My first bikes in the early 1970’s had plastic handlebar tape, and when cloth became available it seemed exotic so I switched and never thought about plastic again. With this Paramount, I decided to try plastic tape again. From the Schwinn catalogs of that era it looks like plastic tape was how they came equipped.

I was able to find some NOS Schwinn tape and put it on this past weekend. I am surprised how much I like it and the feel of it brings back some nice memories. I’d encourage you to try it again if you’re an old timer like me!

that red looks good !
I have a couple of machines with plastic bar wrap .
Black is great for hiding the grubby marks too .

I've got cloth tape on some vintage bikes, but still have the original plastic tape on my '74 Raleigh International. I think the main reason that I kept it is that it's white tape and goes well with the brake hoods and cable housing, and white cloth tape wouldn't look good for more than a half hour.

I would say that if you use plastic tape, you should also be wearing gloves. Partly this is because the gloves provide some padding, and partly because they will provide a bit of grip if things get sweaty.

Here's a close-up shot that shows the molded ribs on the tape...



and an "action" shot ...



Steve in Peoria

I remembered the original tape on a 1982 Holdsworth Avanti as being silver plastic - I bought one new in 1983.
Got another one 2 years back and found some "VINTAGE OLD SCHOOL SILVER TINTED HANDLEBAR TAPE 2 ROLLS NOS ROSS SCHWINN" on Ebay.
It looks just like I remembered:

The Colnago came with it. I found NOS at YJ Back in 2010 and got two packages. Also NOS cable housing
P9161246 on Flickr

Bought even more with different colors and used the blue to get the RWB effect.
P1030374 on Flickr

The resurgence was Benotto cello plastic tape.

I like the earlier American Hunt-Wilde brand

I had a 1970 Raleigh Super Course for a couple of years that I gifted to my former boss. It still has the original handlebar tape!

-Gregory

Great wrap job!

-- CAUTION --
Slippery when wet.

This is the one case where I am more than happy to stay in the present. I like the modern stuff much better for my hands. Fizik, Arundel, Lizardskins, Cinelli.

And yes, I use gloves as well.

These are the brands I use, plus the Japanese brand, OGK.

You're from SoCal. Have you ever had wet handlebars? 😋

I never lost interest in plastic tape, but like steelbikeguy says, it is best to use a good gel glove with it.

Moser with Benotto "brown" (more like copper)

Technium with Hunt-Wylde "plum".

Technium with OGK "yellow".

LOL!

Sweat! It's a thing.

I have lived many places (32 places before the age of 30).

I've even been to Visalia. ;-)

If you like that retro look you should try cotton and shellac. You certainly got the look and it is bullet proof. Better yet, it can be easily retouched. Not that I ever had to do so on mine.

For me the no brainer is sewn leather. The grip gets even better if it gets wet. You don't even need an expensive pre cut kit, vintage bars can be done with a 3 3/16(+) strip, and the tools needed are super cheap. They can be the gateway drug to more ambitious leather work.

If I didn't like how Cinelli padded tape felt, my bikes would have Benotto tape wrapped harlequin style.

My first ten speed was a root beer brown Varsity with matching plastic bar tape. It was all the rage in the late sixties-early seventies. If I remember right , that bike had chrome handlebars that made the tape look even better.

Benotto tri-colour:

I too like plastic tape on a vintage bike. I put 3 layers of Benotto tape on my Trek TX900. Started with dark blue, covered it with silver, then covered that with light blue tape.
Tim

Thank you! I took the stem and bars off my bike so I could work on it while watching Gunsmoke. I finished about half way through Bonanza. 😀

Luckily before Andy Griffith and Raymond.

I remember doing that trendy braided thang with Benotto tape back in the eighties. It was quite difficult with the Cinelli 65 bars I rode at the time. There was no give in the tape at all; skip the padded gloves, and you're in for a world of pain. I'm quite glad to have modern cork/foam tape instead.

I used nothing but Benotto for 20 years back in the day when I was young, strong and fearless. I still have some 70's Hunt Wilde type stuff on a bike. The stuff that was on all the Schwinns was super cool with those translucent colors. Looking for some of that in green for a project. That said, I now use the modernish more padded stuff on all other bikes. Never used gloves and still don't.

These are waiting for the next build….