Classic & Vintage - Discussion of period bar tape

Since I haven't seen it discussed here very often and it has recently come up on CR I was hoping some people could give input about how they feel about bar tape. WHat do you use on your vintage bike? Is it period correct? How do you feel about cork tape on your vintage steed? And most importantly, what is correct for an early 70s racing bike? Obviously I am in the market for bar tape for a certain custom built early 70s criterium racer (Corky Gulbransen) and although I was going to go with tan cork at first I am thinking I should go with something more period. BTW I will be most likely usuing a 1980 very dark brown Brooks professional with large copper rivits, which is my most appropriate racing saddle for this bike. I also have a black B17N that I am going to "swallowize" but I think the pro is more appropriate. So feel free to recommend bar tape for my project and also just show me what you guys use on you bikes.
Thanks,
Anthony

I think cork (or any thick) tape looks horrible on a vintage (pre '85 non aero cable) bike. Benotto plastic or cloth are the only two options in my opinion. And I like both of those.

But if it's a deal breaker as far as riding the bike then just use cork. But NOT that "splash" crap. That stuff looks terrible on all bikes, but is criminal on a classic.

Cut your ends square with the bar riser and use a single width wrap of electrical tape to finish.

I like to use plain cloth tape /hockey stick tape.

I have no intention of riding anything longer than a days length ride on this bike so up to 100-160kms... in which case usuing benotto tape is cool. But I notice some people use shellac (sp?) on cloth is it? what about leather, is it more luxurious than what would have appeared on a vintage racer? Does cloth come in different colours and where can I get it?

Edit, you must have posted the above while I was writing this post... As far as I know cloth athletes tape only comes in black or white, I guess I could dye the white tape and shellac it to get something darker?

i have seen some cool colors heres a few:

http://harriscyclery.net/itemdetails.cfm?ID=419

http://www.jitensha.com/eng/tape_e.html

Also, if you look up "hockey tape" ive seen ones with prints on the tape: USA flag printed / Swiss Flag / etc...

i have seen some cool colors heres a few:

http://harriscyclery.net/itemdetails.cfm?ID=419

http://www.jitensha.com/eng/tape_e.html

Harris has tan but won't ship to Canada unless you spend $50.

Definitely cloth. I like cloth wrapped over cork. Looks and feels (and wears) like cloth with a little more cushioning. Cloth by itself can be a bit painful.

Harris has tan but won't ship to Canada unless you spend $50.
How many rolls you looking to get? i can order them and send them to you if you want.:)

Thanks that is very generous, but I still haven't decided on what I will go with, I guess you need 2 rolls for a set of bars... It might make sense for me to order a whole bunch... I suppose I could make a $50 order but then I would be buying things I don't NEED... though bar tape is always useful for bikes to be filpped... hmmm... hmmmm.. will wait for more input though..

Cotton and Benotto may be the period correct choices
I like the look of cork. It makes the bar thicker, gives better grip
and when shellaced it looks somewhat like the Benotto. I don't use cork for comfort ..it's all about grip. Probably due to playing with leather basketballs and footballs
but for whatever reason
I like to squeeze into the material during a sprint.

I'll always paint my wrap custom and shellac it.

I would agree that Benotto or Velox-Tressostar cloth tape would be correct. You can get either NOS on eBay with the cloth costing between 6 and 7 dollars for 2 rolls.

Another option, while not period appropriate, is Fizik Microtex. Modern tape with a retro style and it looks great in white!

Since everyone is in agreement on traditional bar treatments, I must offer that padded wrap feels so good, so it makes me want to ride the bike even more. Perhaps if bars were thicker in dia, it would be different, but the skinny bars just does not feel right to me. Just and only IMHO
:)

Since everyone is in agreement on traditional bar treatments, I must offer that padded wrap feels so good, so it makes me want to ride the bike even more. Perhaps if bars were thicker in dia, it would be different, but the skinny bars just does not feel right to me. Just and only IMHO
:)

Someone did suggest cloth over cork. I think if I were to go with cloth I would put it over old innertube. The cheeper and thicker the innertube the better.

ha: Check this out! think it will go will with the dark brown copper rivit brooks on a light blue bike? The price was very right and shipping at real cost! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300054423618&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Fcgiurl%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fcgi.ebay.co m%252Fws%252F%26fkr%3D1%26from%3DR8%26satitle%3D300054423618%26category0%3D%26fvi%3D1

Amber shellac over white cloth Velox or Tressostar tape. Add coats until desired color is reached.

