Testing bar tape colors
 

Just a silly little idea if you're wondering how a new color of bar tape would look on your bike. I did a local group ride yesterday where some people will decorate themselves or their bikes for Christmas. So I grabbed some gift wrap ribbon at the grocery store and wrapped my bars and top tube in red and green. It went on just as easy as any actual bar tape. I used electrical tape just on the ribbon to secure it so it will come right off without any damage to the actual bar tape (I'm sure scotch tape would work just as well if you just want to look at it and take a few pictures as opposed to riding it for 65 miles). $1.99 for a four color role of ribbon so $1 to wrap the bars.

While I didn't do this to check out new colors, I kind of like the red and think I'll be using red bar tape on my bike next spring. And actually the green looks better than I would have guessed.

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Very clever! I like it!

Ooh shiny!

I remember when bar tape wasn't much different from thick gift wrap ribbon.

Yeah one of my first road bikes had Benotto Plastic Bar Tape. I remember even double wrapping it at one time just to get better feel. And then I had to wear think gel filled gloves from Spenco just to relieve the jackhammer effect.

Green is a great color for bikes that you don't often see much any more. My favorite color bike of all time was solid emerald/malachite green metallic with deep red decals, cable outers and bar tape. Your little experiment kinda reminds me of it. Wish I had a picture of it, but no.

Very cool! If I was still riding outside I would consider a mix of the red and green to be festive!

However, if you wrap in two different colors how would you know which color made you faster?

Ride for a stretch with no hands and see which direction you turn. If you turn to the right, then you know that the left side color is the faster one. To the left, then the right side color is faster.

The spoiled young kids and newbies here don't know about Benotto tape and Spenco gloves, but I had both. I tan very easily and rode so much I had a serious case of Spenco glove tan. More than one person thought I had a skin condition.

About 2 blocks from my house is a neighborhood LBS where you can still buy the Benotto. Nashbar sometimes has retro gloves with the crocheted cotton back.

Wow. I was pretty broke when I first started riding "seriously." Getting Benotto tape made me feel partially legit. In '87, my mom gave me $100 for my birthday. I ran to an LBS and walked out with a pair of hand-crafted Diadora "cleats" with wooden soles. Then I went to a pharmacy and scored a pair of Spenco gloves. Red, white and blue mesh, of course. But I did not become totally legit until a month or so later when I got a bike with Italian components. A Trek 660. Campy Nuovo Record and black Modolo brakes with aero levers. Ah...The good old days.

Young kids today take out everything. GPS devices. Power meters. Electric tooth brushes.

Well now I want to wrap my bike in ribbon and go for a x-mas ride.

Indy, I had a set of Modolo bars and a matching Modolo stem (with the hidden bolt). That brought back a few memories.