One of the lesse recommendable how-tos, to be honest. An apprentice in a good bike shop would get smacked if he delivered a crappy job like this:

Even spacing anyone?

http://www.parktool.com/uploads/imag...help/bar47.jpg

Roger that Top, I just switched to Lizardskin tape for my CAAD, the strips surprized me when I opened the package. But I used them as the fillers on the brifter bodies and then matching orange 3M 33 electrical tape at the top finish, 2 wraps. The nicely made thin strips filled in without too much bulk underneath the wrap at the brifter and there is no ugly gap on either side of the brifter body. The 33 electrician's tape is a perfect match for the Lizardskin's orange shade. It took a few minutes to get comfortable with the soft feel of the 'Skin wrap, now I like it very well.

I am using bottom up on my modern bike but my older bikes were always Tressostar white cloth tape wrapped top down and tucked in at the end plugs or bar end shifter mechanisms. When I settle on a C&V frame to build up period correct for the mid to late 70s, soon, it will have the white cloth tape I like so well.

Semper Fi,
Bill

This is what I do with plastic tape also. I learned that matches make more heat than a butane lighter does and it's necessary to use a match. I heat it at the bottom so the seam is not obvious.

I have an attachment for my soldering iron for welding seams in plastic that does a beautiful job. Too bad I'm a top down wrapper.

That is effing crazy, I agree. The two things you want to accomplish is not to have ridges towards the inside and wrap the tape so it's self tightening with hand pressure. Park manages to do the opposite.

As far as the finish, I use a spot of superglue on a cut-tapered end, under a Quick Grip for 2 minutes..done. No need for tape.

^ this thread could use a few pics of the different finishing techniques.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7050/6...42fe2ce82a.jpg

mine's straightforward and maybe a little boring: cut the e-tape width in half, use two pieces each side, and try to match the last turn of bar tape to mirror each other.

Top to bottom or bottom to top, depending on tape, inside to outside over the top for wrapping.

Though I'm a top-down guy, I've taken to doing the twine thing on some of my bikes. - It's strictly decorative.
(I wrap the twine over a small patch of hockey-tape so it stays put.)


http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...M-second22.jpg

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...dM-second8.jpg

^ now that's a long stem.

did you paint the twine gold? looks good. i used shellac on twine once, but it looked gnarly. i always like rootboy's finishing with satiny thread.

I needed to stretch the bike a little. (It's a small frame).

It's yellow-colored nylon twine I bought in a ball from Lowes. Indestructible. They had red and blue as well IIRC.

Here's bottom-up, cotton, with matching red electrical tape finishing:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7166/6...1db55826_b.jpg

Top-down, cotton, with no finishing:

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4045/4...36df8b88_b.jpg

Bottom-up, white cork with amber shallac, and Grant-Petersen inspired twine and shellac. I actually cringe now when I look at this. The bars now have white Fizik tape, no twine, no shellac. Thankfully.

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4028/4...72d18d66_b.jpg

Yeah, I don't know where that twine idea came from but Rivendell. Never saw it in my life in the 60s or 70s.

i have a feeling many of us go through the shellac and twine phase and then rediscover (or are saved by) the basics of well planned classic styling again.

I think you just saved me the trouble of trying. I was meaning to, but ...

Sorry, I didn't make myself clear. Every ride is a few thousand miles, so I too have to re-tape after every ride. :D

Start at bar end, wrap outwards, reverse direction at lever:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs7BY4wKHTM

^ if you do a figure 8 at the lever, you can avoid using those two little pieces of wrap that come with many new packages (as shown in the video above), you support the clamp placement even more, and you avoid changing directions on the top bar. here's how:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E12YaX_tuGw&sns=em

the trick to covering all the bar near the lever is to refrain from starting the figure 8 until you've wrapped the drop as high as possible to the base of the lever clamp. but now ... what to do with those two little pieces left over?

and jim ... i wouldn't doubt your ride mileage for anything...