With the rare exception when I use cheap Hunt-Wilde plastic tape, I use either cotton or vinyl bar tape exclusively.

The cotton definitely looks the best, but gets dirty in 5 minutes, and provides precious little comfort.

I find that vinyl has the best overall comfort while still retaining a very authentic, period appearance. I've seen it marketed under the cheap-o Pyramid brand, but it isn't bad at all, I must say. Pyramid offers white or black only, if I'm not mistaken.

-Kurt

Amber shellac over white cloth Velox or Tressostar tape. Add coats until desired color is reached.

If I don't like the brown I will follow your directions.

There are some nice ways to use hemp twine as a "finishing" treatment too, if you'd like to avoid electrical tape, etc.
Like this:
http://fellini.net/twine/

We always used cloth in the 70s, usually color coordinated to the cables, straps or something else on the bike. When it got dirty, we'd just throw on another wrap over the old stuff. When you get about 5-6 layers on it starts getting really comfy.

But most times now I use plastic or padded vinyl. I hate that cork stuff.

My 73 Raleigh had vinyl (not sure if it was original) and I covered that with cork. I have some tan elkskin ready to sew on that will darken to match the brown brooks saddle.
I just put cloth and shellac on my 89 Schwinn. It's hard and coarse - I haven't ridden enough for a final verdict. It probably could use a couple more coats of shellac. The medium blue tape became very dark navy with the shellac. I had bad results with light gray cloth - yellow tint.
http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/66/0000064nc3.th.jpg (http://img77.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0000064nc3.jpg) http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/236/0000065ig8.th.jpg (http://img77.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0000065ig8.jpg) http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/6446/1000544le6.th.jpg (http://img77.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1000544le6.jpg)

I've been using cork for comfort and must confess on a couple of my bikes I've used clearance priced splash stuff. It wasn't worth saving the $4 I must admit. My recently aquired freebie trek 400 has white leather. I don't know if it's original, but its a little nicer looking than cork and still offers some cush.

Someone did suggest cloth over cork. I think if I were to go with cloth I would put it over old innertube. The cheeper and thicker the innertube the better.

The reason I think cork looks bad is the thickness. Cloth over cork is too porky too even think about. Might as well use Grab-Ons.

Don't shellac your bar-tape unless you want to be like one of those guys who shellacs his bar tape. Double that for finishing it off with hemp twine.

Yellow Jersey has an excellent selection of colored cloth tape. And they're good guys.

Don't shellac your bar-tape unless you want to be like one of those guys who shellacs his bar tape. Double that for finishing it off with hemp twine.
Easy now!

The reason I think cork looks bad is the thickness. Cloth over cork is too porky too even think about. Might as well use Grab-Ons.

Funny you should mention that, when I ran drop bars on my mountain bikes (the first time around, not recently) the big trick was to use grab-ons as a base layer and then tape cloth over that. Lately, I've gotten too lazy to deal with those things, so it's either been multiple layers of cloth or one layer of cloth over cork.

I don't worry too much about the aesthetics of handlebar tape, though. Maybe I should start.

I still have the stock(I think) bar foam on my UO8, which is intact except for a part that I cut away in order to mount a light.

So where can you find the vinyl tape? Cloth is easy to find, but vinyl - nobody seems to carry it.

