Yo Jimbo

Just finished installing Newbaum's cotton bar tape on my SGP, I like it, whatdaya think?

Michael Angelo 

Nice job.

rootboy 

I really like Newbaum's. Looks great.

devinfan

Very nicely done. Nice bike too, it's very elegant.

Germany_chris

I may be part of the great unwashed but what am I supposed to be seeing? What makes good cotton tape better the not good cotton tape?

jonwvara

Bad cotton tape is all wrinkled, as when I do it.
I agree it looks great, but it's hard on your hands unless you wear gloves, which I don't because I'm too lazy: I don't like having to take them off and put them somewhere every time I need to get something out of one of my pockets.
Of course, none of that means that you're necessarily not part of the great unwashed.

Germany_chris

Yea, that's the truth. Why put leather on you hands when you can put it on your bars?

16Victor

Very nice and consistent job. I always wind from bar end toward the stem so it's harder for hand pressure to gradually move layers down the bars and show the bar beneath. Since Newbaums has a little adhesive this may be a non issue.

Nice work!

Velognome 

tape looks nice...crazy bar angle

repechage

To keep your skin on your hands in case you fall, and to provide protection if you wish to swipe your tires after having to run over some glass that traffic mandates you ride over.

Bar tape looks good, wrapping tape around the brake levers without hoods requires some thinking, the N brand tape allows shifting around stuff whereas The Old Tressostar/tressorex does not.

DiegoFrogs

I'd rotate the bars back about 15 degrees and put some brown Cane Creek hoods on the brake levers.

Otherwise, it looks really good. Now I'm going to be on the look out for the Super Grand Prix when I'm looking for my next ride.

fixed1313

Tape job looks great ........ Nice bike too.

Lenton58 

I always wear gloves — fingerless in warmer temperatures. So I'm more than just a bit interested in this cotton stuff and will be looking for it here in Japan. I think that I'd like the feel, and it should excellent on C&V machines. Very nice wrapping!

Drillium Dude 

Very nice and consistent wrapping job, particularly around the lever bodies. I've never used Newbaum's; is it truly more flexible around the curves/hoods than Tressostar or others as has been suggested above?

+1 on the bar position - you might want to rotate them upwards a couple-few degrees.Bike looks almost brand-new, and I particularly like that fork crown. Nice

DD

Yo Jimbo

Thanks, I wraped from the center outward on this one because that's the way it came from the factory, it had the origional tape on it when I got it (I think). Not sure if they (Raleigh) did them all that way in 1980 or not. Maybe it had to do with the bar end shifters? They do use some good adhesive on this tape.
Jim

Yo Jimbo

Yeah, I gotta adjust it.
Jim

cehowardGS

Beautiful job! Some gum or black hoods would be nice too.

Yo Jimbo

Thanks, The Newbaums seems to have a little stretch do to the weave and also some great adhesive. I had a helper (my wife) who remove the backing and weaved the roll through the cables as I applied the tape so I could concentrate on the overlap.
The bike is in excellent condition and was hardly used, it was all origional when I bought it, still had the origional tires and tubes. I pumped them up and they held air but the sidewalls were dry rotted so I replaced them. I took the reflectors off, put a Brooks saddle on and retaped the bars. I repacked all the bearings and they showed zero wear. The old grease was thick and sticky but clean. Going by the serial # I think it is a Worksop built bike. I know it's an everyday bike but I'm very happy with it. I bought it at the Viet Nam Vets thrift shop last month and have about $150 in it not counting the freewheel puller and other tools I needed to repack everything.

jonwvara

My rationalization (and that's all it is) for not wearing gloves for protection is that I don't wear knee or elbow pads, so why gloves? I've lost more skin from my knees and elbow than I have from my hands.

gomango

I couldn't agree more.

If you have ever hit the ground at 30 mph like I have, the lesson is quickly learned.

Gloves have been standard operating procedure procedure for me on trials/enduro bikes, big street bikes and all of my bicycles for over 45 years.

I have decided to treat myself to some nice ones next season.

jonwvara

Don't forget the elbow pads.

rootboy 

Repechage's reason is a good one, but not why I always wear gloves. Handy to have on if you fall, for sure, and I do tend to reach down and rub my fingers on the tires, despite the fact that I usually have a set of tire savers mounted.

The main reason I wear padded gloves is road shock. A lot of road shock is transported up through the fork into one's hands on a "racing" bike. I find that gloves lessen the shock and help to alleviate damage to the Ulnar nerve, which I had trouble with back in the days when I used to do lots of miles. Now, gloves are just habit more than anything else, I guess. I feel naked without them.

On the Newbaum's, two reasons I like it. It is made from a much more substantial and thicker weave than other cotton tape, and it is longer than any of the European brands.

Ever run out of Tressostar within one inch of finishing your wrap? Argh.

gomango

Back in the late 1800s when I still rode motorcycles, I raced with Shoei shoulder pads, elbow pads, full coverage helmet, pants and boots.

Still managed to pound the daylights out of my body...

As far as bicycling goes, I don't ride without gloves and a helmet.

@op, you did a very nice job of wrapping those bars.

Much nicer than I usually do for my bicycles.

iab

Then you should not wear gloves. You should wear elbow and knee pads if you wish to avoid losing any more skin.

For the OP, lose the turkey wings.

Drillium Dude 

Yup - and that's why I stretch the hell out of it as I'm going along. I was absolutely amazed to find I had just enough to do the base layer on the 64-42 Cinelli bar on the Medici. Still puzzling over that...

DD