etherhuffer 

How do you wrap these, as the bar end shifter eats up all the space in the tube. Reverse the direction of wrap?

Steev

I start at the bar-end and wrap towards the stem, finishing with a short piece of tape.

c_m_shooter

+1 on this. I just trim the tape even with the end of the bar, then install the shifter. I had my doubts the first time I tried it, but the tape stays tight, even on my mountain bike.

HillRider

I always start wrapping at the bar end whether using barend shifters or just end plugs and i never tuck the bar tape into the bar ends.

I use a short piece of electrical tape to fix the bar tape at the start and do one wrap over the end of the bar tape to lock it in place, then proceed up the bars as usual.

operator

No. Instead of overwrapping the end in anticipation of stuffing a plug inn. Cut the tape so that it starts nicely and use a piece of electrical tape underneath so it doesn't unravel. Very clean start this way if done properly.

etherhuffer 

Thanks all! Anyone remember the 70's and the plastic tape on Schwinns? Yes, it was crap, but if you were a student at UW in Seattle, it was the one product that didn't rot off the bars in a couple of months in the rain. The 70's were so bizarre......

sonatageek

I start from the bar end and go up.

I do an inch or so of the bar end with electrical tape, sticky side up, wrapped the opposite direction that the bar wrap will go in. I then do one full circle around with the bar tape at the bottom and then work up as normal. Holds nice and tight and looks tidy.

chapel

how do you run the wires under the tape?

lostarchitect 

You install the shifters first, and wrap the tape over the cable housing.

chapel

and how do you keep the tape from unraveling if you're not using the bar end plugs? just tape em?

bikeman715

Yes you just tape them .

chapel

Ok, cool. thanks.
gotta find a good color to go with my tape...

Grand Bois

I use cloth tape and tuck it into the ends of the bars. There's no problem.

bobotech

I don't understand. Proper method is to START at the bar end, NOT the top and wrap up to the stem. So the ends would never unravel because you are wrapping over the starting piece by the bar end.

dbg

I have borrowed a technique from golf club building and have done some "whipping" at both ends of the bar wrap instead of electrical tape. It's a little tedious but can look very nice. But I admit I don't do it anymore. Just electrical tape lately. Although I'm restoring an old Mel Pinto tandem and will be doing the bar wrap today or tomorrow (bar end shifters). I may try "whipping" again.

https://www.facebook.com/video/video...=1624456007160 (long video but good description)

chapel

oh yeah... I guess what I meant was how do you flush it all out at the bar end. normally I leave a bunch at the end to stuff into the bar end and jam a plug in there.

bradtx

etherhuffer, There are two popular styles of wrapping handle bars with bar end shifters. One is where the shifter cable housing runs to the stem and the other where it runs out the drops. Either way the wrap is started at the shifter and I complete a 360 degree wrap to hold the end before angling the tape to move up on the bars.

Brad

Grand Bois

Pretend the bar end shifter is a plug.

bikemig 

No. 1. That's how I do it as well.

fietsbob

Short piece of tape then first wrap of the bar tape covers it , and then continue up the bar from there..
Where do you want the shift cable to come out from under the tape,? there are options..

peterw_diy

I'd say at least three -- (1) exiting by the stem, (2) exiting far enough below the drops that riding in the drops means putting your hands between the shifter housing and the brake hoods (nicely illustrated by your pic), and (3) exiting close enough to the drops that riding in the drops means holding the bar and housing. Both bikes I've bought that came with bar ends had the housing exiting high enough that riding in the drops meant holding the tape & housing.

How to wrap the tape is easy -- deciding where you want the housing to emerge from the tape, and whether you want to cross the housing at the head tube (and cables under the down tube), those are the contentious questions.

I prefer far enough below the drops that riding in the drops means not holding housing, and not crossing the housing/cables.

dbg, thanks for that whipping video. Looks like something the Grant/Riv crowd might love, and far nicer than electrical tape that's starting to unravel and reveal sticky residue. Plus, hey, I have white thread lying around but no white electrical tape. And so another chore is added to the list...

bradtx

I fixed some turn signal stalks after my grandson beheaded a couple on my motorcycle with heat shrink tubing. The 1" diameter wasn't large enough to use to finish a wrap, but I'm going to find some 1.25-1.5" and try that on my project bike.

Brad

dscheidt

Rivendell has (or had) a video that shows how they do twine wraps. They (and I, and most I've seen) use much coarser twine than that video, and the distance whipped is shorter, so you can use just the first loop to pull the end back underneath. Works fine, lasts a while. One or more of mine always fail (the twine breaks in the middle somewhere) before the bar tape wears out, and has to be done again. Good time to touch up the shellac, too.

rsacilotto

I cut the tape diagonally about 3 inches, leaving about 1/4" width at the flush end. The cut will be even with the end of the bar while wrapping at an angle. I start the tape on the inside, wrapping over the top toward the outside. I don't use any fastening (like elec. tape), but I do try to put extra tension on the tape to keep it from unraveling. So far, I haven't had any trouble. As far as exit point, I have been running the cable all the way to the top of the bar, works well for me.