Bicycle Mechanics - Bar Tape and Bar End Shifters

I finally got around to putting new cork bar tape on my 520. No real issues, except at the bottom ends.

I would have liked to tucked the ends of the bar tape into the inside of the handlebars and used the bar end shifters as plugs to hold it in place. Anyway, the tape was just too thick and there was no way known to man I could have forced the shifters inside with the end of the bar tape.

What's the best way of dealing with this?

Easiest way is probably just to use finishing tape at the end and not bother tucking the tape inside.

Tape up, starting from the bar ends.

Well the simplest way would be to wrap from the bottom up (which is the way almost all modern bikes are done) but there seems to be a bit of an aversion to finish tape in some circles lately (read: vintage & classic).
I suppose you could wrap from the top to the brake levers and from the bottom to the brake levers and hide most of the finish tape under the hoods, never tried it but I think you could make it work.

I started at the bottom ends and worked my way up, so I used finishing tape at the top.

When I started I put it on at an angle so it would overlap by about 1/3 of its width from the beginning. Where I started, at the bottom, there was tape left where I wound it on to the bars at an angle.

I wound it on clockwise on the left and anti-clockwise on the right.

Anyway, I've just trimmed the excess with scissors and pushed what little I can into the joint between the shifters and the handlebars. I'll see how it holds.

I use self adhesive tape and make 1 complete circle around the bottom of the bar before beginning the diagonal taper up the bar. The extra thickness of the first wrap buts right up against the shifter.

I like a single layer of cork, wrapped edge to edge, then wrap with cloth and shellaced. I start at the top
with the cloth, and tucking it at the end is no big deal. You do have to do a little trimming where the housing stops, and make sure enough housing is exposed to fit into the shifter.,,,,BD

I cut a taper at the end of the tape and wrap from the bottom.

Park Tool - Handlebar Tape Installation (http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=71#tips)

Scroll down to the Advanced Tips section.

I also wrap from the bottom with bar ends - just put an extra wrap on there, and it will hold fine. Actually, I wrap from the bottom for everything. I like to use electrical tape as an anchor before I start - I wrap sticky-down, then flip and 1 wrap sticky-up.

I re-wrapped my bars over the winter. All of the following was done with the barcons in: I started by wrapping the final four inches of the drop with electrical tape sticky-side out. Then I wrapped the bars starting at the bottom end. I finished with tape at the top. For the barcon end, I ran a sharp knife around the groove between the barcon and the end of the handlebar, trimming the tape off exactly. Then wrapped with a few turns of my special finish tape that looks suspiciously like electrical tape. When I wrapped the bottom finish tape, it's wrapped such that the natural pressure of the hand will not loosen it: the left side is counter-clockwise, right side clockwise (viewed from the back of the bike). I ran the derailleur cables under the tape all of the way to the top, I can get some pix if you're interested.

Thanks for the advice everybody. Now I know what to do next time.

I use Velox plugs and can't put the tape into the bar end. So When I wrap the bar I put electical tape on the handlebar tape so that it is covered by the wrap and cut it square with the barend.