Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Grips Vs Tape

Hello guys/gals,

I just recently purchased a bike and opted to switch to bullhorns. (Origin 8)

Do you prefer Grips or Tape on these type of bars? Why or Why not?

Thanks,


SEN

i used thick tape on mine, and it makes these nice ridges that my fingers fit into. i have bullhorns too. it was hard getting the tape to go over the upturn part. took a couple tries.

I vote grips. Really long ones.

Why is one better than the other?

better is subjective, at least regarding what you put on your bars.

I'm more function oriented than form...

I think wraps are more cushioned than grips, but hell, im probably biased. I use wraps on my bullhorns. (dont know if I should call them wraps or not because theyre not really tape)

I like cork tape because it feels good. Disregard if you wear gloves all year long.

I use tape on my bullhorns because I just like how comfy cork tape feel when I am holding them by the horns and I like wrapping bars. I'm biased with tapes, if you are getting tapes, be sure to get non adhesive ones.


f50fan is right, better is totally subjective. People might like long track grips to go on your bullhorn, some might just wear gloves and go wear bare bars. It's whatever floats your boat...etc etc.

I ran cork tape on my old bullhorns, but running some All-City grips on my new ones. I think I prefer the latter setup.

That's crazy - I just asked this question in the "what did you just buy for your bike?" thread as I haven't been able to find long enough grips for my bullhorns. Guess I wasn't looking in the right places! I think I'm going to give them a whirl. If they're terrible, I'll go for tape.

I go with both.... for example my b123's; champ grips on bottom and lizard skins wrapped on the top

hey can you guys recommend some hard tape? i don't like the soft squishy stuff. ii've been riding risers for a while now and have ourys on them (which i hate) but i have some bullhorns on order.

I like cotton tape. Looks good and has good grip. Doesn't matter if its not soft because I use gloves!

hey can you guys recommend some hard tape? i don't like the soft squishy stuff.
Uh, don't use tape? The point of having tape is to have it act as a cushion...

hey can you guys recommend some hard tape? i don't like the soft squishy stuff. ii've been riding risers for a while now and have ourys on them (which i hate) but i have some bullhorns on order.

You mean firm right? Well the cinelli gel tape is very firm and cheap (because no one buys it because the tape isnt soft as advertised due to its thinness ....

Or alternatively get some cheap bar tape and wrap it tighter so the padding is compressed.

yea for a while i rode with no tape but a little grip is nice. my hands tend to get sweaty so it would slip on the bare bars. and soft material tends to absorb my palm shweat. yes pills, maybe FIRM was a more accurate term....

synthetic tape is awesome. fizik is worth every penny. i am riding some cheap cork tape right now and i really want to get some fizik stuff back on my bars.

I hate the Fizik microtex tape I have on one of my drops right now. Used it maybe twice and I'm ready to replace it already.

Does anyone use leather and steam it? I was in a store a week or so ago and they had a colnoago with brooks leather wrapped bars and the guy said he steamed them so the tape got super tight and they had an awesome feel. I kind of want to do it with my drops

OP: I was just in the same position with my Deda Pista's. Go with long rubber grips or wrap in tape? Prices are generally the same so it was about style more than anything. I'm really glad I went with tape - used Fizik perf'd tape which is like the microtex material they use on the Fizik Arione saddles. Sick. So sick. Love it. My first wrap job, oh, and good luck with the fizik branded tape, that **** is garbage. Use electrical tape if you do go with that brand. Although no experience with other tape, I would assume they're all very much alike.

Lizard Skins DSP FTW (looks like tape, feels like grips):
http://lizardskins.com/store/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/d/s/dsp_bartape_colors.jpg
http://lizardskins.com/store/products/dsp-bar-tape

Does anyone use leather and steam it? I was in a store a week or so ago and they had a colnoago with brooks leather wrapped bars and the guy said he steamed them so the tape got super tight and they had an awesome feel. I kind of want to do it with my drops

I have brooks tape but I never steamed them. It feels great but it's kinda expensive unless u can get a good deal on it IMO.

