and he might also be talking to a customer, mocking a minion, his mind on many things – but the final result is perfection.
This drives me crazy.
It should not be so hard. I replace my tape maybe two or three times a year, just seldom enough to forget how to do it properly.
The Velominati have spent a lot of energy debating bike color co-ordination (see Rule eight) and I had a bad tire/tape issue, so I had to go white (I don’t do black tape). There is no doubt white looks great; the question is how long will it look great?
The bike shop I like to use, close to us, did not carry my favorite Fizik tape. It is bombproof and magically never ever gets dirty. So I bought what they carried, some white Deda tape.
I stripped off the old and tried to put on the new. After three attempts of rewrapping with more tension and less overlap each time, I was still short on one side. The tape was so stretched I might as well have been wrapping my bars with plastic wrap or the old Benotto cello tape. Son-of-a-bee-aatch!! (F’ing Italians, would it kill them to give me another few centimeters? The other side was better – could they be different lengths? F’ing Italians!) The only way to make it even meant both sides ended up short and too far from the stem-completely unacceptable! This put me in a mood most foul.
I called the other shop within riding distance, a Specialized shop, and was told they had three kinds of white Specialized tape. Three kinds- really? Of course when I got there, it wasn’t so-but the one they did carry has rocked my world. Specialized S-Wrap Classic 3 ply fake leather with some sweet dot perforations. It is $25 but supplies more than enough tape for the perfect wrap. It’s mighty fine looking and feels perfect; perfect cushion, perfect grip, oh, I’m in love. But, will it stay white? How bad will it look in a month? Two weeks of fair weather riding leaves the tape still bright white.
Again Specialized has impressed me with their form and function. I have some Specialized S-Works road shoes and a pair of their leg warmers and they are great. Their glue-less inner tube patches: the jury is out. Sure they lose some cachet because their items are made in China not Italy but until the Italians give me a little more tape, I’m an S-Wrap boy.
*Is it wrong to be this excited about handlebar tape? Is it dangerous to ask this question? I’m hesitant to answer either of these. And yes, Rules violations in photo, how many can you find?
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Only one choice... White Cinelli cork, just like Dag.
It's these types of posts that bring out the true velominati in us all and provide needed respite from the tension of the Super Prestige. This is also timely for me as I just retaped the bars on the ALAN. After being forced to put the crappy Bonti bars and stem back on the ALAN after building the BMC and putting the K-wings on that, I found those shitty bars to be too narrow for my massive ham-fists. Upon reflection and pouring over pics of pro-builds for Roubaix and other cobbled classics, I decided to go with the double-wrap on the top half of the bars. This provides better ergo for the hands and a modicum of added shock absorption for dirt road riding. So I dug out some scraps of yellow tape I had laying around in the shop for some years and mated it up with some new black Deda tape. Here is the finished result. Let me know what you think.
jeebus, why won't this let me upload pics.
@Marko
Problem Exists Between Chair and Keyboard.
@frank
I think not
@Marko
Worked for me. Just edited your previous comment to show that heinous bumble-bee abomination of a tape job. You're dancing the line of Rule 8!
Man, I love that Alan. Looks way mo bettah with the zero-rise stem.
@frank
Thanks for posting that for me. I know what you mean about the bumble-bee. I wasn't sure what to think at first but it's grown on me some. The color-scheme is in line with rule 8 but it is "edgy". Ultimately I'll get some better bars and negate the issue.
@john
I'm all about the Fizik white tape myself. There are two types; the tacky version and the grippy version. I use the grippy one and it's amazing. I've put a whole season into this particular role and it's never gotten dirty. Amazing.
But I have to restate; my favorite part of building a bike is the bar tape. It's the finishing touch and it's always left to last. I take lots of pride in it and have a special detail I do with a thin strip of colored tape just under the final ribbon.
These are old shots from my pre-Campy days, but here are photos of a labor of love:
@Marko
As you can see, I'm on the K-Wing as well, but training on my other bikes all winter has me realizing the I think I like a round bar a bit better than the wings. They're good for resting but not for gripping. Contemplating a classic round drop. Old school.
@frank
Really? I don't mind the grip of the wings at all. The dished section near the hoods is really comfy and the angle of the drops suits me well. I don't like the feeling of the tops out of the saddle but don't ever really ride that way so it's a non-issue for me. What I do like about the tops is resting my forearms on them aero-style on flats.