Road Cycling - Handle Bar colors

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Mike0021
08-15-04, 08:19 PM
Hi All,

My girlfriend is looking for a new road bike, but most bikes tend to come with handlebars with a certain color tape. Is this easy to change? She found a bike she really likes, but it comes with white handlebars, which apparently "gets too dirty" for her. Would the bike shop retape it with black? Is this a usual request, or something compeltely wacky?

Thanks so much
Mike

DnvrFox
08-15-04, 08:23 PM
Hi All,

My girlfriend is looking for a new road bike, but most bikes tend to come with handlebars with a certain color tape. Is this easy to change? She found a bike she really likes, but it comes with white handlebars, which apparently "gets too dirty" for her. Would the bike shop retape it with black? Is this a usual request, or something compeltely wacky?

Thanks so much
Mike

EASY to rewrap. New tape for the bars will cost about $12.00.

I just rewrapped mine. I have a Lemond BA with yellow and red paint job, so I always wrap my bars in red, even though the guy at the LBS recommends black!

And yes, white is too dirty. Your bars get dirty fast, at least mine do.
55/Rad
08-15-04, 08:40 PM
Bar wrap is easy to do with a little practice and it's a great way to customize your bike. On my (ugggh!) purple Lemond, I put a bright yellow wrap to match the logo and tire stripes but found it to be too gawdy. So I re-did it with black on the tops and yellow on the drops, carefully splicing the 2 together and hiding it under the hoods. It took awhile but it looks great.

Tape can be cheap - $6 for cork wrap at Performance, or much more, depending on the brand and style. Have fun.

55/Rad

Michel Gagnon
08-16-04, 02:40 PM
Easy to do, so she should use her "bargaining power" for something else, like a better saddle, rack, fenders, etc.

As far as I am concerned, I know I will move the handlebars and brake levers a few times in the first few days (weeks?) I use a bike. So the tape coming from the shop doesn't last too long. Besides, I generally do a much better job than they do.