Touring - Any bar tape wrapping tips for those with Bar-con shifters?

I ahve never wrapped bars with bar-cons before, so any tips would be helpful.

On my other bike (has STI) I start at the ends at move to the stem as I wrap. Not sure if this will work with bar-cons and at what point do I let the shift cable poke out?

Can I wrap the shift cable under the tape all the way to the stem? Or does that affect how well it will shift?

With barcons I wrap from the ends of the handlebar towards the stem as well. Don't wrap the cable housings against the bars. Do a couple of wraps around the housings and bars and then let the housings stick out from the wrap and curve back to the cable stops on the frame. That's what I do anyway and what I've seen on any other bike with barcons that I've noticed.
Cheers, Dave

Sure, you can run barcon cables under the bar tape and out near the stem for a cleaner look. You will definitely need longer than stock barcon cable housings to do this and also a longer than normal (as in tandem cable) rear derailleur cable. Rear derailleur cable length depends on your frame size. Regular road bike cable is just barely long enough if you want to route it this way. And make sure you run a nice arc for smooth shifting.... :)

Here's how I routed the cables on the Moustache bar:

I do the same as dskunk... start the tape down at the barcon, but you need to tape it down rather than tucking it in to the end of the bar like you would with an STI wrap. Do about 3 or 4 wraps over the housing, then just let the housing run free!

Kinda like this....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/ozstubacca/Cycling/cc_bartape.jpg

Thanks the pictures help too.

Previous owner has them so that the cables come out and get in the way of braking when I am in the drops. Plus the tape is pretty old and needs to be replaced.

This is the way I did the bar wrap on my Atlantis before switching to cloth tape and shellac:

The "exposed" way has been shown above, now here is the concealed way:
http://mgagnon.net/velo/potence-double.en.shtml

Caveat : you'll need a 2800-mm tandem cable for the rear shifter.

Depending on where you like your hands in the drops, you might want to wrap a couple of turns into the bend to keep the cables out of the way. For me, the "four wrap" leaves the cables in the way when I'm in the intermediate drop positions. Try temporary setups with masking tape to find the best spot for you for the cables to leave the wrap, for me its about level with the bottoms of my brake levers.

The "exposed" way has been shown above, now here is the concealed way:
http://mgagnon.net/velo/potence-double.en.shtml

Caveat : you'll need a 2800-mm tandem cable for the rear shifter.


I maybe be just missing it, but I am not finding anything at that link on wrapping bars with Bar-cons

The "exposed" way has been shown above, now here is the concealed way:
http://mgagnon.net/velo/potence-double.en.shtml

Caveat : you'll need a 2800-mm tandem cable for the rear shifter.

Wow Michel the two stem concept is absolutlly brilliant,,

Thanks for the great idea.

I maybe be just missing it, but I am not finding anything at that link on wrapping bars with Bar-consNo unusual wrapping method......just start from the bar ends up toward the stem, like most conventional wrapping. Having barcons is irrelevant when wrapping bars.

Originally Posted by Michel Gagnon
...Here is the concealed way:
http://mgagnon.net/velo/potence-double.en.shtml

Caveat : you'll need a 2800-mm tandem cable for the rear shifter.

I maybe be just missing it, but I am not finding anything at that link on wrapping bars with Bar-cons



Sorry. My message was a bit on the short side. I know the page talks about using two stems to lower the handlebar bag, but if you look closely at the photos -- especially the bottom ones -- you'll notice that TWO cable housings on each side exit the bar tape near the stem. One of these is the shifter cable housing.

How did I do that? I attached the shifter housing on the bars with electrical tape. The housing goes more or less :
- under the drop
- inside the brake lever (because that's where it doesn't bother me)
- inside the groove which is on the front side of the tops, just beside the aero brake cable.

I then wrap everything starting near the bar-end shifter.

Sorry. My message was a bit on the short side. I know the page talks about using two stems to lower the handlebar bag, but if you look closely at the photos -- especially the bottom ones -- you'll notice that TWO cable housings on each side exit the bar tape near the stem. One of these is the shifter cable housing.

How did I do that? I attached the shifter housing on the bars with electrical tape. The housing goes more or less :
- under the drop
- inside the brake lever (because that's where it doesn't bother me)
- inside the groove which is on the front side of the tops, just beside the aero brake cable.

I then wrap everything starting near the bar-end shifter.


ah ok thanks for the tips, I think I will try that

Figured I'd resurrect this thread:
How do you start the wrap near the barcons? If using cork, I assume you can't stick the end of the wrap into the end of the bar. Do you just have to tape it up, or is there some better way?

I don't tape the handlebar wrap down at the end of the handlebar. I just start it, pull it tight, and start wrapping as normal. Maybe one overlap to start, to hold the bar-tape in place. Next time I'm going to try inserting the end of the tape between the cable housing and the handlebar, and then start wrapping the tape around the handlebar. So far I've not had any problems with the handlebar tape unravelling or sliding forward, but I don't ride on the ends of the handlebars all that much either. I also wrap the housing under the tape all the way to the stem, with no shifting problems at all, and I think I've gotten away with using a regular length cable too!

Good luck

1) Use Campy or Shimano brand outer cables. These are MUCH better quality than other stuff you can buy and since barend shifters make the cables much longer it makes a significant difference using top of the line inners and outers. Use brand name inners as well as they've been pulled through a mandrel to make them smooth and of equal diameter over the entire length. Cheap brands don't have any of these advantages.

2) Wrap the shift cables all the way up the bars, along the inside of the brake levers and out in the center just like Ergo cables. It's cleaner looking and with the higher quality cables doesn't effect the drag on the cables like it used to in the old days or poor quality cables. If it's too tight to make the bend then install them on opposite sides and cross the cables on the way down to the bottom bracket.

3) When wrapping you simply start by holding the end of the tape on the bottom side of the bars with the edge exactly at the intersection of the bar and barend fitting. Take a complete wrap before starting up the bar. It should look perfect if you do it right and it won't ever come loose. I prefer bar tape that doesn't have any sticky on it but unless you have a source of tape from The Tape Man in Reno or whereever in Nevada he lives that's pretty hard.

4) If you have a large size bike you'll find that you have to buy Tandem Inner Cables in order to get one of sufficient length to reach from barend to rear derailleur. On my 61 cm bikes I need at least 85" and I believe standard rear derailleur inners are 78".

I also don't tape the ends. I just make sure that it's nice and tight when I overlap the first round. Looks nice and sano. Btw, sorry abut the mess.

http://home.comcast.net/~mitschiener/wsb/media/141116/site1034.JPG

What mess? That room is cleaner than any room in my house!