Classic & Vintage - Are you a “top-down” or a “bottom-up” kinda guy?

How do you wrap bar tape? Are you a “top-down” or a “bottom-up” kinda guy?

I was told that the proper way to install bar tape is the Park Tool way (from the bottom up) http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=71 . Most of the re-wraps on the old bikes I buy are in fact done that way.

However –I’ve noticed most of the original wraps done on these old bikes were done top-down. I have since adopted this method exclusively.

So I'm curious to know how fellow C&V'er wrap bars:
Top-down, or Bottom-up - and why?

I wrap from the bottom up. I ride in the drops a lot, and really like the feel of the edges pointing down.

I prefer to wrap from the top down when practical, it just looks better.

Top down with cloth or shellacked cork. Top up with raw cork - otherwise, the edges fold over at the hoods.

Bottom up.

I wrap from the bottom up. I ride in the drops a lot, and really like the feel of the edges pointing down.Exactly. Nothing irritates like tape wrap peeling down as I ride. I'd rather ride foam than tape peeling down....

Depends on the tape and/or the bars. Old vinyl/cloth (thin) tape, top-down. Modern, thicker tape, bottom-up. The thicker tape leaves a small hump up top if wrapped top-down, and I personally think it looks a lot cleaner to finish it on top with electrical tape. Especially if there is under-tape routed cable housing

Also, if the bars are intented for it, always bottom-up. Old steel bars with no indentation? Top-down.

Bottom up from the inside to the outside of the bar.

For years I did nothing but bottom up. I generally use Cinelli bar caps that fit over the bar end, so they get taped over to begin the wrap. If I'm using cloth tape and don't want an electrical tape or whipped finish, I just fix the end down with a bit of tire glue.

Lately, though, I've sometimes wrapped cloth tape top-down. I do like the clean look of it, especially with barcons. I haven't had a problem with edge roll, even with un-shellaced tape.

Like BBM said, though, always bottom up with cork tape.

This exactly!


Depends on the tape and/or the bars. Old vinyl/cloth (thin) tape, top-down. Modern, thicker tape, bottom-up. The thicker tape leaves a small hump up top if wrapped top-down, and I personally think it looks a lot cleaner to finish it on top with electrical tape. Especially if there is under-tape routed cable housing

Also, if the bars are intented for it, always bottom-up. Old steel bars with no indentation? Top-down.

I wrap from the bottom up. I ride in the drops a lot, and really like the feel of the edges pointing down.

+2 me too!

bottom up

For years I did nothing but bottom up. I generally use Cinelli bar caps that fit over the bar end, so they get taped over to begin the wrap. If I'm using cloth tape and don't want an electrical tape or whipped finish, I just fix the end down with a bit of tire glue.

Lately, though, I've sometimes wrapped cloth tape top-down. I do like the clean look of it, especially with barcons. I haven't had a problem with edge roll, even with un-shellaced tape.

Like BBM said, though, always bottom up with cork tape.

I have also met at the middle, and finish everything at the brake hoods. With the cost of hoods now being stupid, even expensive for reproductions, I have also taped the bars prior to the brake lever body going on, worked for Cinelli when they made the hand stitched leather bar/stem/ leather set ups.... so I figured worth a try. It had the side benefit of stopping the creak on one bike, I thought it was at the bar stem interface, but no, it was at a brake lever... never before for me. This will not work for all lever types, but it does save those fragile brake hoods.

I wrap bottom up since I heard it lasts longer than top down, and i do a turn at the brake lever.

I heard racers used to like topdown because it gave more grip, but doesn't last as long.

Depends on the tape and/or the bars. Old vinyl/cloth (thin) tape, top-down. Modern, thicker tape, bottom-up. The thicker tape leaves a small hump up top if wrapped top-down, and I personally think it looks a lot cleaner to finish it on top with electrical tape. Especially if there is under-tape routed cable housing

Also, if the bars are intented for it, always bottom-up. Old steel bars with no indentation? Top-down.

+1

Since I almost always use cotton tape or similarly thin stuff, I almost always start at the top.

what? no pics? no link to YouTube video showing how to wrap bartape?

Am I in the C & V?

Somebody used the F word in their post. the one that rhymes with loam. We don't need that kind of language here.

Bottom up, 100% of the time, always.

I like cork tape, so I am a bottoms up guy. Before cork I was always top down.

I used to wrap bottom up, but now I only wrap top down. I think it looks much cleaner because, you don't have to use electrical tape to hold the ends. I haven't noticed any difference in how long the cork wrap lasts.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu214/big_heineken/Bikes%20for%20Sale/PC152575.jpg
vs
http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu214/big_heineken/Bicycles/P8032316.jpg

Top down.

I can't tell you how happy I am we are addressing this issue of international magnitude.

I wrap both ways. It usually depends on the type of wrap. Imitation cork -- bottom up. Fizik -- top down.

Ive always started at the drops up to the top. Ive never put much or any thought into it actually though, maybe next time im wrapping a set of bars I'll try the other way to see if I like it, I like the idea of a clean look without needing finishing tape.

I was taught to wrap bottom up. although I must agree alot of lowend bikes that had prewraped bars were top down. I guess they don't have eletrical tape in Tiawan

Bottom up.

+1

Since I almost always use cotton tape or similarly thin stuff, I almost always start at the top.

Why is that? I use cotton tape occasionally and I find that if I wrap from the top the drops come unraveled.


Also I'm really happy to hear that everyone who wraps bottom up seems to use electrical tape at the tops of their bars :D that stuff they give you (presumably to wrap the ends) in a package of cork wrap is worthless.

+1

Since I almost always use cotton tape or similarly thin stuff, I almost always start at the top.
Why is that? I use cotton tape occasionally and I find that if I wrap from the top the drops come unraveled.


Well, I suppose there are lots of reasons, beginning with "well, that's how my brother showed me how to do it in 1978."

If you use cotton tape, you are used to pulling it really hard. Installed with correct tension, it does not unravel. I've never had a bar unravel.

If you use cotton tape a lot, and are used to pulling it hard, and you employ this method on cork, the tape will tear in half without warning. I hate that.

If you start your cotton tape at the top, the second revolution covers the first; when you're all done you have one inch of tape left, which you tuck into the handlebar end, then pop a plug in it. Elegance. Once you get used to that look, it's hard to stomach any method of taping that employs random bits of duck tape, electrical tape, zip ties, etc.

Is not the traditional vintage style from the top down?Is not the bottom up a newer method?

Back in the early 70s we always did top down with cloth or plastic. The bottom up practice began with the thicker, padded tapes...

for thin tape like Fizik, or cloth or plastic (Benotto) top down, I just think it looks cleaner without
the electrical tape.
For Cinelli cork I wrap bottom up to prevent the edges from curling.
I think I have to try Repchage's top/bottom meet at the brakes method, sounds
interesting.

Top down using herringbone cloth, Benotto or (my favourite) Ambrosio Bike Ribbon - pulling the tape really tight as I go and sometimes managing to cover the brake lever clips without a separate piece of tape over them - just stretch it a lot as you go. This makes the top flats of the bars really tight and grippy, I tend to twist the tape hard on difficult hills, probably poor technique but it gets me up them! Cork and foam padded tapes, bottom up with insulating tape to secure the ends near the stem. If I do these tapes top down there's a lump at the ends by the stem and the edges of the tape stick out in spirals - not very neat.

Like a lot of guys, I do both. I'm very methodical about wrapping, however. When wrapping, I do it almost entirely with function in mind, then form (which is no small consideration, despite being secondary in priority). Here are my techniques and reasoning:

On bikes with aero levers/hidden cables - I usually wrap bottom up with standard technique. Depending on whether the levers have proper hoods, I might wrap the hood bodies in a manner to create a smoother, more seamless transition from bar to hood. If I'm in a hurry, I could just as well go top down. On bikes with non-aero/non-hidden cables - With a grooved bar, I will fasten the cables in the grooves with electrical tape, in four locations per side. This prevents the cables from walking, and allows the wrap to stay tighter over time because the cable are already secured to the bar before the wrap is tensioned. Sometimes, I will use cable housing, (or event the fill-blocks that you can buy for that purpose), for the extra groove on double grooved bars, sometimes not. It depends on the intended rider's preference and hand size. Without a grooved bar, I usually place/tape the cable(s) in a smooth, consistent line along the bar top, in a manner thatcreates a sort of shelf that, when wrapped, feels kind of like the top of an FSA Wing Pro bar.

Top down - I would like to say that I only wrap top down when I'm in a hurry, but that wouldn't be true. These days, I wrap top down quite often. Reasons:

It's faster - That's convenient if I have a problem while I'm out riding. I find myself making minor adjustments a lot when I first build a bike. I can wrap a drop bar in a little as two and a half minutes this way.
It holds better - When done right, it will stay in place for as long as you have the bar end plugs in.
It can be fixed without supplies- Also handy on the road.
It can be re-used - If I'm trying out a new combination, I don't want to waste a whole set of expensive bar tape just for one occasion. I reuse bar tape as often as tires, tubes, Velox rim strips, lightly used chains, etc. I spend virtually nothing on consumables for my bikes.
It's cleaner - With the exception of the edges facing up, it will wrap more neatly with less effort than bottoms up. I don't use e-tape anywhere, and if I do it right, it will hold itself in place, even without have to use the adhesive backing. It's especially useful for aero cable routing because you don't have the e-tape gaps by the stem.

Bottom up - I do this when I am sure that I wont be changing anything for a while. I usually do it very carefully and make it ornate when I do.

Any time I wrap a bar, I reverse at the hoods so that the tape is rotated outward (tightened) when riding. Sometimes, I use the small pieces of tape on the back of the brake lever, sometimes I don't need them. My method changes based on the material/brand of the tape too.


*I just realized how much I was writing on the subject. Darned OCD!

Top down always....just because.