OP, if you want it firm but with grip, I'ld go with cotton tape.

I just wrapped the bars on my Premium Brew with Cinelli Imperial Leather tape.

http://velospace.org/files/pb777.jpg

It's ****ing dreamy.
:love:

I hate the Fizik microtex tape I have on one of my drops right now. Used it maybe twice and I'm ready to replace it already.
I used to hate the microtex I had on before, but I'm kind of starting to miss it.

hey can you guys recommend some hard tape? i don't like the soft squishy stuff. ii've been riding risers for a while now and have ourys on them (which i hate) but i have some bullhorns on order.

im not much for super squishy either. i like a bit harder grip, because i always wear gloves.
anywho here is my set up....i have two kinds of tape mainly out of necessity...a friend gave me one of two rolls of brooks leather tape he didn't need, so i wrapped the brooks as far as it could go then finished with simple cheapo cloth tape i bought from rivendel bike shop.

The brooks leather tape is great because its not super squishy but feels nice, also when you wrap it creates these natural finger grooves. its pricey though, like 80 bucks for 2 rolls. i wouldnt have used it if i didn't get the one roll for free.

the cloth tape is another good option for hard tape. its super cheap, easy to wrap with since it has a tacky but not super sticky backing, and is probably the most minimal amount of cushioning.
also, something you can do to cloth tape (learned about on rivendel's blog)....get some shellac and paint it on the cloth tape a few coats, and it makes it waterproof, more resilient/durable, and sort of solidifies the tape onto the bars so you know it wont be unwrapping on you.....yet is still not too hard to remove once you want to change things up.


http://www.myfixedgear.net/wp-content/photos/Tommaso_Augusta_build_update/reg/4.jpg
http://www.myfixedgear.net/wp-content/photos/Tommaso_Augusta_build_update/reg/5.jpg

ps apparently my bars remind someone of a dog's red rocket LOLOLOL

Uh, don't use tape? The point of having tape is to have it act as a cushion...

that and/or grip.

Red Rocket, Red Rocket!
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k113/coma061/redrocket.jpg

^ Let me point out, I really dig your wrap job. It's very unique and looks cool as can be. Cartman is just too funny and the episode that the pic is from fits your bars nickname!

If you want nice cloth buy hockey tape... seriously.

It has a high thread count, adhesive backing (that is easy to remove), is tough as hell, and with a few coats of shellac will last indefinitely.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/ccmpathbars1.jpg

The drop bars that were on my old Pug also still look as good as the day 1 which was over 20,000 km ago and cleaning up the bars is easy as grease and grime just wipe right off... just avoid spilling alcohol on your bars as this is the solvent in shellac.

:)

Uh, don't use tape? The point of having tape is to have it act as a cushion...

Not realllly true.

Not realllly true.
Yea, someone else pointed out the grippiness factor. I've never used bare bars, and I like bar tape for the squishiness, so that didn't occur to me. Oops. :innocent:

Yea, someone else pointed out the grippiness factor. I've never used bare bars, and I like bar tape for the squishiness, so that didn't occur to me. Oops. :innocent:
JESUS
http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2010/4/25/129167272501845501.gif


oh and just to make this a not completely irrelevant post, i concur about the hockey tape. i used it on my road bike just for taping the ends, but it worked well and thought hockey tape could work well for the full handlebars. basically the same as cloth tape....actually thinner and probably higher thread count.

JESUS
http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2010/4/25/129167272501845501.gif
Hahahahahaha.

I wrapped leather tape over my old crappy cloth tape to give it a little more "pad". I haven't been riding on it long so the jury's still out, but I like it so far.

When I see people riding with bare bars my first thought is "newb".

JESUS
http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2010/4/25/129167272501845501.gif
Hahahahahahahaha

I like it so much that I'm putting in my sig. It's so oddly compelling; I can't stop looking at it. :twitchy:

I just bought a couple rolls of Newbaum's bar tape. I guess it's a new cloth bar tape company and they have a **** ton of colors.

