How much of your bars are taped? Why?
 

My bike left the shop with the usual bar tape setup, meaning my tops are taped. When people post photos of their bikes here, a few of them have the tape stop just beyond the bends. The tops are naked.

Is this just to save a few grams? How do the tops feel when it's just the bare bars, or do people never use the tops? They're not especially useful, but nice for climbing hills.

I'm not planning to change mine, but I'm curious. Can anyone say what's going on?

are you sure you're not looking at FG/SS/track?

Otherwise, were most of those bars wing shaped in any way?

or maybe they are cheap. Taping up to the hoods means you get twice as much tape to use.

within a couple inches of my stem. i've used bars taped only to the bends before, but unless it has internal cable routing the housing annoys me

Winged/aero bars tend to not get taped all the way...I tape mine all the way cuz I hate the red on it

I spend as much time in the drops, as the hoods and the tops, and being I ride an aluminum frame, they are double-wrapped.

I tape mine just past the bends. The bars are carbon and winged on the tops. I ride on the tops 90% of the time. I ride without gloves except during cold weather. I like the feel of the bare winged carbon on my bare hands. Just a personal thing. A mechanic at my LBS asked once if I wanted it taped that way when I was getting new bars. I hadn't heard of it before but I decided to give it a try and I really liked it. Didn't do it for weight savings though, just comfort.

The correct answer, IMO, should be "anywhere you would be holding them," which for most of us is up to a few cm from the stem.

But it's your handlebar so tape it the way you like it.

As much as can be covered with the insufficient amount that came in the package I bought.

Because the manufacturers decided they need to make even more money on an overpriced product, and they skimp on the amount they give you...:notamused:

The downside of using these: http://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...5&category=831 is that I can only tape up to the end of the housing recess in the bars, a few inches from the stem. The upside is that the "Ritchey" logos on my bars are now fully visible and more importantly, even the hottest, most humid weather doesn't cause my bar tape to start unraveling. Well worth the sacrifice in grippable bar space for me.

I wrap 'til it runs out. I hope my terrible electrical tape doesn't offend much ;)

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6139/...8fd994f6_b.jpg

I don't see many roadies except "wing" bar riders with untaped tops, but...

The Deda 35s have a line marked so you don't tape the tops. I imagine so you don't cover all those graphics and possibly because the tops are so fat that wrapping them would make 'em about like holding a baseball bat :)

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7Ehvh8lnLE.../deda+bar+.jpg

Just the flat part near my step on my bullhorns now... New bartape arrives in two days...

I wrap mine all the way to the Ds, because I like the traditional look and there is tape everywhere I put my hands.

http://i386.photobucket.com/albums/o...hwinnFront.jpg

Thanks, folks. On hind sight I've only seen this on winged bars, but hadn't really made that connection. Sounds like it's a combination of aesthetics and that some people prefer holding the raw carbon.

I'm confused by this comment. I use Deda and Cinelli cork bar tape, wrap to an inch or two of the stem, and never run out. Maybe it's your technique?

I'm sure you know all this, but bar tape is usually tapered (looking at it in cross-section), so it's a little thinner nearer the edges. That thinner section is what should be overlapped, and there should be plenty for most bars. If you overlap it too much, it'll get fat, lumpy, and you'll run out of tape. Also, be sure and keep tension on the tape as you wrap, which stretches it a bit and makes for a tighter install.


For people who may not know, Park tools has a pretty good tutorial on bar-tape wrapping: http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-...ation-drop-bar

There was a time when people would use clip-on aero bars on their road bikes for TTs. Stopping short was done to leave room for the clamps. But now everyone has dedicated TT bikes with full aero bars for their Cat 5 events.

Of course, I keed...

My winged bars are not taped all the way. Just up to the bend. I do prefer holding the unwrapped winged carbon section on climbs. I feel that wrapping the winged section makes the bar look and feel fat. It's all preference. No right or wrong here.

Ok, I'll explain. About 2 weeks ago I wrapped a new set of bars using Cinelli. I typically overlapped by half the width, + or -, depending on the curve of the bar. I consistently pulled the tape taught, but didn't stretch it. Why would I want to stretch it out causing it to thin and give less padding? The result was the tape was flat and no where was it bunched up. I ended up at least 4 to 5 inches from the stem on each side. I saw the Park tutorial and even found a video online that was more informative.

Admittedly, the bars I just wrapped are oversized, so that accounts for some. But I've also wrapped regular drops with Cinelli tape and ended up short. Would it kill them to give you enough to cover another couple of inches on each side? Come on, 15 bucks for a couple of rolls of tape?? One might think that for a product that is overpriced to begin with they would give an ample amount to work with, rather than barely enough or in some cases, not nearly enough. Again....:notamused:

/rant

Anyone want to post revealing pictures of their semi-clad wing bars? :)

Since people are talking about how to wrap the tape around your bars, I'll mention something I just recently learned about, and probably make a fool of myself. They make bar "tape" that isn't adhesive on one side - bar wrap. If you're trying to get the technique down, especially around the hoods, it's nice to be able to try a few times and pull the stuff off without worrying about tearing it, or just leaving a sticky residue.

I get it, and not trying to bust your balls here. If you overlap a little less, it would fit fine. I wrap 44cm wide Deda Newtons, and never run out of tape. The stuff seems to last forever, too. Just don't fall. ;)

$15/roll is alot for the stuff, but I buy tires, tubes, and tape when they're on sale and stock up, figuring I'll use it, eventually.

No worries, no offense taken. I've done plenty of mechanical work and other types of finish work. I have a fair idea of what I'm doing generally. One can usually "stretch it", both figuratively and in this case literally. There are advantages and limitations in doing so.

I would have preferred to wait for a sale, but the bars were new and needed to be wrapped. I even rode them unwrapped for 15 miles to make sure they were keepers, then I wrapped them. I probably could have wrapped them better, but they actually came out pretty good, just short.

My main point is that I find it annoying that they give you barely enough, or not enough. If it were me selling a product I'd like to think that I would provide an abundantly sufficient amount.

Just to be clear, I'm not suggesting you actually stretch the tape, just pull it taut as you said. I've broken it once (OK, maybe twice) by pulling it too hard. The only way to make what they give you fit is to overlap it a little bit less.

Or, I can send you the extra I have left over when I'm done. Would a couple more inches help? ;)