roadiejorge 

I imagine the more practice I get the better I will get at it, I've only used it twice and the second time around it wasn't frustrating.

coasting 

i used deda once. it was pants. i them tried cinelli cork. slightly less pants. i had bontrager gel cork tape..i liked it and i like very squigy tape probably because my gloves don't have much padding. unfortunately my 2 road bikes currently have deda and cinelli. pants.

coasting 

and what's all the moaning about ease of wrapping? wrapping bar tape is easy. even a drunken monkey can do it

Quijibo187

I quite like the deda tape. nice to wrap with and although there's logos all over it, you just wrap it the other way and they dissapear! it's amazing.
Easton tape is pretty good too, whoever makes it. I'd like to try the nice fizi'k but I don't mind changing tape, gives me something to do without spending a ton of cash.

coasting 

you can get yourself some more lube for the price of bar tape

Quijibo187

what does lube have to do with bar tape?

genejockey 

Lemme see...
Cinelli - comfy but easy to rip, and the adhesive stays on the bars forever. It sticks to bars better than it sticks to the tape.

Deda - as comfy as Cinelli, but easier to wrap and easier to remove.

Rav-X - I have it on two bikes, and I'm liking it. The adhesive isn't very strong, so when you get to the end of the wrap by the stem, you have to have your tape and scissors within reach, or you'll be rewrapping the last 6 inches.

I have to agree with whoever said Stella Azzurra tape sucks. Although it wrapped easily and was pretty comfy, when I took it off to redo the cabling on my bars, it came off in bits. No other tape ever did that. And it stains easily - then again, what else do you expect from white tape?

Speaking of comfort, I swapped bars on one bike to decrease reach a little, and I was surprised how much less comfortable the new bar was. Same bar tape, but the bar itself was a slightly smaller diameter, which apparently made all the difference. Odd.

Bostic

Deda black carbon look bar tape is my favorite as the padding is just right for me. I'm also fond of Ambrosio Bike Ribbon vinyl tape when I can find it.

HarryStoddard

I tried Cinelli once and hated it. It get dirty fast, easily shredded, and left a lot of glue residue on the handlebars when I took it off.

I prefer fizik tape. Lasts a long time, leaves no residue, and looks good. The only thing I don't like about it are the endcaps. I might have to try the Specialized Roubaix tape though.

Speaking of tape, has anyone tried that barshmellow stuff? Does it actually help?

bitterspeak

Does anyone know where I can pick up some Specialized S Wrap tape or Roubiax tape?

kwrides

Any shop that sellls Specialized bikes sells their tape too. Add me to the "squishy is good" crew.

coasting 

what's the point of non squishy tape?

Kai Winters

I've tried and did not like the Cinelli Gel or the Spec Gel type ribbons. A bit too squishy for me.
I have used Cinelli for many years and generally like it. I pull off the double faced tape on the back. It retains enough tape residue to stick to the bars but is easily pulled off with a bit of care. I always hated taking it off in pieces lol.
I've been using fizik microtex for a few months and like it quite a bit.

My first bikes had Benotto ribbon on it...lol no padding at all but you could mix it for some pretty cool effects. It was also slippery as hell when wet.

kneed2wrydemore

Hocam,

Thanks for posting your experiences with bar tape. Regardless of right, or wrong, I learned a lot from this thread.

My favorite tape is Fizik Microtex. It's very durable and easy to wrap. As for as Fizik bar plugs, they are my favorite. They've provided a perfect fit in the 3 different brands of bars I've tried to date.

Just for the heck of it I bought some Specialized Rbx about a month ago, however, it remains on the shelf as of right now. An extra note on the Rbx, it doesn't come with plugs.


RR

umd

What's the point of squishy tape?

jrobe

"Does anyone know where I can pick up some Specialized S Wrap tape or Roubiax tape? "



I ordered some of the Roubaix right on Specialized web site - $20 well spent. Great tape. I thank the person that wrote this original article and turned me on to the Roubaix tape. It is the best I have found.

The back roads that I ride on are fairly rough in places. The "squishier" bar tape really helps my hand comfort on longer rides. The bars are a good place to dampen vibrations a little (better than trying to it with the frame, fork, tires, or even gloves for me). With this tape, I wear thinner gloves.

Goose5

I bought some white tape from the LBS about a month ago. They do sell Specialized bikes but if memory serves the tape I bought was by Bontrager. It was white and it looked terrible after three rides, and impossible to clean. How does the Roubiax tape clean up?

mondaycurse

My road bike had Profile Design bartape last year as it was all the LBS was carrying at the time. 2/10. It gripped alright, but it was dirty every ride before I even reached the turn-around point.

This year I have Fizik Microtex on the Bianchi (celeste of course) and love it. I ride without gloves, but it's not like I'm riding the bike on a rocky mtb trail.

My just-finished Peugeot fixed gear has $10 Bontrager tape and it's alright. It's about average squishy and wraps easily.

TMonk

Who the hell likes squishy tape?

If you guys ride with gloves (I always do) then why do you need squishy tape?




I have been on a quest over the last year for thinner tape = better. I believe this primarily because I have small hands so I like to feel that I can get a solid grip on the drops when it's business time.

There's nothing more that I hate then some fat drops that I can't squeeze the **** out of when I'm sprinting/closing a gap etc.


Having said that I like (in ascending order):

3. Rav-X tape
2. Fizik microtex
and ......
1. Cotton adhesive backed tressorex tape from before I was born !!!!!


The cotton stuff is the thinnest tape i've found as has 0.00 padding. It is pretty harsh to ride more then an hour or two without gloves, but like i previously stated I never ride w/o gloves.

My favorite part about it is that I can really "get a grip" on my super thin bars when it's sprinting time; that complete squeeze I get makes me really feel like I can rip the bars off.

umd

Dave, you had some of the dirtiest tape I had ever seen

Hocam

Damping road vibrations with squishy bar tape makes a hellava lot more sense than claiming your ultra stiff carbon handlebars do. Also I don't generally wear gloves, no glove tan that way.

Then again, maybe my squishy bar tape is why my sprints are always lacking.

Also, a big your welcome for all the thank yous. I think the specialized s-works tape is my favorite, 4 months later.

TMonk

That would be the downside to using cotton tape... especially white in my case

I think that when it is time for a new saddle I will get the black colored version so I can switch to black cotton handlebar tape.

I just realized that means that I will have to switch my tires and cages too; damn my OCD tendancies! All in due time....



EDIT: please tell me that you're feeling better by now cuz if not I will feel like a total ass.
BTW when is EC? It's gotta be soon. You ready?

coasting 

how often would you even change bar tape. i've only done it on a rebuild.

Kneez

Black cotton.

EOM

logdrum

The neighbor is slaughtering some goats and ship (don't ask me why). Maybe I should get some sheepskin while it's freshly cut and wrap my bars with it. The shrinking leather should make for a tight fit while the dried fat will make for good adhesive,


Seriously, unless you ride the pave day in day out, what does squishy tape do for you. And what kind of frail arms cannot pull the deda tape to cover all the way to the stem

And unless you have a baby face why do the dot's bother you. Your face is probably is full of acne craters, uneven facial hair and freckles.

The forte ones are not bad but the Fizik is really fantastic. My wife uses it for her horse vaulting saddles and vaulting barrel handles.