Does anyone use leather and steam it? I was in a store a week or so ago and they had a colnoago with brooks leather wrapped bars and the guy said he steamed them so the tape got super tight and they had an awesome feel. I kind of want to do it with my drops


I have the Velo Orange leather stitch on, on my RB021's awesome if you like to ride bare handed but most of the time I ride with gloves so I switched Bars to O8 Bullhorns and grips to the long O8 rubber grips....much more plush. I know that tape is more traditional but I just like the feel of wearing gloves on rubber grips besides I can wear unpadded gloves and not have sore hands

When I see people riding with bare bars my first thought is "newb".

same here. that or trend humping hipster.
ive never understood why people do it...its sort of a pet peeve of mine really.

the only real reason i have gotten close to receiving why people do it (rather, dont do it....ie tape their bars) is looks.

now, ill be the first to admit, for many of us (myself definitely included) part of building up a fixed gear bike is the aesthetics. a big part. However, bikes are about function. So for me, function is first, looks a close second. Once looks come before function, i think you have lost the point of building a fixed gear bike or any bike for that matter....and some people could care less about the aesthetics and function trumps everything, more power to them.

Not taping your bars, unless someone can give me a good functional reason as to why, is purely aesthetic while being incredibly impractical. yet i see them more and more everyday.
oh well.

Hahahahahahahaha

I like it so much that I'm putting in my sig. It's so oddly compelling; I can't stop looking at it. :twitchy:

:D

http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2010/5/3/129173519446886475.gif

:D

http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2010/5/3/129173519446886475.gif
Soooo, now I know who to go to for bizarro banana related GIFs. :lol:

http://www.myfixedgear.net/wp-content/photos/Tommaso_Augusta_build_update/reg/4.jpg


What's this brake lever?

Lizard Skins DSP FTW (looks like tape, feels like grips):


Have you used it?

My lady does.

i rock grippy, padded gloves and no tape... works fine. when i have bars taped, i cant feel my bike. the gloves are a nice happy medium. when i have the money to spend on some nice leather tape, i'll probably invest...

im not much for super squishy either. i like a bit harder grip, because i always wear gloves.
anywho here is my set up....i have two kinds of tape mainly out of necessity...a friend gave me one of two rolls of brooks leather tape he didn't need, so i wrapped the brooks as far as it could go then finished with simple cheapo cloth tape i bought from rivendel bike shop.

The brooks leather tape is great because its not super squishy but feels nice, also when you wrap it creates these natural finger grooves. its pricey though, like 80 bucks for 2 rolls. i wouldnt have used it if i didn't get the one roll for free.

the cloth tape is another good option for hard tape. its super cheap, easy to wrap with since it has a tacky but not super sticky backing, and is probably the most minimal amount of cushioning.
also, something you can do to cloth tape (learned about on rivendel's blog)....get some shellac and paint it on the cloth tape a few coats, and it makes it waterproof, more resilient/durable, and sort of solidifies the tape onto the bars so you know it wont be unwrapping on you.....yet is still not too hard to remove once you want to change things up.


http://www.myfixedgear.net/wp-content/photos/Tommaso_Augusta_build_update/reg/4.jpg
http://www.myfixedgear.net/wp-content/photos/Tommaso_Augusta_build_update/reg/5.jpg

ps apparently my bars remind someone of a dog's red rocket LOLOLOL

is that a fyxation on you rear? if so how do you like it?

What's this brake lever?
dia-compe shot lever (http://www.benscycle.net/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=188_482_1208_1531&zenid=cf114cc876cff5b92be8c99dae46f132)

is that a fyxation on you rear? if so how do you like it?

yes! i really like everything about fyxation tires except for one thing: the size. they are all 700x28c.....but run more like a 32c.
i originally intended the tire for the front, but my fork can only take up to 28c tires. other 28c tires work on my fork, but not fyxations.

sucks because i would have two fyxations on my build for sure if the fork could take them. have even thought about buying another fork just for that reason, but thats a little extreme ;p

i rock grippy, padded gloves and no tape... works fine. when i have bars taped, i cant feel my bike. .

thats some hardcore rocking.