I recently bought a Profile Design flat topped carbon drop bar, mainly because I got a great price on it (it's the same weight as my aluminum bar) and I'm always looking to reduce some wear on my somewhat arthritic thumbs. Anyway, my question really revolves around how to wrap them as you wrap only just past the hoods to where the handle bar begins to curve but flattens out..the brake cables are now exposed unlike round bars where they are wrapped under the handlebar tape.

How is this handled with flat top bars?...are the cables just exposed?..or taped with a strip of electrical tape under the flat part?...Are there pictures or examples?

Thanks

You could wrap them up to to the stem or a few inches from the stem but the flat top may require you buy a second roll of tape or if the tape you buy is not too short and you minimize the overlap you may be able to get away with one set.

I have FSA K-wing bars. I initially wrapped them a couple of inches past the top curve of the bar but found that my hands would find their natural position sitting half on and half off the end of the tape. This put uneven pressure on my hands and cause discomfort. I also did not like how the dip these bars make just before the brake hoods felt, so I back-wrapped over that area and secured with electrical tape under my brake hoods. This filled the gap in and made them more comfortable and solved the hand discomfort on the tops issue I was having.

The FSA has internal routing for both the brake and campy ergo shift cables...the cables and housing come out the front of the bar very neatly, so there is not need to wrap all the way towards the stem.

For bars without these features...you can wrap the majority of the tops like I stated at the top or if you have graphics you want to keep exposed you can secure your cables/housing in place with clear tape wrapped carefully around the bars so as not to look hideous. If you dont have graphics or don't care about showing off any graphics then some heat-shrink tubing could give you a cleaner look than electrical tape (use a hair dryer to shrink it).

Some folks don't like the feel of the bare bar, whiles others are not bothered by it.

If you keep the tops of your bars bare then I suggest that you either remove any rings/watch before riding, or always ride with cycling gloves as the clearcoat can get scratched up by your ring and watch buckle.

good luck.

-j

Thanks for the complete feedback, "Greenfieldja", you given me a a good place to start...

There are no rules. from a functional standpoint you want a nice clean cable run from the handlebar to the fulcrums on your frame.

Otherwise do your own thing. You can tape all the way including over the flat section, end at the flat to round juncture with the cables emerging there or keeping them under the bar with a piece of electrical tape supporting them near the stem.

Whatever works for you is fine, but keep in mind that having the cables leave the bar anywhere outboard from the stem might limit your hand positions. What you might do is experiment, using your old bar tape and some electrical tape to find your favorite arrangement, then if you can pull the cables apart trimming the housing for the best cleanest run to the frame. Afterward you can do a nicer tape job with new tape.

BTW, you might find the flat section too slippery to use as a hand position if you don't tape it, and might end up preferring a classic tape job.