dbg

Boy, I've just never liked the electrical tape type stuff they supply with bar wrap. It doesn't stay on. It gets wrinkled or twisted. It's ugly. I've been borrowing a technique from ancient golf clubmaking called "whipping." ("ancient" because nobody uses actual wooden woods anymore, and the metals don't need whipping)

I've supplied a picture here. It uses nylon cord with each end tucked under the previous turns. There's a special (simple) technique to turn the ends under. The picture shown was a little more tedious because the wrap stopped at one of those in-line brakes on the bar tops.

I wonder if others have favorite ways besides that yucky electrical tape stuff,

Landgolier

Back In The Day™ they were all done like this, using hemp or cotton twine that was then shellaced. Amazing decorative wraps are possible, as well, check out a custom-made fishing rod some time.

Coyote!

Hey Dbg,

Too cool! You're right about the electrical tape. . .seems like a ratty way to finish an otherwise neat process. Man, I'm already lookin' for an excuse to use it! Simplicity itself.

BTW, is this what you're talking about?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_whipping or
https://www.inquiry.net/images/whip.jpg

spider-man

I use hemp twine, as mentioned above.

HillRider

Right. I used to make fishing rods and the decorative thread work shown in some of the trade magazines was staggering in its complexity.

dbg

That is an effective way. The golf club technique is a little different. You start with one end laid underneath and start your wrapping over it. That end eventually is completely covered. When you near the other end you lay a completely separate loop of the same material down and keep wrapping the last 10 or so turns over it. Pass the final end through the loop and pull the loop out. Now both ends will be tucked under the adjacent 10 turns or so. Trim if necessary but golf tradition usually cuts the final end so it will terminate under the previous turns. It is a very clean look.

The other advice might be to use actual golf club whipping material (golfsmith.com or golfworks.com) because it is a little stretchy and a little tacky. Those qualities allow the tight whipping to hold onto itself.

Grand Bois

I just did the same thing with black braided shoe laces:

https://community.webshots.com/photo/...68014369jHohCP

Cowhorn bars should be wrapped starting from the center to keep the edges of the tape oriented the right way since they're " backwards".

dobber

Thanks for the description, now I can visualize the process.

hodadmike

Dig out the trusty Boy Scout Handbook for a diagram of whipping rope, it's no different from a handlebar application. It's still a Tenderfoot requirement in the current book.

Grand Bois

I brush on Elmer's glue to bind it all together so it can't come loose and then shellac it to make it water proof.

OLDYELLR

Yeah, anyone who was in the Boy Scouts ought to know how to do whipping (at least we did 50 years ago). However, what I do is secure the end of the tape with crazy glue (too lazy to look up the spelling of the proper term) and then just cover it with the sticky tape provided (or electrical tape if you like).

Of course, if you tape your bars the easy (wrong) way, finishing at the ends, you don't have to worry about this.

Scooper

I've done it the "wrong" way for years; I start at the head and finish at the ends using shrink tubing.

Grand Bois

I did it the wrong way since I was taught to do it that way when I worked in a bike shop in the late '70s. Someone recently pointed out to me that your hands tend to lift the edges of the tape on the drops when they're wrapped that way. He was right, but it was never a problem for me because I don't use the drops that much.

Bockman

Sorry for the huge photo... One nice way to finish it off with tape is to roll the stem-side edge over before wrapping:

OLDYELLR

I see where Scooper uses barcon shifters and probably spends more time riding down on the drops. In this case the "wrong" way may be better, because his hands are not pushing against the exposed edge of the tape. Yes, most new bikes have tape wrapped this way because it's easier and cheaper. It takes more time and skill to finish the wrapping in the middle, so I can see why a bike shop wouldn't want their employees spending time doing it that way. I used to start from the middle also for decades until I found out why the tape kept separating at the first bend and started doing it the "right" way. I used to ride down on the drops when I raced, but nowadays I spend 99% of the time on the tops, the first bend or the brake hoods, which is why I wrap the tape the way I do.

Sluggo

If you start in the middle, you can stuff the end under the end plugs (a little trickier with bar end shifters, but still possible). This is the easiest and most elegant way to do it. Anything else is makeshift, even if elaborate.

I use cloth tape. Maybe this approach won't work with the thick plastic stuff.

operator

Regular electrical tape is fine, the wire bounding stuff looks kind of excessive imho. Especially the bar tape protruding past said bound.

Ready to Ruck

electrical tape, i love. it's a clean end to it. Plus I use it to tape on beer bottle caps as bar ends. hehe

Grand Bois

Some people just don't get it.

Wil Davis

Electrical tape for finishing the ends. Also (as per ParkTools site), start drops at the end using reversed electrical tape to add durability to those bits which get extra wear. I used reversed electrical tape for the top bends of the bars also; it adds extra thickness to the wrap making the bars more comfortable.

Here's how I finished the Trekking bars on my MTB: