Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Cork, Cloth, or track grips

Getting ready to put the finishing touches on the green machine. Before it was together I was thinking black bar treatment on the Major Taylors. Now that I look at I'm thinking green.

I'm pretty much trying to decide between cork, and cloth, but I tossed the track grips option in there to give more options to the poll.

Generally I like the looks of cloth better, it's easier to apply, and looks and feels smoother, but I also can't argue with the cushy feel of cork tape.

I'll probably do a half wrap again, but I'm still up in the air about it, and I probably will be until I put the tape on the bar. I think half wrap looks so nice on the Major Ts, but then I haven't seen them with a full wrap.

http://users.adelphia.net/~mattface/barpoll.jpg

Hockey tape.

I think half wrap looks so silly on city bikes. Is it a fashion thing? Do I even need to ask that? I never see people riding the drops on their fixies on the street.
I think I'm going full wrap as I pretty much use all of the bar to compensate for the lack of brake hoods (it's where I put my hands 80% of the time on my roadbike)

I prefer how half wrap looks.
Obviously it's form over function, but I don't care.
Also, I always wear gloves so my other bike has no tape or grips at all.
And that's damn sexy.

I usually grab those bars at the forward-most section of the bend. Which is about as far as the tape goes. For climbing and sprinting I'm on the ends.

When I'm casually loafing along with my hands on the top I actually kinda like the feel of bare chrome on my hands.

Does anyone know if the long grips would go almost as high as the tape in that picture? in other words just below where I have the brake lever.

Do the flats in bar tape (cork) and then wrap up top in cloth just before the flats (throug the shoulders). This is my preferred wrap method. I too prefer the feel of bare chrome (and the slimness) but I like grip so cloth it is.

Ends up looking like this:

http://static.flickr.com/21/30433230_38cd70f599_o.jpg

I'll be doing the same with the new bike, but I might use track grips on the drop parts and cloth to go on the shoulders.

Match the saddle... it's a british racing green Brooks, right?

I know the flak Riv takes around here, but green Viva cloth tape with shellac would look great for the Green Machine. With the Major T bars and non-aero lever, I think a full cloth wrap would be appropriate.

Cloth tape at Jitensha (http://www.jitensha.com/eng/tape_e.html)

http://home.earthlink.net/~rivromulus/images/qbfront.jpg

Yeah the saddle is a green B17 special (same as above pic) chopped and tied.

I am leaning towards cloth, but I don't think I'll do the shellac. It looks cool, but I think it would feel tacky.

How do you actually ORDER stuff from jitensha?

Man! joos guys really like the track grips huh?

OK, tell me why?

oury grips

oury grips

Definitely not! When I have my hands up by the stem I wanna grope me some chrome!

bmx lever.

mattface- just call em up. Nice guys. I use viva cloth tape, and I recommend it. It's not the easiest stuff to get on though (trick: stretch laterally as well as in the direction you're wrapping to get the most even wrap.) but the adhesive is good enough you can try 10 times and it's still sticky.


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bmx lever.


I Like em for looks, but I like bombing down hills at 30+, and stopping at the bottom. For that a drop lever works better. Course it also means riding with one hand up, and one hand down sometimes if I wanna grab some brake in the flats, but it's a tradeoff. I could have gone either way.

when the coast is done, it's getting a harlequin cloth tape wrap to complement whatever color i decide to paint it.

Man! joos guys really like the track grips huh?

OK, tell me why?
I like them because they are one piece, look simple, durable. When they are on the bars they have no padding under them so I can still feel the bars, but have some grip. I too like to feel the chrome, but being able to have a solid grip the bar is more important to me. Track grips gives you a little of both. I am not saying that all of the other options don't have the same features track grips do, they are just a little different in their own way. I actually like absntr idea of grips on the drop parts and cloth to go on the shoulder. I might have to give that a try.

oh, and maybe i'll shellac the cotton tape...

**** some bar covering. it's all about grabbing cold ass bars when you get on your bike and then sliding off of them when it starts to rain. **** yes.

YAY! Somebody voted for the "We don't need no steenking bar tape" option!

Thanks Shants I knew I could count on you.

I like cloth tape over cork tape (no shellac). You get a little extra cushion without bulk, it's grippy in the rain, and wears really well. Looks pretty good too.

Cloth was lagging badly in the beginning, but it's closed the gap, an taken a seemingly INSURMOUNTABLE lead!!!

I guess the Retro Grouches don't like to post before lunch. Maybe if they all fall asleep after dinner the track grips supporters will all get drunk, and mount a sneak attack. Then again maybe the cork supporters will slowly but surely chip away at all the competition like the proverbial tortoise.

Oh I'm on the edge of my seat waiting to see how this all turns out!

I guess the Retro Grouches don't like to post before lunch.

...or the third cup of coffee, whichever comes first.

oury grips


worst idea ever, hipster/posenger.

hey, if u shellac can u still get the tape off?

The Peoples have spoken, and they say cloth by a large margin.

In spite of that, I bought some Soma Thick & Zesty cork tape in green, because they had no cloth tape at the shop I went to... Got it home. EWWW! That color was so wrong. So now I gotta take it back, and am still looking for cloth at a LBS. no luck so far, So I'll probably order some online in the near future. Just hate to order something piddly like 2 rolls of bar tape...

I'd say track grips.