Help with bar tape - end plug hell
 

Like a lot of you, I try to do my own home brew maintenance and try to do my best.

I'm failing miserably.

How do you get the bartape to sit nicely within the bar plug? I keep getting an ugly tab that sticks out..
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a25110d299.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4cd32bb982.jpg
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^ this. I actually trim an angled piece from the beginning end, so that the first wrap starts at ~5/16" and gets wider for about 3" until it is full width. That way, there's no thickness resulting from the initial turn around the bar end. The plug fits flush against the trimmed edge of the tape.

I hadn't wrapped a bar in twenty years so and If you don't do it often you lose your skill for doing it well and the little do's and don't you learn with experience. This video gave some good thoughts and considerations when I needed to wrap the bars for my Paramount back circa 2016, this was the most helpful vid for me.

https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair...tion-drop-bars

Little long, sometimes he goes off on tangents I don't care about, but in general the most all around informative at the time that I found. The wrap I put on my Paramount back then still looks good.

I find the best tool is a large rubber mallet, sometimes it takes a few tries, just stuff the excess into the bar, if it’s a lot, I’ll trim it a bit.
Better quality plugs help too, I throw away, the ones that come with the tape, I use the Cinelli ones, but others work well too.
Both pics are 3mm padded tape installations.
Tim


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I start at the end of the bar, cutting the end of the tape at an angle. wrap so the edge of the tape is flush with the end of the bar, no tucking needed. I use aluminum plugs with an expanding wedge instead of the press-in plastic bits.

wrap/
 

tried more overhang material? maybe 1/4" more will solve the issue then bring out the rubber mallet.

I do at least one full wrap with the tape half overhanging the end of the bar. This gives me more tape to tuck inside the bar, and I can tuck all the way around.

I'm trying to envision this. Do you need to use a small piece of adhesive tape to attach the end to the bar? Or do you just run the first wrap tightly around itself?

I start the wrap with a little overlap and then use a blade to trim it flush with the bar end. Way cleaner and no trying to stuff bar tape into the hole.

Since you can't stuff the tape in when using bar ends, I do it this way and try to get that first wrap really tight on the inside of the bar, past the cable housing. It's come loose on me anywhere else.

No. I hold the thinnest end of the taper at about the 6:00 position beneath the bar end, and then begin wrapping over the outside and then inboard, with the standard overlap. If the taper was trimmed correctly, this gives an even overlap without bunching at the bar end. It sounds more complicated than it really is. I wish that I had taken photos. I've done this a hundred times or more...

I use carpet tape to hold the end until the bar is wrapped. I then cut it square and use this type of plug. Problem solved.

Amazon.com : Domain Cycling Aluminum Bike Handlebar Bar End Plugs, Expanding Adjustable Locking Caps, Road Bicycle Grip Mountain BMX MTB Fixie (Black) : Sports & Outdoors

Are you wrapping backwards...I mean from the top down to the drops?

I wrap from the bottom up as per the Park method.

What do you need the tape for then?

+1, and quite obvious that the tape was/is too short, I have never seen the need to cut the tape and the plug end.
DWYWTD
Ben

It holds the handle bar tape in place until I am finished. I then cut the excess flush with the bar end and install the plugs. I don't have fancy ones I use old fashion rubber ones.
Similar to these. Handlebar Plugs - Nitto, Silver – Rivendell Bicycle Works (rivbike.com)

I still don't see the need for any tape. I cut the taper across the tape so the 'finished' (non cut) edge is at the end of the bar, it looks way better this way. As soon as you start wrapping the tape holds itself, so no tape. Been doing it like this for over 20 years. I can't see how cutting the tape after wrapping looks good at all.

Never bothered cutting a taper in the tape to start, just hold the end at 6 o'clock and wrap from there which does result in a small bulge but I like having it at the end and envision it being useful should my hand slip back even though that's never happened. Taping down the start isn't something I've ever needed to do with my bikes, I did do it for the 30 track bikes I did that are all ridden by kids, turns out when they get dropped a lot they start unraveling.

Thanks for all the help guys! It sounds like I'll employ an exacto knife and trim it down to shape. Currently, I'm not envisioning any way that the little flap wouldn't occur while it's folded inside. No matter what there will be a crossover from the folded bit to the outside wrap

Will report back in a bit!

You've probably already cut it, but Calvin Jones' demo in wrapping bars reminds me to stretch the hell out of the tape at the end of the bar, so that it puckers into the hole. Stretch and wrap as tight as you can there, even if you won't be wrapping the rest of the bars with white-knuckle force.

I wrap the tape flush and use Nitto plugs which clamp in place.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...bd8ccc9db.jpeg

Don't do that with DSP Lizard Skins and some other tapes...you'll instantly turn a $40.00 job into an $80.00 job.

As always, follow the manufacturer's directions when installing. Doesn't Lizard Skins tape include a warning not to stretch their tape when installing? That would be your first clue.

OP's tape is EVA backed PU tape, and similar to Supacaz Sticky Kush tape. Stretching for install is advised. Calvin's advice here is to take a piece of tape before wrapping and pulling on it to see how much stretch it can take before installing, since cheaper EVA/cork tapes will tear before EVA/PU tapes will.

Unwrap it and red-do it so you have enough material to stuff in the ends. Whenever I start a wrap, I always check to see what it looks like before I continue on. One way to check is to start a wraps and stick the bar end plug in before you continue. That way if it looks weird, you can redo it until it looks right. Putting the plug in before your continue will also help those who feel like they need tape to hold it while they wrap.

+1. After wrapping up the bar 5-6 times, stop and put the bar ends to make sure it works and you don't need to re-wrap.

For the other idea of just wrapping flush, with no tuck, I thought typical recommendation was just to run a bit double-sided tape at the end of the bar before beginning, especially if you're going to trim off excess overhang.

I start with the tape angled to progress up the bar, with about half the width overhanging the end. Wrap clockwise on the right and counterclockwise on the left. No trimming needed. Only wrap a few turns before tucking the tape in and placing the plug. No need to pull very tight either. A small screwdriver might help push the tape in around the plug, when it's half way in. If tape doesn't look neat, try again. I had to relearn after 8 years off the bike.

I never 'tuck' the tape in the end of the bar. Mainly I just don't like the way it looks. I cut a taper off the side that will get wrapped over, NOT the end of the bar. Looks much better this way. No need for tape at the end to hold it, just wrap over itself. I never use the short piece for the shifter clamp either, it's just not needed. I do the 'figure 8' instead.
https://i.imgur.com/4sGJjO8l.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/3ytHvepl.jpg

Those of you who start at the ends- don't you end up having to put ugly tape on the top of the bar?
I always start at the top and finish at the bottom, and hammer in the end cap to hold the tape in, just as the manufacturer intended. No need for any tape.

If you start at the top the edges of the tape can get rolled up from your hands pushing down...common knowledge. That's why 99% of the time tape is put on from the bottom up. The only tape I've ever done like you do it is Benotto.