Poking around old schwinn shops can result in various versions (colors) of the original stuff on varsities and continentals, etc. I got some at a schwinn shop a couple years ago in orange for my "75 Crescent. I also ran into a shop recently where the owner had a whole box of old time english-made vinyl tape in white. He was selling it for $3 per wrap (2 rolls to cover one handlebar), so it is out there if you look around. Oh, he also had some french-made wrap that was not vinyl, but more of a white foam material. Good luck! ew

Personally, I use Tressostar or Cateye cloth. Sometimes I'll also use Ambrosio cork tape. For the price, it can't be beat. Check out the prices on this link.

http://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=A1223

I've been picking up odd vinyl for years, lots of strange colors that sometimes works on a bike. Also have bought a couple boxes of oldtime textured white rolls that are perfect for the period look. And my collection of Velox plugs!

Cotton and Benotto may be the period correct choices...
That's what was commonly used in the early '70s. I actually saw the cloth tape on more high-end bikes at that time, with the Benotto tape gaining in popularity, along with the thicker, grippier and more padded plastic tapes toward the late '70s. Seems like the trends changed over the years, with the cloth being popular pre-war, and plastic (that new space-age stuff) becoming popular in the '50s. The traditionalists tended to stick with cloth though. BTW, if you're doing a '50s-'60s lightweight, you may want to track down some of the period-correct, British GEM tape. Very cool ribbed vinyl tape that still pops up now & then.

http://www.duane.kennard.com/gem1.jpg
http://www.duane.kennard.com/gem2.jpg

Ya, Gem Tape, thats what the guy at the bike shop had a whole box of. All in white. ew

I may be going against the general consensus here but I like the Fiz:i;k (or however that is spelled)
tape. Looks like a gloss leather tape but is synthetic. It has almost no padding and very little stretch,
goes on very nicely. I think its available in red white black and blue.
I also use traditional cloth tape and shellac.

marty

I am not sure I want to shellac the tap, doesn't that make it hard?

I guess I'm the heretic in this bunch. When I originall rebuilt my Raleigh, I used cloth tape. Not necessarily for period accuracy, but because it's what I knew 35 years ago, and I was interested in getting on the road immediately - I could learn new stuff later.

Then I built the modern Fuji as a learning experience to catch up on all the technology, and discovered that modern cork tape is a lot more comfortable for me.

So, all four of my road bikes, vintage be damned, are using modern bar tape. It makes a heck of a lot of difference in riding comfort. I figure if I'm going to show, say, my Gran Sport or Tour de France, it only takes a half hour or so to strip off the old tape and replace with cloth.

I concur, the higher end bikes of the early 70's came with cloth and the cheaper bikes with the plastic. Can't speak of the English bikes of the period-wasn't into them then.
The vinyl tape may be correct OEM but boy is it ever uncomforatble and FUGLY!
Gerry

In other news the ebay seller who had the brown cateye cloth which I purchased yesterday have had their account suspended (i hadn't payed yet of course) so I guess I am back to square one... But I was really excited about the brown cloth. damn... anyone finds some, let me know.

Edit: found some again. haha

I concur, the higher end bikes of the early 70's came with cloth and the cheaper bikes with the plastic. Can't speak of the English bikes of the period-wasn't into them then.
The vinyl tape may be correct OEM but boy is it ever uncomforatble and FUGLY!
Gerry

For an instance: In the early 70's, all Raleighs up through the Super Course came with plastic bar tape. I seem to remember that all 531db framed models had cloth tape. Back in those days, I think $150-200.00 range was the dividing point on tape - under $200.00, you got plastic.

Cateye/Tressostar Cloth Handlebar Tape ... $2.45

http://www.lickbike.com/productpage.aspx?PART_NUM_SUB='1189-05'

I usually buy 6 at a time to defray shipping. Lickton's always has exc prices albeit limited selection.

In other news the ebay seller who had the brown cateye cloth which I purchased yesterday have had their account suspended (i hadn't payed yet of course) so I guess I am back to square one... But I was really excited about the brown cloth. damn... anyone finds some, let me know.

Edit: found some again. haha

In case you don't get it on ebay Velo Orange has Tressostar in brown, I just got some green for my UO8, 3.25 per roll, so 6.50 per bar, comparable to ebay I guess...

http://www.velo-orange.com/trclhata.html