Tycho Brahe 

Or perhaps the inverse question: which brand/type is hard to install?

Finally need to remove my existing handlebar tape which came originally with the bike. I have never installed tape on my own and I am NOT nimble with my fingers. I can already forsee lots of swearing. I might have read at some point that Fizik (which I have had before) is harder to install. I am looking for comfort and I am not a weight weenie.

noglider 

Vinyl with no glue.

franswa

I find Zipp Service Course CX tape easiest to install. Good at removing and re-installing as well.

rpenmanparker 

Some of the stretchy tapes (including corks) will break if pulled too tight. Fizik is not stretchy so it needs to be pulled very hard to get it tight, but it won't ever break on you. My fave.

GlennR

ThermionicScott 

Pay a shop if it's so hard?

smarkinson

I would've thought they were all the same really when it comes to installation. They have a sticky side but it is so weak and thin that it is almost completely useless. If you make a mistake you can usually just unwind and then start again. I think the main thing that holds the bar tape in place is just friction against previous layer rather than the adhesive on the tape.

The main problem with installing bar tape is getting started (trying to get the tape to come out of the handlebar ends without a nasty bulge or crease is a real art) and finishing. Personally I find the little bit of tape they supply to wrap around at the end to be not much use so I just end up wrapping some electrical tape around the ends to finish it off.

Make a note of how your current tape is wrapped (clockwise/anticlockwise) so you can copy it.

Zipp Service Course is what I currently have after previously using Fizik superlight and I'm happy with it.

rm -rf

I've always liked the Specialized foam bar tape. It had silicone gripper strips instead of peel-off adhesive, so it was really easy to back off a few turns and redo them. It handled a lot of stretch around the shifters, too. They've changed their tape brands recently and I haven't tried the new ones.

I tried Lizard Skins last year, their DSP 2.5. It's very sturdy and easy to clean, and cushiony. But their instructions say to not stretch it at all, and I had to stretch it quite a bit to get it to fit on the shifters. Even then, it was hard to install with no gaps between wraps. Tricky.

I've used some of the tapes with the peel-off paper over it's adhesive strip. The one I tried was quite easy to pull off and re-wrap. The adhesive wasn't too strong, which made it quite easy to use.

Starting, Finishing
Start with a flat wrap at the bar end with almost half the tape edge overlapping the end of the bar. I secure the end with a little piece of duct tape. After one full turn, start angling it up the bar.

I go counter clockwise on the right bar end, and the reverse on the left side. Yes, those supplied finishing tape strips just don't work very well for me.

I take my time, trying for evenly spaced wraps, which usually means backing off a turn or two and redoing it until it looks good. And retrying a few times to get the final wrap at the base of the shifter to cover the shifter edge, with much more overlapping around the drop bar curve.

I've started using a ripped strip of duct tape to finish the wrap. Electrical tape can creep and loosen the wrap when it's hot. A single wrap of a narrow 3/8 inch strip of duct tape, then a cosmetic wrap of electrical tape over that--don't pull the electrical tape too tight. I'm using similar strips of duct tape to hold the cable housing before wrapping the bars, too. (But the duct tape can rip the tape surface off if I need to remove it and rewrap.)

redlude97

wait wait wait, are you talking about looking from the front or rear? Like this?

elboGreaze

I use Fizik 2mm Superlight , fairly easy to install , I like the feel of it . That being said, I've wrapped quite a few, so its getting easier. FWIW , I put the plugs in, then wrap. No tucking up into the barends.

memebag

I used a foam tape with no adhesive. It was great because I had no idea what I was doing. I wrapped one side 3 times before I figured it out. The lack of adhesive made it easy to remove.

I don't remember the brand name. It's pretty thick foam stuff.

Jakedatc

+1 with the Zipp CX or any other kind that has the silicone backing instead of glue. you can re-do it as many times as you need before you get it right.

scott967

I have to admit I don't see any difference in "ease of installation" but I've never done cork, or at least not in the last 20 years or so, so that might make a difference. It did seem like lizard skins ended up kind of short for me, compared to fizik where I cut a few inches off. I liked the feel of the lizard skins, but not the price nor the dirt I couldn't remove (also had some black so the later wasn't an issue there).

scott s.
.

Facanh

Easy: anything with wide sticky silicon stuff on the back, not just a thin strip of glue.

But, handlebar tape is not hard to install at all, not sure why people think it's so hard... It's not rocket science.

If you watch some videos about all the techniques, and you pay attention while wrapping you can do everything perfectly for the first time. Or just buy something super cheap for 10 bucks and practice first.

builderguy

I just did mine with Nashbar tape. I think it was $6.99. Went great, no problems at all. Super easy. Took me about 20 minutes.

I watched a youtube video first.

kuroba

I recently changed my handlebar tape for the first time (switching handlebars). I watched a LOT of Youtube videos about it and got some tips and the basics of it.

I used a cushy Bontrager Gel tape as I was also looking to improve my comfort (my bike came with a cheap thin leather-like tape). It has a silicone strip in the back but it's not really sticky so you can re position it as needed.

My end result wasn't perfect, but it wasn't the hardest thing in the world. I'm sure with practice it'll be better. Just go for it (:

Fly2High

I just did the LizardSkin DSP 3.2 THREE TIMES WITH THE SAME TAPE!!! I goofed several times. Unwrapped it and re did it several times. No issue and came out great.

My only request so that you learn from my errors. Make sure you wrap the same way but in mirror. What I mean is if you wrap from under - outside - over - inside do the same on both sides. Do not wrap both clockwise or counterclockwise. One side will be clockwise the other will be counterclockwise. Doing this and you won't make the mistake I made. I did this and had to re wrap it. Nothing was wrong with it but I wanted a look the same as what was originally there.

It was my first time too.

Best of luck.

bikepro

I just installed this. It was the easiest padded tape I've used.

Fabric Knurl Handlebar Tape

Wildwood 

Easiest bar tape to install is cotton. Thin, flexible, never breaks. Available in the widest color selection possible.

_ForceD_

Yeah...I like cotton. And you can wrap it really tight so that it doesn't move. In fact...I've made my own. Purchased a yard or two of cotton material at local fabric store in the color I wanted, cut it into long strips (double wide so that I could fold it over and get a nice clean edge). Sew together lengths of the strips if needbe. Works good, looks good, lasts longtiime.

Additionally...I know it's against the conventional way of bar wrapping...but I think it looks neater...I start at the top (near the steer tube) and wrap down to the bar ends. That way I don't have to use untrustworthy adhesive tape to finish. The tail gets stuffed into the bar end and the plug holds it in place.

Dan

Wildwood 

Either way you wrap it = it's the best. Cotton on many bikes for me. Also the easiest to get off, no adhesive mess.

franswa

^^While that does look sharp, most people seemed to have moved on from cloth bar tape. For the majority of riders there simply isn't enough comfort afforded by cotton tape. The aforementioned Zipp bar tape has not left any residue on any of the bars that I have wrapped it with, carbon or aluminum.

Z953

+1 to Specialized foam bar tape. That stuff is easy to wrap and if you have to, re-wrap; I've even transferred some weeks old tape when I got a new pair of drop bars.


+1 to suggesting YouTube videos. I found the Park Tools video to be the most helpful.

TenSpeedV2

Out of curiosity, could you post a picture of your ends? I would like to see how this turned out.

bmthom.gis

Brooks is quite difficult IMO. Fabric makes some nice tape that was an easy wrap - i used it the last time I wrapped my bars and would definitely get it again.