I'm going to guess the OP is referring to matching the direction to load. Method 3 of this Park Tool video taught me about direction. I was getting separation over time when I didn't reverse direction on the top.

BTW, I'm pretty lousy at taping bars!

That video cracks me up every time it is used as a recommendation for wrapping tape. I see *very* uneven wrapping and some other things that could be done better..

So lets say you were wrapping a set of bars with a foam or cork and then going over with shellacked cotton tape, would you do both bottom to top or alternate the 2 layers?

I just took off the tape from my bars. They were wrapped from bottom to top. Sticky black adhesive on my hands and bars. I will be wrapping from top to bottom when I redo them.

Reason? Here in the desert, sitting in the sun/heat, the electrical tape will get hot and start to unwrap, get loose, and the adhesive starts to get oozy. It seeps out from under the tape creating a sticky black mess.

Top to bottom with plugs. No sticky mess.

Embrace the Curl!



I like cloth tape on some of my bikes. I like the clean look of cloth tape wrapped from the top. I also especially like a little bit of wear and fraying at the edge of the cloth tape after some usage--"beausage" as they say. Admittedly, the tape on the Cilo above was re-wrapped not long after that photo.

Most other non-cloth handlebar tapes, I will wrap from the drops up and finish with a bit of electrical tap (after cutting end at a long diagonal to avoid a bulge at the top). By the way, for those who use Benotto or similar cello tape, you can start at the drops and finish at the top by heating the end of the cello tape and fusing it to the tape under it. I press the flat side of a heated knife against the inside of the tape until it starts to melt and then quickly finish wrap the final bit.

Used original wrap after cleaning it up and started at the bar end up to the hoods finished with three colors of tape appropriately.

ten minute top to bottom wrap job.



Slight bulge but the swell feels good in my hand. Debating on reinstalling brake lever extensions, (suicide brakes).

Help me understand what is wet and why. Do you wet cotton tape?

Cotton tape is a bit easier to wrap when it has been soaked in water. It stretches a little bit to alleviate wrinkles.

Most definitely yes.

When taping top-to-bottom (the standard way in the '70s), from the perspective of the bar end, wrap clockwise on the right bar and counter-clockwise on the left one. That way the natural action of tightening one's grip on the bar tends to tighten the spiral, helping to prevent slippage and separation. The starting wrap must be anchored solidly. Partial unwrapping and re-wrapping, with liberal stretching, both sideways to get the spacing and contour right, and pulling to keep the wrap tight, is allowed and often needed for good results. I would usually avoid the sharp change in angle required when traversing the brake lever by ending the top wrap under the lever hood on the outside, then starting anew from under the hood on the other side. When I was a teenager, a couple of times older teammates asked me to tape their bars. That made me feel good, and I obliged, but as everyone here with nice wrap jobs knows, they take some time and concentration.

Lately I have been using Cinelli cork/gel bar tape, which is so much thicker than cloth, with weaker sticking power, but I am having success using 2" heat-shrink tubing to finish the ends and hold them tight.

Lots of fine work on this thread - congratulations to all!

I've been cheating with a bit of double sided tape at the start.

But I have to second heat shrink tubing over the last 3/4", it hangs off the end and then shrinks tight and the plugs slide in just fine.

not very technical.
the winds are on a diagonal, so can be the trimming - I start so that the end overlap is on the underside. Easiest with a sleeved center bar.
now the question is towards the rider or away?

this is to the brake levers- the decision from the end of the bar to the lever is determined if a plug or cap, say like Cinelli before they went all plug.

You can buy far more robust black electrical tape, 3m, rated for much higher voltage than regular that has I think higher heat rating that would presumably include the adhesive.

Its spendy but could go a long ways just using it for the finishing.

No perfection here turned but out well, NOS Benotto over thin cushion and electrical tape. Not a fan put figured it was warranted here.

Wrapped bottom to top, clockwise according to Bob Freeman's tutorial, much better than I normally get.

Just throwing in another no bulge example. And nothing slides down from hand pressure when doing it this way. You wouldn't see countless examples here in the C&V forum otherwise. I prefer the clean look of no tape and this is the only way I've ever wrapped. But sometimes bars finished off with tape or twine can be classy looking depending on what is used, and it adds some flaire.

Very nice.

What bar plugs are those?

Peugeot factory c.1985~ top to bottom. (see 4:10 mark)

Many years ago, when using cloth tape, I used to combat edge curling by using 2 separate pieces, and starting at the levers. That gave me top to bottom layering in the drops, and bottom to top layering on the tops - no curling!

I start at the bottom but roll in the opposite direction so when I am climbing hard on the tops, I am tightening the wrap, not loosening it. (Final turn comes over the top and back.) I cut it just short of the brake cable routing with about a 2" triangle cut out to eliminate bulge. Sometimes I do the same cut at the start.

Most of my bikes have cloth tape. Black so filthy doesn't show. I ride it until I see too much of the HB or, now that I am double wrapping, it looks too shoddy. It is very obvious that bottom up wraps hold up far better, especially just above the hoods.

Using Bull Horns I wrap from Stem to end winding in the direction of handle bar to seat.

I remember in Italy the old guys, who's whole job was wrapping bars between races, would wrap from stem to brake then cut midway and then wrap from bar end back to brake. They would then use a light coat of shellac heavy thinned with denatured alcohol to dry super fast and seal the tape. Always using a light coat, not to shinny or smooth to allow for good grip when sweating. But that was the 70's...

Showing up at an event with your bars not freshly wrapped was unheard of. Often the bars were the cleanest thing on the bike... Including the riders Kit... Ha

Yeah...I'll just keep my money in my wallet and continue to wrap top to bottom. No fuss. No Muss.

Ok, probably not that spendy but suit yourself, if it works for you, carry on.

Thanks!

I don't recall, and one has since broken so I've changed them. I may have the other laying around and will look for it since I really liked them. cb400bill sold me this bike a couple of years back and may know!