What color tape?
02-03-14, 03:53 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
What color tape?
After 20 years of mountain biking I bought my first road bike last July and have put about 2500 miles on it. I'm about to have the bar re-taped but not sure whether to go with white as it is now, well actually a dingy gray on top near the hoods, or switch to black so it doesn't show as much grime. I typically wipe the bars pretty good after each ride but it still looks dirty. But with so much white on the bike I'm not sure how it would look. Any suggestions?
02-03-14, 03:56 PM
#3
South Carolina Ed
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Greer, SC
Posts: 3,889
Bikes: Holdsworth custom, Macario Pro, Ciocc San Cristobal, Viner Nemo, Cyfac Le Mythique, Giant TCR, Tommasso Mondial, Cyfac Etoile
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 344 Post(s)
Liked 291 Times
in
138 Posts
Black. You really don't have a choice. Nice looking bike!
02-03-14, 04:09 PM
#4
Full Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Indiana
Posts: 353
Bikes: '84 Paramount, '89 Schwinn 754, '13 Specialized RockHopper, Trek Domane 4.3
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 10 Times
in
3 Posts
black definitely. You could do red but black would be better.
02-03-14, 04:11 PM
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 23,208
Mentioned: 89 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18883 Post(s)
Liked 10,646 Times
in
6,054 Posts
Black.
I have red bar tape on a red bike, it's too loud.
I have red bar tape on a red bike, it's too loud.
02-03-14, 04:14 PM
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Central OH
Posts: 152
Bikes: Lauf True Grit; Trek Madone, Domane and Checkpoint; EMB-505
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times
in
1 Post
Black is probably a safe choice. But red would look really sharp if it pretty closes matches the shade on the bike. Think outside the box and maybe a blue tape would be a nice, eye-catching addition to your bike.
02-03-14, 04:16 PM
#8
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 28,682
Bikes: 1990 Romic Reynolds 531 custom build, Merlin Works CR Ti custom build, super light Workswell 066 custom build
Mentioned: 109 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6556 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 58 Times
in
36 Posts
You will never improve on what you have now. White is right! I don't mean in general, I mean here. Black will make the bike look totally dull and uninteresting, even with a black saddle. Just learn to re-tape and stock up on white tape at a good price when you can. REAL cyclists re-tape their own bars. 
02-03-14, 04:36 PM
#9
SuperGimp
Bah, I have a white bike (with some black) and the black bartape and saddle don't look off at all.
What you have right now is a color known as "future black"
Having said that, if you can get tape with a non-fuzzy finish you can probably keep white tape cleaner for quite a while. The fizik stuff I use is pretty easy to wipe down. Of course, it's black, which is like never having to say you're sorry.
What you have right now is a color known as "future black"
Having said that, if you can get tape with a non-fuzzy finish you can probably keep white tape cleaner for quite a while. The fizik stuff I use is pretty easy to wipe down. Of course, it's black, which is like never having to say you're sorry.
02-03-14, 04:53 PM
#10
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Oregon
Posts: 105
Bikes: 1974 Raleigh International, 1982 Trek 730, 2006 Co-Motion Americano, 2013 Surly Troll
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 13 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Blue would look cool here.
02-03-14, 05:39 PM
#11
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 28,682
Bikes: 1990 Romic Reynolds 531 custom build, Merlin Works CR Ti custom build, super light Workswell 066 custom build
Mentioned: 109 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6556 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 58 Times
in
36 Posts
Bah, I have a white bike (with some black) and the black bartape and saddle don't look off at all.
What you have right now is a color known as "future black"
Having said that, if you can get tape with a non-fuzzy finish you can probably keep white tape cleaner for quite a while. The fizik stuff I use is pretty easy to wipe down. Of course, it's black, which is like never having to say you're sorry.
What you have right now is a color known as "future black"
Having said that, if you can get tape with a non-fuzzy finish you can probably keep white tape cleaner for quite a while. The fizik stuff I use is pretty easy to wipe down. Of course, it's black, which is like never having to say you're sorry.
02-03-14, 05:57 PM
#13
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Atlanta GA
Posts: 2,844
Bikes: '13 Spech Roubaix SL4 Expert
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 297 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
02-03-14, 06:01 PM
#14
well hello there
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Point Loma, CA
Posts: 15,430
Bikes: Bill Holland (Road-Ti), Fuji Roubaix Pro (back-up), Bike Friday (folder), Co-Motion (tandem) & Trek 750 (hybrid)
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 503 Post(s)
Liked 336 Times
in
206 Posts
If you want it to look like every other trek, then go for the black tape.
__________________
.
.
Two wheels good. Four wheels bad.
.
.
Two wheels good. Four wheels bad.
02-03-14, 06:18 PM
#15
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: D'uh... I am a Cutter
Posts: 6,139
Bikes: '17 Access Old Turnpike Gravel bike, '14 Trek 1.1, '13 Cannondale CAAD 10, '98 CAD 2, R300
Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1571 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 12 Times
in
9 Posts
Black, white, blue.... it's a beautiful bicycle... any of those tape colors will be fine. But with such a white bicycle... you shouldn't hesitate to wash the bike often. And if you break out the hose and bucket a little more often the white bike will look nicer... and white tape easier to keep white.
If you take the time to review a couple YouTube videos on taping your handlebars yourself.... you can replace them yourself in just minutes. Buying bar tape on the Internet and putting it on yourself (along with regular washing) would allow you to keep that great "factory fresh" look.
If you take the time to review a couple YouTube videos on taping your handlebars yourself.... you can replace them yourself in just minutes. Buying bar tape on the Internet and putting it on yourself (along with regular washing) would allow you to keep that great "factory fresh" look.
02-03-14, 08:08 PM
#18
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 28,682
Bikes: 1990 Romic Reynolds 531 custom build, Merlin Works CR Ti custom build, super light Workswell 066 custom build
Mentioned: 109 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6556 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 58 Times
in
36 Posts
02-03-14, 10:04 PM
#20
Full Member
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Indiana
Posts: 353
Bikes: '84 Paramount, '89 Schwinn 754, '13 Specialized RockHopper, Trek Domane 4.3
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 10 Times
in
3 Posts
Blue would look too much like painter's tape...
02-03-14, 10:25 PM
#21
Still can't climb
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Limey in Taiwan
Posts: 23,024
Mentioned: 25 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 12 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 6 Times
in
6 Posts
red and when you replace the tyres, make them red too. that would be awsome.
__________________
coasting, few quotes are worthy of him, and of those, even fewer printable in a family forum......quote 3alarmer
No @coasting, you should stay 100% as you are right now, don't change a thing....quote Heathpack
coasting, few quotes are worthy of him, and of those, even fewer printable in a family forum......quote 3alarmer
No @coasting, you should stay 100% as you are right now, don't change a thing....quote Heathpack
02-04-14, 07:42 AM
#25
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Oregon
Posts: 105
Bikes: 1974 Raleigh International, 1982 Trek 730, 2006 Co-Motion Americano, 2013 Surly Troll
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 13 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Bright yellow, totally rock this bike.