bar tape direction ???
 

ok I have googled, youtubed and searched my nuts off.....


most pro team mechanics are wrapping clockwise on the left and counter clockwise on the right then front to back on top....most normal mechanics seem to be doing opposite that...So im thinking racers would do it one way and more laid back riders the other way???

anyway which way to do i do it??!! I'm leaning towards clockwise/left and counterclockwise/right then front to back on top

On the drops I wrap outwards and on the tops I wrap in towards me. Don't ask me why, that's just the way I've always done it.

i wrap clock-wise, so that when your wrists turn toward the inside, its going in the same direction as the bar tape.

sorry, clockwise for left hand, counter-clockwise for right hand.

Different people torque the bars differently in a hard effort in the drops. The original theory was that you wanted to tighten the tape wrap with your hands under hard effort. The reality is that with the current tapes on the market and their rather tenacious glue strips, it really doesn't matter much anymore which direction you wrap. If you find it feels awkward, wrap the other direction next time. Just always go from bottom to top. When I was young, some of us would wrap top down, and that was always a recipe for gaps with the old tapes that had no adhesive.

Hi Billy1111,

I don't think clockwise vs counter-clockwise is important. But I do like symmetry and, if I wrap the left clockwise, I'll wrap the right counter-clockwise.

But the important thing about wrapping, in my opinion, is to wrap from the end of the handlebar toward the middle. Why? Because this causes each successive wrap to lay on top of the previous as you go up the drops and thereby make it easier to shed water. So, if you get caught in the rain, you'll collect less water in your tape if you wrap so upper layers overlap lower layers.

Kind regards, RoadLight

I do the same, because as you are riding the force of your grip is twisting in the direction of tightening the tape. This is the explanation I was given by the 30 year mechanic that taught me. I have never had bar tape "loosen up".

I've wrapped the same way for years. Sold a bike to a guy who was nitpicking the bike anywhere he could to get a 5.00 discount off my price. I chuckled and said, "nice try". :)

This is clearly owner's choice.

Does it matter if you're in the northern or southern hemisphere?

I have never seen other than clockwise on the right, counter on the left. But the. i onky look at my own bars and the ones I do for my friends. :)

I mean who turns their wrists inward on the bars?

inward works for me.

That's what most people do when they push. You are grabbing the drops and when you push with legs, the tendency is roll wrists inward for more leverage.

EXACTLY!!!! Same as a motorcycle throttle pulling for speed.

Uh, if you say so. Not in my universe. The wrists just don't bend all that much in that direction. And what about when you stand?

Whichever way you wrap it, just cut the ends properly so you don't have electrical tape spread out two inches like I see on most bikes. That's always annoyed me. One wrap of tape should cover the ends.

This. Particularly if you use tape with a sticky strip on the back.

Inward? I can't even picture that.

+1 - Thanks.

In general if you rotate your wrists inwards you'll get the equivalent of a catholic nun ruler strike from the moto if you ride on our velodrome. Weaker hand position and worse for handling, power generation as it shuts off the chest, etc.

Then again most roadies sprint like what they've seen on the Tour and not like a track racer - elbows out holding bike vertical by pulling on the horns while pushing through with the opposite leg.If you wrist in during that you'll end up on your face. Any doubts that is a more powerful sprint position then just try it next time out. The data will show you.

As for wrapping bars - over the years I have settled on wrapping from the inside to the outside when going over the top of the bar. If looking at the end of the bars from the riders position that would be clockwise on the right hand side and counter-clockwise on the left hand side.

Honestly I could care less how anyone wraps their bars and usually ask riders to wrap them for themselves as it's usually something a rider can accomplish themselves as it requires the least amount of mechanical knowhow or talent. I find it bothersome and takes time away from other jobs.

for your enjoyment :)

The real answer is...

Back in the day, best practice for racers was not to reverse the direction of the tape at the brake levers. Non-racers who ride on public roads generally reversed the direction of the tape at the levers.

In general, racers would wrap them inward and keep going right around the brake hood so that they can be front to back at the tops. This saves a gram or two but leaves a gap at the hoods. It was assumed that racers would change their tape more often because of crashes and rough treatment and didn't need as much comfort. It was also faster to do it this way.

http://www.parktool.com/uploads/imag...help/bar03.jpg

Road riders on the other hand, would wrap them outward on the drops but twist the tape around the brakes, reversing the direction so that they are front to back on the tops. This uses more tape but thought to be more comfortable. As others have stated, this was done so that the tape doesn't loosen, is "self tightening" as you ride.

Some people reversed the direction compared to everyone else because of poor bike fit or the way they rest their hands on the bars but the general rule about racers not reversing the tape at the brakes was something I remember from the 70's. Guys would show up to ride with tape as pictured and we would assume they were racers or really fast. I did mine like racers to look cool.

Track riders would wrap them outward on the drops, AKA "track wrap" and not care about the tops or not wrap past the bend at all. Track riders are always in the drops anyway.


-Tim-

Gets you really thinking when you use a patterned/stitched tape.

I do it this way because it makes sense to wrap in a way that your natural grip is tightening the tape and not working in a direction that would unravel it (OK, a tight wrap and the sticky stuff should prevent this...but you get what I mean).

GCN (Global Cycling Network) has one on their YouTube channel.

Dare I mention the "figure 8" at the hoods. No reversal of direction, no gap, no loosening of the tape.

Or start at the top and wrap it so that it secures itself, no finishing tape needed.

But then when you naturally slide your hands down the bars they run against the exposed edge of the wraps and can start peeling them up.