White bar tape
05-06-15, 08:31 PM
#1
That Huffy Guy
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White bar tape
I know that white bar tape is a no no if you do not like the sight of dirt, but this particular bike I have looks good with the white seat, paint trim, and bar tape. The bar tape on it now is cotton or cloth and it's impossible to clean and looks like hell. Would a white colored bar tape of a better material be easier to clean and stay cleaner longer? I will also buy new riding gloves when I get the tape. Will something like this product be good?
Amazon.com : Fizik Performance Bar Tape, Soft Touch White : Bike Handlebar Tape : Sports & Outdoors
Anyone with experience with white tape, please chime in. If need be, I can go black and change the rest of the color scheme, but I don't really want to.......
Amazon.com : Fizik Performance Bar Tape, Soft Touch White : Bike Handlebar Tape : Sports & Outdoors
Anyone with experience with white tape, please chime in. If need be, I can go black and change the rest of the color scheme, but I don't really want to.......
05-06-15, 08:39 PM
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If you're going to go with white tape, the Fizik Microtex stuff may be the easiest stuff to keep white(ish). I have it on one bike and it's still looking good after a year of light use.
05-06-15, 09:54 PM
#3
Constant tinkerer
I mostly use Planet Bike gel tape. I have white on one bike, it's not too terrible but does get dirty. Much better than cotton tape though, I imagine.
And now that I've answered your question... A Huffy enthusiast, really? May I ask why?
And now that I've answered your question... A Huffy enthusiast, really? May I ask why?
05-07-15, 12:07 AM
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Use Fizik Microtek in white. Their soft touch is like suede & gets chalky looking after awhile.
05-07-15, 05:40 AM
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Fizik white tape on two bikes, stays white and easy to spray with a cleaner and wipe off. I don't recall the type I have, it is the standard Fizik, not the soft or the super light.
05-07-15, 05:43 AM
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It's the bike I grew up on because my parents were poor, but the Huffy never let me down. It's the first bike I started riding when I got back into cycling recently and again, the Huffy never let me down unlike 2 other "better bikes" that let me down several times. Ashtabula crank for the win!
05-07-15, 05:46 AM
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ride what you like, lemon pledge works well as a white tape cleaner, and helps keep it clean. I have white tape on 3 of my bikes.
05-07-15, 06:40 AM
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I have used white on many bikes. Love the look. I was always able to keep it respectable looking by cleaning with a diluted solution of Simple Green. Worked great!
05-07-15, 08:51 AM
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05-08-15, 07:03 AM
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I have SRAM supersuede white tape on a couple of my bikes and love it. When it gets dirty, I just use a little Dawn dish soap in warm water and scrub with an old tooth brush, then wipe it down with a towel.
05-08-15, 08:16 AM
#12
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I've always had white bar tape, like the pvc type material rather than cork, and to keep it white I always wipe the tape off with some Simple Green, then brighten it back up with a dab of toothpaste--works on white saddles too.
05-08-15, 08:27 AM
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I know that white bar tape is a no no if you do not like the sight of dirt, but this particular bike I have looks good with the white seat, paint trim, and bar tape. The bar tape on it now is cotton or cloth and it's impossible to clean and looks like hell. Would a white colored bar tape of a better material be easier to clean and stay cleaner longer? I will also buy new riding gloves when I get the tape. Will something like this product be good?
Amazon.com : Fizik Performance Bar Tape, Soft Touch White : Bike Handlebar Tape : Sports & Outdoors
Anyone with experience with white tape, please chime in. If need be, I can go black and change the rest of the color scheme, but I don't really want to.......
Amazon.com : Fizik Performance Bar Tape, Soft Touch White : Bike Handlebar Tape : Sports & Outdoors
Anyone with experience with white tape, please chime in. If need be, I can go black and change the rest of the color scheme, but I don't really want to.......
I just got the Lizard Skin on this bike (this is 'new bike day' photo). I like the tape, but it's too new to say how clean it will stay. My wife has the celeste green Lizard Skin on her bike, it's stayed clean for being a lighter color. For the two bikes with Lizard Skin, they are both dry day bikes and don't see much dirt.
05-08-15, 08:42 AM
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Just to butt in. I love the look of white tape, especially with white hoods...
However, I know me, and white would never look good for long enough to be worth the effort.
But to the subject of the thread, my suspicion is that the tape that feels best (at least to me) will be hardest to keep clean, because the best feeling tape is pretty porous. Go with a slick/nonporous tape and you should be able to keep it clean(ish).
However, I know me, and white would never look good for long enough to be worth the effort.
But to the subject of the thread, my suspicion is that the tape that feels best (at least to me) will be hardest to keep clean, because the best feeling tape is pretty porous. Go with a slick/nonporous tape and you should be able to keep it clean(ish).
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05-14-15, 06:09 PM
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I figured I would order the new brake levers and bar tape and replace it after I can't take it anymore. Less than 100 miles later and ewwww................
05-14-15, 06:36 PM
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If you want to stay with cotton and the vintage aesthetic, I hear that shellac make it very easy to clean.
05-14-15, 10:18 PM
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Fizik performance 3mm tape is still clean on my adventure bike even after adventures that involved a mountain bike park. I wash it off with a hose.
05-14-15, 10:33 PM
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White bar tape (or any non-black shade for that matter) requires being at peace with the looks after it gets a little dirty. 
The leather-y types will resist staining longer, but you'll still need to clean them occasionally.
The leather-y types will resist staining longer, but you'll still need to clean them occasionally.
05-15-15, 02:43 AM
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I've used BBB raceribbon carbon (polyurethane) in white and BBB raceribbon (synthetic cork) in white also. PU is easy to clean with any liquid at your disposal (including plain water without surfractants), but I'll never ever again buy anything made of that synthetic cork drek. After first 100 km my shiny bike started to look like trash from the nearest junkyard. Impossible to clean up and also I absoulutely HATE the feel of that "soft touch" surface.
Last edited by Lonesome rider; 05-15-15 at 02:51 AM.
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