Getting away a minute from the people weighing in with their unsolicited opinons on bar-end shifters, the key to good handlebar taping with bar-ends is to start at the top rather than the bottom.

Starting at the top, tape as you would any bike, past the brake levers and down to the where the shift housings depart from the drops. Do an extra turn UNDER the shift housing and then lay the shift housing on this extra turn and now continue taping the bar OVER the shift housing until you reach the end of the bar.

If you go from the bottom to the top you will always have a gap or will have to slot the tape. Going from the top to the bottom gives you a nice overlap at the exit point.

Many do run the shift housings all the way up the bar but the standard housings that ship with the bar-ends aren't long enough. The standard way is to have the housings exit the bar at the spot where bar transitions from the curve to the straight of the drop.

- Mark