Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - YES I'M BACK IN BLACK!!!!!.... (Bartape ?)

Just rewrapped my tape, had to go black. I like the cool colors but I just can't keep it clean. I've used simple Green and all sort so cleaners but the stuff just don't stay clean.:mad: I do use my glove to wipe debris from my tires so I'm sure that has sumthin' to do with it!

In all fairness, I put about 7000 miles on the blue tape but it's time to go to something low mainteneance!:D

What about you big guys? Colored or black? Can you keep it clean, I can't :p

Goodbye Mr Blue skies!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2639/4051294709_3edc148ddc_o.jpg
BA-HA-HA-HACK! BA-HA-HA-HACK! YES I'M BACK IN BLACK!!!!!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2779/4051294711_a0b370da97_o.jpg

Looks just as good in my opinion.

All three of my bikes have black bar tape. Much like you, I like the idea of doing something different that gives the bike a little flare, but it just doesn't stay clean.

I guess that old saying must be true. Once you go black, you never go back. I am pretty sure the person who coined that phrase was talking about handlebar tape.

Black on the brevet bike. Black grips on the utility cruiser. Blue/white harlequin cloth wrap on the singlespeed, but there's so many coats of shellac that nothing's getting that tape dirty.

I like colour and for under $15 if it gets too dirty and I can't get it clean, it gets replaced. I like flashy thou. Black is classy and I believe all cars should be black but bikes gotta stand out man.

I am pretty sure the person who coined that phrase was talking about handlebar tape.

:roflmao2:

I just got natural cork colored bar tape for my bike. Haven't put it on yet, Just making sure everything is where I want it first.
My thought was that this color would look less dirty over time.

All of my bar tape is shellacked - I have cork on the Uni and the Peugeot, both shellacked, and cloth on the Bridgestone and Raleigh - it works perfectly, and depending on the color, I have absolutely no problems with it. The blue shows shellac wear rather fast (i.e. every 2000 miles or so I need to recoat) but the other stuff is fine. The Raleigh has over 7000 miles with no recoat...

I have blue tape on one of my bikes and white on the other. Both have a couple thousand miles on them and look fine. Of course, I don't wear gloves, so that probably has a lot to do with it...

Black is Class!
Looks good Beanz!

You didn't need to change the tape, by the way it was going it would have turned black on it's own. ;p

I think the black tape looks sharp, nice wrap job :thumb:

My bikes have black bar tape for no other reason than they came that way from the shop and the black matches the color scheme.

always black bar tape and black saddles for me.

it comes in colors besides black?

Yeah, it was already close to black, but it started tearing or I would have saved the $10!:D

Good thing about doing your own, if you're not happy, just rewrap the sucker, thanks for the compliment!:thumb:

Shellack hunh? Hmm, I've never heard of anyone doing that.:eek: I'll hav to try it next time!:D

Brooks Honey on the fixed gear, but the road bike gets black bar tape.

On one bike I have I like yellow and the other bike I have I like white. However since it always seems to turn dark I have also decided on black from now on also!

They say black is a mean color. I have white on my road bike, which is slowly becoming very dirty.

I have blue bar tape on my newer bike, and always go with black on my old bike. The new bike came with blue tape in 2008, and I bought a couple of rolls on-sale. I'm switching back to black as soon as it wears out.

It only takes a couple of flat tires miles from home for it to get dark streaks all over colored bar tape. I'm also rather compulsive about checking things on the bike whenever I stop, and doing things like wiping the grease and grit off of the drivetrain following a ride in the rain (after the water dries off). I usually look clean everywhere else, but I usually have dirty fingernails and grease on my hands at least once per week or so. ;)

Shellack hunh? Hmm, I've never heard of anyone doing that.:eek: I'll hav to try it next time!:D

Shellac is sort of a retrogrouchy thing. New cork-mix or foam tapes don't need shellac to protect them. They don't dry out or rot from getting wet. Old-school leather tape, pure cork, or cloth tapes are all sucepetible to water damage, so you coat them with shellac as a protectant.
Plus, cloth tape just looks awesome with a shiny smooth coat of shellac.

I miss cloth tape. I used to love the feel of a nice cotton tape-job. We used to wrap cotton over the more expensive cork, because it was more durable than real cork, and the cork had more cushion than cotton alone. I used to use BRIGHT yellows and reds, back in the day. Back then, dirty bar tape said "I really ride".

Pinyon - you can still buy cloth tape at Velo-Orange in a whole bunch of colours.

With the new matte-black Felt frame, I am tempted to go with white tape but past experiences dictate that black is the color for me. Everything else shows dirt.

I did have a bud that used elecrical tape to wrap his bars. He used tri colors representn't the Italian colors. Says he's Italian but I doubt it.:D...Bars looked cool though!:thumb: