I don't often clean handlebars, but when I do, I prefer acetona. ;) It's the only solvent/thinner your body uses as fuel. Oh, except for ethanol. Also a good choice - depending on the sticky adhesive used.

Usually I don't bother.

Channeling you inner "Most Interesting Man In The World"? I can see the television ad now, but for a bicycle cleaning product, rather than a beer......:rolleyes:

Bill

LOL yeah, sorry, couldn't help myself... ;)

Generally, I never used to clean the stickum off, because the old cotton tape barely stayed in place as it was, and any residual sticky stuff was helpful. Tape in general is more generous with the sticky nowadays, and cleaning the bars occasionally may be useful.

Best solvent depends on whatever adhesive the manufacturer used. Often you just have to try. Most stickums will dissolve with denatured alcohol, my first choice. If that's not working I'll try acetone, and if that doesn't work I go for the paint thinner.

Oily cleaners like WD40 or Googone might work, but the bars will need to be cleaned afterwards with alcohol or acetone anyway to get the greasy residue off. Easier to save a step.

I don't worry too much about tiny bits of cork tape stuck to the bar, but I do try to clean off any sweat residue. I've seen enough pictures of corroded bars (some that eventually broke) to be wary of leaving the same tape on for too long. :twitchy:

Paint thinner.

I don't need the bars to be spotless, but if there is a lot of residue, I use Goo-Gone to clean them up. Putting new tape over a bunch of old residue just seems like poor workmanship to me. Also, I don't want the new tape bonding to the old residue, in case I need to remove it to adjust the brake lever or something.

Tried several approaches and settled on Acetone. Great all around sticky clean up solution. I generally always clean because the levers need to be removed or moved. I am also interested in what is under all that stuff, corrosion is what I am looking for, or cracks, which I have not found yet!