Nick29

I tried wrapping my own bar tape for the first time a couple months ago with Fizik Microtex. After a few tries, I got what I convinced myself at the time was an acceptable job. As luck would have it, I haven't had a lot of time to ride since then, so I haven't looked at my bars up close much.

I noticed today that although it is technically usable, the tape looks like crap, so I want to try re-wrapping the bars. I know the tape won't be straight if i take it off now, but will I still be able to re-wrap the bars with it? Is there any way to straighten the tape out? Or, should I just suck it up and buy new tape? I'd probably wait until after winter on that last choice. I just don't want to take the tape off and then realize I can't get it back on.

urbanknight

Unless you're going to wrap it more or less exactly how it is now, you will probably have problems. Explain how it looks like crap. Is it covering the bar with no spot peaking through? Is it comfortable? If so, leave it and try to make it look better next time.

We "old guys" got much more practice with bar wrapping since before stem faceplates, you had to unwrap at least one side any time you wanted to change stems or take the brake lever off.

Jynx

I am not familiar with that tape but does it have a glue backing? If so it will be tough to rewrap. I run Cinelli Cork Gel since it has no glue on the back. I have rewrapped it atleast 4 times now and it is still fine.

Nick29

That's pretty much what I was thinking. Thanks for confirming.

it's mainly just below the hoods. On both sides there's a little bit of the bar poking through and the edge of the tape sticks up. It's like I should have done another wrap below the hoods. I think when I wrapped the bars I thought the hoods would cover more than they actually did. It's not something I notice when riding; just me being OCD.

ETA: The tape has a narrow strip of what seems like double sided tape on the inside. When I first put the tape on, I took it off an on a couple times without any problems with the adhesive not wanting to come off the bar. It's just strong enough to hold the bar tape in place.

hairnet

I've rewrapped that tape without problems. Even though the glue won't stick to the bar it's ok.

andrewluke

I love that fizik stuff but it depends on the type. I had the regular microtex and where i taped the bends, it stuck to itself badly and i tore it coming off about 5 minutes after it was done.

I have the better padded microtex stuff now (waaay more comfortable) with the little strip down one side with fizik on it and those I've redone three times at least over the course of a month or two. no issues there.

WR3K

i have rewraped my white bontrager tape at least 5 times and it looks great

MONGO!

It'll be fine. Worse case scenario, you have to spring for new tape.

Basil Moss

Re wrap the same tape. If it still looks awful, you'll have to buy more anyway, but then you'll have had a bit more practice. And with bartape, practice does make perfect.

iam7head

just redo it, I at least do it 3+ times before getting a new tape(cork tape)

they all get loosen up after some use, i don't even bother to buy premium glue back tape anymore, it doesn't add much value considering they all get loosen sooner or later.

you'll probably notice a tiny deformation around the hood area, it's not going to be noticeable if you warp that portion on the hood area. cut a tiny section off just to compensate for the stretching of the tape so the deformed area would match the hood area again.

AngryScientist 

tape is what, $15? you should be able to re-wrap, but if not, worst case you blow a few bucks for some new stuff.

roccobike

The Fisik tape I saw at Performance yesterday was $30 less 20%, not sure but I think it was the Microtex.

roccobike

I've rewrapped both cork and gel tape. Usually it works, sometimes it doesn't. I'd try rewrapping. If nothing else, you'll gain more experience wrapping bar tape. Have you looked at other threads to review the direction you're using to wrap the tape?

jrobe

There is a trick to wrapping bars. If it didn't hold up well, you didn't do it right.

Do a web search. I found a couple good youtube videos at one time.

The goal is to wrap it so that it actually tightens as you grip the top and outside of the bars as you ride (as opposed to loosening as you grip the bars). This requires that it be wrapped in the proper direction both below and above the brifters. This requires that you reverse the wrap at the hoods. I can't even recall the exact procedure but if it done properly it will last a long time.

curbtender

I do a pre wrap before I remove the tape backer. You should be able to reuse that tape, you may need to re-cut afterward.

StanSeven

If it's $30, that includes gel pads. Plain Fizik tape is around $16.

AndyK 

I use Forte Cork tape, with no adhesive back. I've re-wrapped several times with the same tape, and it comes out looking new. I like this cheap stuff even more than Cinelli cork tape, which leaves sticky stuff all over the bar and is impossible to re-tape with.

Stevestrat

Also, pull it tight as you wrap : )

teterider

Amen, and thank you faceplate creator.

Copper1122

I usually end up wrapping while I'm drunk. Sometimes a rap while I'm drunk as well. I don't recommend it, however, I've gotten re-wrapping the next day down to a science

banerjek

It will look like crap, but go ahead and try to satisfy your curiosity. Have the new tape ready so you can do it right.

If you thought it was OK at first and now it looks bad, the normal n00b mistakes are wrapping backwards (you should start at the end of the bar and work to the center), wrapping in the wrong direction (wrap the right side counterclockwise and the left side clockwise so that the tape will tend to tighten itself), getting the overlap wrong, or not wrapping tight enough.

Nick29

it's wrapped in the right direction and hasn't loosened or anything (I followed the instructions on Park Tool's website fwiw).

When I wrapped the bar, I underestimated the amount that the hoods would cover, so I went from below the hoods to above the hoods too soon (it's really a lot harder to explain than it is to see. I'll try to get a picture of it tomorrow). This left a small gap between the tape and the hoods. I'll probably just blow it off as a learning experience and leave it until I'm ready to replace the tape.

urbanknight

Despite having wrapped bars countless times, my last ride revealed to me that I did a crappy job on my last one. The tape shifted to expose some of the bar as it bends into the tops. I unwrapped it, overlapped more, pulled it tighter, finished it with 4 rounds of tape,and hung my head in shame.

Geoff326

you can re-use your old tape to re-wrap the bars. I actually did this last weekend. I use cinelli cork bar tape withe the sticky backing and I thought I'd need to use new tape after taking the current tape off. turns out the backing will still be sticky on the old tape so you can re-use it. some bar tape doesn't even have sticky backing anyway.

I re-wrapped using my old tape and it's been fine.

urbanknight

Yes, I kept the same tape. I don't use sticky-backed tape, and it was only the top section of one side, so it was easy. However, I do feel it's a pain if you have to completely unwrap the bars because the tape will have stretched more in some places than others, and if you end up needing it to stretch the opposite way because that portion of tape was on a different part of the bar's bends, it will get finicky and likely cause a similar problem to what the OP is probably trying to fix.