Andy Somnifac 

Been doing it for years with no issues. If you start it right, this should not happen.

SpeshulEd 

I use the advance technique listed in the Park Tools instructions, so the tape tightens in the drops and the tops.

Park Tool Co. » ParkTool Blog » Handlebar Tape Installation (drop bar)

When riding on the drop section of the bars, it is the tendency to rotate the hands outward. It is possible to reverse wrap direction from start to finish in order to match this tendency. Note the image below has the tape beginning opposite of the taping first described. Wrap each side so the tape rotates outward from the top. In other words, wrap the right bar clockwise and the left bar counter-clockwise.


If you wrap as the image above, you must then reverse the direction of the wrap at the brake levers. Do not cross the back of lever from outside to inside, as is commonly done. Stay on the inside of the lever and continue to the above the lever. See image below. Notice the optional piece of brake lever bar tape is in place. The tape will now be in a self-tightening direction on the top and the bottom of the bars.

JohnJ80

+1. I just hate the finishing look of tape.

Huh. How long before it starts doing that? 5,000 miles? I haven't seen it happen yet. My tape doesn't last that long and gets replaced for looking worn before that. Urban myth.

J.

Last ride 76 

I've read about that a lot here, but it never happened to me until the threads wore out. Now, it is possible that the tape wore out faster in that direction, but it just seemed counter-intuitive to wrap upwards and then worry about them unravelling at the top or having to tie string around them... No interweb to show me how wrong I was.
Didn't ever notice bars done bottom up, and never had negative remarks about my taping except ocasionally..."time for new tape, maybe?"

I'm sure Bicycling had an article on it, but I must have missed it.

Cheers, Eric

Last ride 76 

Those weren't old tapes... Old tapes were made of cloth and had adhesive...

Probably even older tapes didn't have adhesive, but heck nobody here was riding in THOSE days, right...

Lazyass

But the irrefutable fact is your hands slide down against the exposed edges of the tape and it's not as smooth. That's not an urban myth. And if someone doesn't have it wrapped tight enough it can cause it to peel up. I personally think it looks stupid.

Andy Somnifac 

It is just as smooth as every other wrap around the bars, the first wrap you happen to encounter happens to go bar surface to tape, instead of tape to tape.

Lazyass

It's not as smooth. You're sliding your hands down against the grain, so to speak. Not quite sure how anyone thinks they can argue against that. Anyone can grab their bars, slide their hands up and feel the difference.

Andy Somnifac 

The question is:

Why are you stroking your bars up and down?

Lazyass

Mmmkay I win, then.

Joe Minton

I now use Pro brand (Shimano) silicone tape exclusively; it doesn't matter how I wrap it, the edges don't turn up and it stays in place. It is also the most comfortable tape I've ever used. I have damaged nerves in my hands from a long life of riding motorcycles and working with them. I also have age-related arthritis (I'm 73). I spent a lot of time finding the best tape and wrapping technique for my needs --- I cannot praise the Pro tape enough!

Joe

indyfabz

Yep.

JohnJ80

So what? The bar tape does not peel off. This whole issue is a CLASSIC case of cyclist OCD about the "right" and the "wrong" way to do something.

What exactly are you doing to your bars that this matters? (maybe I didn't want to ask that question).

J.

SpeshulEd 

You've never slid your hands down your drops a bit when you're riding? Seems the tape could peel down a bit over the course of a couple thousand miles depending on how much you're in the drops.

JohnJ80

Do it all the time. Re-taped my bars last week after 2000 miles from a tape job the other way earlier in the summer. Frankly, I notice no difference than when I've taped them the vinyl tape way. And the bar tape doesn't peel back. I'm using the cork based type of tape with the thin adhesive strip down the center. Same results with the Lizardskin tape too. And I like the way it looks without the cheesy vinyl finishing tape at the bar end.

J.

Andy Somnifac 

I've wrapped my bars this way for literally tens of thousands of miles (20k+), across multiple bikes and it has never been an issue. The surface of the tape is worn down and through (and thus needs to be replaced) before this has happened. And this is not with cloth tape. My preferred wrap are the Lizard Skins (usually the 2.5mm) wrap, and it's never been a problem.

The only thing I can think of that could be causing this to happen to someone is gripping the bars way too tight, which is a whole different problem. Loosen up and relax.

SpeshulEd 

Haha, I'll take your word for it.

I've been digging the Supacaz tape as of late, their finishing tape feels the same as their tape. I was actually surprised by the quality. It blends in and is barely noticeable.

Lazyass

The fact remains when you wrap your bars backward because you don't want to put one piece of tape on top, your hands slide down against the exposed edges of the tape and it's not as smooth. It's just plain stupid. That's why 99.999% are wrapped from the bottom up.

krusty

Nobody's pointed out the Fredness of your ways?

Andy Somnifac 

Top down, with no finishing tape is the classic way of wrapping your bars. Nothing Fred about going with tradition.

Lazyass

Uh no I don't think so man Just when you think you've heard it all

krusty

Actually, Andy is partly right. The classic cork tapes were wrapped bottom up, but at a certain point, thin plastic tapes came onto the market (early 70s?). This stuff was always tensioned quite firmly, and was wrapped top to bottom. The edges did not roll up. This is the stuff we used when I was young, except we did not have the strength as kids to wrap it tightly enough, but we did try to emulate the pros who used it.

Lazyass

Coppi's bars were wrapped from the bottom up. That's pretty classic.

krusty

Actually, it looks almost like it's wrapped bottom up on the drops and top down on the tops and above the hoods. It's also cloth tape, not the thin plastic I was referring to.

JohnJ80

Actually, you have your facts wrong unless you are using cloth tape. I don't care for cloth tape so I don't use it.

Most cork/gel tapes are not flat, they are considerably thicker in the center of the tape often between 2.5 to 3.5mm even up to almost 4mm. The edge of the same tape runs around 1-1.5mm thick. When you wrap this properly overlapped, the edge of the tape is down in the valley between the two peaks or - at most - the exact same height - and your hand actually moves from peak to peak making the sliding or (in your case, I guess) "stroking" indistinguishable no matter how the tape is wrapped. Since the tape is tapered to the edge, there is very little peel up. The only way it peels up is if you intentionally try and do so.

Done it both ways, you might want to try it.

J.