frantik

ok i guess this is a mini rant, but i really think most C&V bikes don't look good with "finishing strips" .. in fact i don't understand why most instructions on the web seem to recommend wrapping from the drops to tops on drop bars..

I wrap from the tops to drops and you don't have to use electrical tape or anything to hold the bar tape in place, but this doesn't seem the be the norm.. whats up with that?

two bikes i've wrapped lately

Ex Pres 

The edges will peel up on "modern" tape in the curves after you ride with your hands there a few times.

wrk101

+1 To that.

I wrap from the bottom up, and use clear silicone tape to finish it off. It looks great IMHO and it doesn't peel up in the heat of the south like electrical tape tends to.

frantik

the first time i wrapped a bike i saw the potential for that, but every time since then i've wrapped the tape as tight as possible and it doesn't seem like it's going anywhere. my ironman still looks good and wrapped it top to bottom.. though i did add electrical tape as an accent on my ironman for aesthetics. the blank finishing strips are ok, but the ones with logos really bug me

bbattle

Electrical tape is your buddy and it comes in lots of colors or you can use the included finishing strips to cover what you've done. I like to wrap around the bars three or four times.

I wrap drop to top and use the cheater strips around the brake lever band on the handlebars. The bartape is like roof shingles; you want the top edge covered.

There was a thread or two or three here about using twine to finish off the bartape. Similar to what Rivendell pushes on their website. Looks cool but probably not with white bartape.

Capecodder

When you wrap from Top to Drop if feels better too. Just be sure to use GOOD QUALITY electrical tape like Scotch Super 33+ or it just won't hold.

gaucho777 

Ditto to others above: I agree that, over time, the edges of the wrap will start to curl when wrapping from top to drops.

Frantik, what tape are you using, btw? I'm looking for something similar to what you have on the DiamondBack, but not too pricey.

You may also want to check out this recent thread on the same topic:
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...e-Selection%29

marley mission

colored electrical tape looks good imo



btw - i LOVE white tape but dang it can be hard to keep clean

old's'cool

Come again??? When you wrap from the top to the drop, why is any electrical tape needed?

I've wrapped three bars the old way, from the top to the drop with the new style, (Nashbar) foam tape (good-n-tight), and have had no issues with the tape lifting up on the curves.

Chombi

I wrap from brake levers outwards to the top and the ends of the bar. I think most people end up applying a slight forward pushing force from their hands when at the drops as it curls up towards the brake lever body and the opposite goes for the top protion of the bar above the brake levers. Doing this, I never had any problems with the bar tape peeling open or apart. Learned aobut this in the 80's form some article I read and it works.
I always use black electrical tape than go over it with the logoed finishing tape that comes with the bar tape kits as those things don't stick to well, specially under the heat of the sun.

Chombi

frantik

the pics i posted were both "Serfas" brand, my LBS charges $12 for it, but the owner gives me a discount on tape i buy for flips . The Serfas brand stuff looks really nice imo, a step up from the Origin8 which i've used previously which is usually $11

randyjawa 

I have been using the electrical tape for years and recently started using colored tape. Seen here, a single layer of black to seal the handlebar tape to the bars and then full width red, leaving a narrow end of black exposed. Looks pretty good, I think...


Couldn't afford a set of Universal Hoods at the time so I repeated the electrical black under red for pseudo hoods...

auchencrow

I would not wrap any bars from the top-down with with modern spongy tape for the reason cited - but I have wrapped countless bars with Velox/Bike Ribbon from the top-down, and never had one peel up.

Some people like the decorative treatments you can do with colored tape or twine at the center and these look nice, when they are well executed.

frantik

nice.. i've thought about ways to do "pin striping" on the ends but couldn't think of any way that i thought would be durable. that looks really nice

rhm

I'm with you, Frantik. We start at the top. We stick the end into the open end of the handlebar, plug it, and done. Anyone who says otherwise isn't worth talking to about bicycles.

satbuilder 

Just finished wrapping the bars on the Mexico tonight. Hope to finish her off by the weekend. Mercier bars are done. I used Benotto cello tape, from the top down. Every bike I from the '70's I remember being wrapped that way, but back then I wasn't paying so much attention.

I'll see how it holds up. If it doesn't then it's on to the cloth tape, a direction change and maybe I'll use fishing rod wrapping thread to finish off the bars.

If I recall correctly, Jobst Brandt weighed in on bar tape wrapping. Found it on google.

frantik

so far no problems on my modern spongy tape.. thought it's only been a few months:

northbend 

It doesn't have to be ugly

Snydermann

I'm a purist, so I agree, I wrap from the top down on my vintage bikes. But then again, almost any deviation from stock sticks out, to me, like a sore thumb. I think I must have developed that taste for detailed originality during my tenure restoring vintage and antique cars.

thenomad

I find electrical tape far less ugly than levers with no hoods.

RobbieTunes

I ride the drops, wrap from the drops up, use colored electrical tape or black depending on the scheme of the bike.

I seriously like LizardSkin wrap, and I doubt it matters which way you wrap with that.

I often buy whatever's on sale, but a certain BF member sent me some Fizik, and that stuff is pretty darn great, too.

Snydermann

That's the truth. Unless it's a lower-end bike with extension levers that didn't have hoods, then for some reason it doesn't bother me. A super-modern saddle on a vintage ride really bugs me, I understand the reason for the modern saddle, but at least swap it out for vintage picture day. I have an appreciation for even a crappy original saddle.

j0ew00ds

Electrical tape? Heck no, I hate that stuff no matter the color. Twine all the way, warp from bottom to top.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/j0ew00d...n/photostream/

Italuminium

The finishing bits on my fade pelten tape in the rainbow stripes look awesome with the rainbow bands on the frame of my ALAN. No pics, I'm at the office

rootboy 

I always used to wrap from the top down, then stick a Velox in there. Never cared for the plastic look of electrical tape and feared it would ooze stickiness when hot and aged. I recently tried this.