As a commuter, I ride on a cheap, old, bike which no one would wanna steal it. Over the years, I've repaired it and replaced parts many times, including a new paint job, new pedals and stuffs like that.

What I'm saying is that getting a cheap bike doesn't mean getting a boring bike.

I always make my bike a little bit different than the others by doing cosmetic improvements. They're usually done with little cost. This time, I thought of making a leather bar tapes, which I quite like it.

Everything is simple, cheap and nice. here's how I did it:

1. Buy materials. I bought cheap but practical leather straps online. They're made from horse butts (!). Well, it's not cowhide or something fancy, but they're sturdy for sure. Around ten bucks for six straps.
2. Fiebings neatsfoot compound oil and brown shoe polish. The leather straps were originally untreated. I wiped them with oil and let it dried, so that oil would penetrate and make leather softer. The oil darken leather straps, too, which is preferable. Then I polished the straps - nothing's complicated.
3. Sewing work. I don't own a set of decent leather work tools. All I have is access to a bike mechanic shop. Well... I bought a pack of thick needles and waxed threads. Then, on a working bench, I hammered needles into the leather straps to make holes for sewing. Then, I pulled threads through holes; the threads are sole for a better appearance. They serve no structural purposes
4. Keep hammering and sewing
5. More sewing.
6. I started hammering at 11AM, and ended at 2PM. Then, the sewing took me five hours --- for one strap. The toughest part was that I didn't have proper tools to punch larger holes; the needle constantly got caught by the leather. Finally, I gotta pull the needle using a nose piler.

Oh well, at least I got one tape finished. Below is a comparison of the original (bottom) straps and the processed one (top). I really like the uneven color. Don't complain my sewing skill please. That's all I learnt from my mom at 7 or 8.


For those with sharp eyes, I bet you see two problems with my strap.

Firstly, the tape is too wide.
I meant to make it wide. Those straps are the longest that I can find within a "reasonable" budget. The longer straps are not available due to the natural restriction: farmers don't own larger horses . Of course, I could purchase a large sheet of cowhide and cut them myself. Unfortunately, a full sheet of cowhide is really expensive. My leather straps are the most economical solution which I could think of.

Second, the tape is too thick.
I don't care. It gives better grip on the overlaid sections anyway.

I enjoy making my own gears (most engineering students love that lol). Oh, and yeah, I'm just a student, and I'm not going to spend $60+ on two leather tapes. I'm not saying my leather tape is better; it gives a nice touch of my style which none of other products could

Forgive me for the horrible grammar. I'm not an English speaker

Your English is far better than my _____________ (insert any other language). The tape looks great, post a pic once it's wrapped!

one option : set up a skivving tool jig with 2 knife edge cutters .. you can pull the leather strip through,
to efficiently slice off just a bit of underside edge . to have the strip lay flatter ..

a skivving tool( Not sure on the spelling ) is a leather worling tool name, they usually are hand tools round off 1/4 rounds
on belt edges and such.

the bench top tool idea is suggested because the better approach, is secure the tool
and have the work, the strip of leather, move through the tool.

those are classy as hell.

my homeade bartape has always been old tubes and its what i have on my lockup/rain bike

gets the job done, keeps my hands stuck to the bars and noone wants it

Thanks! Sadly, I can't work on the second tape on this weekend. The process is very time consuming, and I need to study for an exam scheduled on Monday
I'll definitely post photos once I installed them!

I think skiving tool is for cutting a thin layer. Edge beveler is probably what you meant

Well... I don't own a beveler, and buying one will probably double the price of my project cost lol
But hey, that's a great way to make my tape looks nicer!

Since you bought the material and worked 8 hours on the tapes that may or may not workout, wouldn't you rather work part-time job and get the tapes that work?

nope. you're assuming that I can work.

btw, I bet you seldom DIY. there's nothing wrong with making my own stuffs.

Interesting. I've tried making my own cloth tape on three occasions, essentially sewing two hems into a wide strip of material to create a fray-resistant edge: heavy canvas was a bust, thin cotton tape was also a bust, but tape made from an old pair of trousers has worked tolerably well... but not so well that I haven't decided to stick to using bulk cotton twill tape in the future.

I'm pretty sure that vinyl is very fray resistance, but it's not breathable...

Could you fold the edge of a strip of cloth and sew it?

My homemade bar tape consists of an old inner tube (one layer, as padding) covered with hockey stick tape, a thin layer of shellac on top helps keep the tape edges from fraying