I hate electrical tape on my bars, its turning into a gooy mess- is it appropriate or would it look off to twine a white cork tape (no shellac)?

(Bike is early 80's old sport touring bike, non-areo, whitewalls, 7spd, brooks saddle- that kind of look)

Electrical tape never bothered me that much. Just make sure you don't buy the cheapy no-name brand electrical tape that do turn gooey on the bars quite quickly. Use 3M electrical tape and it won't go messy on you for a long time. Anyway, by the time the 3M tape do get messy, it's usually time to change the tape already. Also, when I can, I use the tape maker supplied end tape with the brand decal on it over the electrical tape. It protects the electrical tape to make it last a bit longer, plus you get to show off the tape's brand name if you like to.....as some of them are quite nice like Cinelli's.
I dunno, but twine makes me sometimes think of Gilligan's Island when I see it.... JMO.....
Why not use nicer/finer thread like the ones they use on fishing poles or lures instead of twine, which looks quite primitive because of their rough texture??.....

Chombi

I agree the 'merican primitive look is not for me- can't pull off the matching neckbeard.

this is what I am thinking.

I prefer elect. tape for cork; twine for cloth tape. But it's a minor point and in this case it's your bike, so what I think doesn't really matter much. If you already have the twine, just wrap one side and see what you think.

i went through my twine phase. it's like puberty -- you go through it, then you're over it.

Yes.

I've heard people recommend two strips of tape. The first stretched tight to hold the end of the wrap, and the second to hold the tape in place. The electrical tape is more likely to goop up during the hot summer months, but it's never been much of a problem for me.

In general, I don't like twine on race bikes, and never with cork.

Since I am strictly a top-down guy, I don't need to use twine or electrical tape on anything, but lately, on a few of my bikes with cotton tape, I've opted for a little cosmetic accent...
I've used embroidery thread (like Rootboy) as well, as it offers practically unlimited color options (though it's a little harder to apply).

I never use tape, personal preference is string.

I agree, just have to try. I don't have an ascetic for this kind of thing coming from MTB.

But this looks bizarre https://www.flickr.com/photos/saddleupbike/3077798545/

^Twine with BRIFTERS? I don't think it helps the aesthetic much.

I like friction tape, it's like cloth tape, only you don't have to order it and wait. It's readily available at Home Depot in the electrical dept. The only downside is you can get it in any color as long as it's black.

I think it's cool if the color of the twine matches something else. I have some thin, brown twine that I used on a bike that has white cork with brown hoods and a honey Brooks, and it looks pretty good, although the white tape no longer looks so great after a couple years...

I remember reading about a guy who used electrical heat shrink wrap.....I guess it worked...but I think that could be a bit overboard for the intended function....but still could be an option if one can figure out how much shrink will happen per length of heat shrink wrap.

Lately I've been thinking of braided horsehair ... or whale baleen wraps...... huh?

what Auchencrow said ....

twine's a little too course for my taste. Furry and reminds me of my sister's 70's macrame projects.
Some narrow string or waxed thread looks better, imo.

That's not a bad idea Chombi. If one could find that tube in the thin, rubber like material, and I think it's available in larger diameters. Some heat shrink tubing cinches up with somewhat curled edges, but that thin stuff would be worth a try.
Matte black. Might look very good.

When to twine bar tap?

In 2011...sorry you missed it

Twine bar tap= Rivendell feeling, at a lower price.

For example, whenever your bar has a cycling theme.



I haven't tried it yet, but just to be different, I think I'll use dental floss or dental tape.

+1 with auchencrow. If you go to a sewing supply store, material, arts and crafts store, where they sell all the cloth for sewing. they will have an entire isle of different size cords, heavy string and cloth/cotton tape. They have every color you could thing of, you'll be able to match up to the lettering or seat color with no problem. It really finishes off the bike way better than a piece of plastic tape.

I gave up the twine and I own a Rivendell! This is a good tutorial on how to wrap from the top down, if you are going to seal the tape with shellac.

https://velo-orange.blogspot.com/2009...ape-guide.html

Here is a pic of one of mine done the same way.

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Its ok- I just tried a quick tie up, maybe thicker string/thread/twine maybe in a different color-
yes the headset and bars look like cr*p they are on order.

I use brown cloth tape and yellow electrical tape.

I like this idea & think I will give it a try, good shrink wrap only really shrinks in Dia not in length. I like a good 3 to 1 shrink wrap myself & you can get it in a few different colors also.

Glenn

For any kind of tape other than cotton (I don't like cork, but I do like Microtek Fizik), I actually use cotton bar tape for top finishing. I do one or two wraps of it, and tack the end in place with some glue. I make sure the end is on the underside, where it's not seen:

(No, that's not an American flag sticking out of my handlebars, it's in the background-- this was on Patriot's day, just an hour before the Marathon bombings, and I had ridden out to Lexington/Concord to see the battle re-enactments).

Like the cotton bar tape for end wrap idea, it probably stays put better than the electrical tape. Twine goes with the theme of my deco early 80's trek, but I wouldn't put it on my 84 760. Sort of a rando vs racy thing...