dadof3boys

I bought my road bike back in April of this year. It came with the basic padded black bar tape. The tape job was pretty poor when I got it and the tape was starting to pull apart and loosen up. Then, after getting my Toupe saddle (in white, black was out of stock) I decided to try my luck at wrapping. I used the Fizik Mircotex (in white to match the Toupe). I looked up how on Parktool.com and just did it.

It was pretty easy, I think. I didn't peel the adhesive backing off first, but kept it on and did a "practice" wrap before actually peeling and doing it for real. Overall, I'm happy with it, being it was my first time. Obviously, the ends on the top bar are ugly. I'm gonna clean that up a bit with some white electrical tape as I didn't have any last night. And there are a couple bumpy spots. I did the right side first (I think it shows ).

So how'd I do? Any pointers for next time?

datlas 

Looks ok to me.

Oh, yeah....flip it.

dadof3boys

Ha, knew that was coming I'm coming off a shoulder injury so I'm still gaining my flexibility back.

datlas 

Sorry...it's more of a running BF joke than anything else. Bars look decent though. Good work. Starting from the bottom is key.

lpolliard

Fail...try it again.

It took me several tries to get it right. You can pull up the Fi'zi:k bar tape with adhesive strip and reapply it with no problems. Try to even out your overlap by using the vent holes as a guide. I ended up overlapping the tape in the middle showing two rows of holes on the straight portion of the bars, one row on the inside of a curve and three rows on the outside. They never give you enough end tape to do a clean job. I just use electrical tape for this.

kimconyc

6/10

Not bad for the first time since it seems functional, but aesthetically, not really appealing.

The finishing tape job is really messy. Invest $1 in a roll of electrical tape or get colored electrical tape (orange in your case) to be pro. Put the "Fi'zi:k" finishing tape, without any overlap next time, over a layer of electrical tape.

In the first picture, the wrapping near the right side bar plug is not precise so it doesn't look as clean as possible.

In the second picture, the tape spacing is uneven, particularly under the hoods.

Also, just my opinion, but the bars would look better and riding position would be better with about 1.5cm more wrap on top of the bars.

Videos that might help:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psmxYxmE3T8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7KwGCDWlUk

Shows how to pinstripe, etc. for a cleaner finish:
https://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=71

kimconyc

You can re-wrap Fi'zi:k tape.

After getting some electrical tape, I'd redo it and try to salvage the Fi'zi:k, black finishing tape if you care about that.

IMO though, orange electrical tape with white pin stripping down the middle would look much more pro than the Fi'zi:k logo tape.

Remember to take your time.

dadof3boys

Thanks kimconyc & lpolliard for the helpful critique! I was going to use white electrical tape to clean up the top, but might give your orange/white combo a shot. I'm not sure the Fizik finishing tape is salvagable, I beat it up pretty bad last night

So I can rewrap this tape? Do I just pull it off and be careful not to let the adhesive hit anything?

As far as the spacing goes, I think that's why I ended up coming up short on top. Should I space them a little farther apart then?

khatfull

This.

I used this tape for the first time this wrap and those holes made the whole process a lot easier. Good advice.

DScott

Good job on your first try! It gets better with practice.

Ditch the logo finishing tape. It's always too short and seems to stick poorly. I like to finsih with a couple of wraps of black electrical tape. The first wrap should be started with a little tension on the tape as you go once around around the bar, then ease off the pressure for a second time around. Then cut it so it finishes on teh bottom of the bar. This helps prevent it from pulling back and leaving a gooey mess as it retracts. Looks pro. Colors are cool, but too OCD for me.

Trim the tape at the top so it's square to the bar. Much nicer, like here: https://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=71

DataJunkie

It looks about a 100 times better than my first attempt.

dadof3boys

Quick question: Am I supposed to wrap the finishing electrical tape just around the end of the bar wrap? Or do I overlap the bar wrap and the handlebar? I looked at the parktool instructions again and I couldn't see for sure what I'm supposed to do.

Trek89

After four years of wrapping tennis rackets i cant wait to do my first bike wrap. hahahaha

kimconyc

I only wrap the actual bar tape with maybe .5mm of the electrical tape going over the edge of the bar tape. The purpose is to just hold the bar tape together so it doesn't unravel.

Do not overlap the electrical tape as it will become gunky and looks non-professional.

Wrap the electrical tape with tension for 1.5 revolutions and then ease off, and then finish the cut at the bottom of the bars for a clean look. Basically, what DScott said.

Post pictures after!

dadof3boys

Update: I dropped by Lowe's and picked up some of the scotch colored electrical tape (white & orange). The orange isn't a perfect match, but it's pretty close to the bike. Close enough that I decided to use it.

I watched one of the youtube vids linked (thanks kimconyc!) and unwrapped the bars. The trickiest spots for me were right under the hoods. I must have done the right side 5 or 6 times! I followed Parktools advice on wrapping the bottom opposite of the top so that both the top and drops self tighten. This presented a bit of a challenge for the hoods, but I'm satisfied with how it turned out.

And thanks to lpolliard for the tip on the vent holes as guides...that worked amazingly well! So here's the final product, how'd I do on round 2?

kimconyc

9/10.

Great job! Looks a lot better.

See how the orange electrical tape looks pro? Now you have a conversation piece at the coffee shop

dadof3boys

Ha, thanks! Ya, i really like how it looks now, it really did look crappy before!

veganeric

You forgot the lettering.

lpolliard

Awesome! Excellent job! I might have to re-do my end tape now. The orange stripe looks nice.

teterider

I'm back to wrapping from the top down so no tape is needed. You do end up with the ridges faces in which is why its not the norm, but I seem to have no problems with the handlebar tape peeling up. Eddy Merckx also wrapped this by the way.

The new tape though here looks mint.

FL_MarkD

Nice job! Now go get it dirty.

Mark

DScott

Great work!

Your tape > Liz' tape

You < Liz

Sorry!

dalava

Great job... except the bar tapes should be wrapped so they will finish outward, the opposite of what you have here; that way, when you put your hands on the bars as you may do sometimes, you won't be pushing on the bar tape opposite of its rotation and loosening it.

dadof3boys

I'm not sure what you mean? Are you talking about the wrap on the drops? I wrapped them the way Parktool describes it in the "advanced tips" section of this page.

How'd you know that's what I should write?

dalava

The direction of the wrap should be the reserve of what you have done here.