I've come to the opinion
 

That cork handlebar tape is comfy. For the last several months, I have done the sleek bare metal, about to take a chunk out of your leg thing, but I changed that yesterday. My hands are thanking me.

I had to go with wrap, because I bought some bar plugs online that were begging to be used. Plus, it's getting towards winter. At least my plugs are now skull and crossbone design. Has me thinking that I might want to be a pirate for Halloween.

Any bets on how long it takes before I put ugly rips/holes in the tape? I give it a month at most :)

Welcome to the dark side. Cork is warm in the cold and wicks away moisture in the heat. And it's just damn comfy.

If your wrap is good, you shouldn't have a problem with it shifting around and opening up. Apart from that, you'll only rip it up if you wreck. If you can find electrical tape that matches your cork (black is always a sure bet), even then it can be patched up so that neither you nor anyone else will notice.

i rode bare metal back when i was a wild teenager with no inclination to keep replacing the sticky tape that wore off and got messy after a month or so. did they even have cork tape in the 70s? not at my lbs. anyway, i got tired of absorbing so much aluminum through my hands, so it's cork for me. to this day, when i see bare metal bars, it just reminds me of my lazy, stoner past. not going back there, thanks (and if you think it looks cool, that's okay - really, it's just my hangup).

I can't imagine bare metal bars on the street being about anything more than style.

yea?

Agreed. I just went to bare metal (lovely chrome) from cork-wrapped drops, and the cork is quite a bit more comfy with bare hands. However, since it is cold now, I don't ride w/o gloves anyway, so I don't have a problem with grip and padding.

Cork tape's the way to go. Extremely comfortable. I've got Cinelli. Are there any noticeable differences between brands?

for some reason deda was the only brand i could find that made a sexy green, that's why they got my money.

For whatever reason Cinelli's the gold standard, but it could just be a name thing. I've used a lot of other brands too--the place I usually buy my tape has off-brand stuff (usually made by eco-hippies sold in minimal recycled cardboard packaging) for a few dollars less than Cinelli. The Cinelli seems a smoother, but it's more like, "yeah, I can tell a difference." Not, "yeah, it makes a difference."

I find Cinelli wears out too fast.
Personally, right now, I use gloves and bare bars. With winter coming, I'll probably put on some synthetic cork where I grip the bars.

I just use some plain black cork tape from Performance. Just replaced the year old set, and it makes quite a difference, it's all padded and comfy again. The old tape got work down by a few spills but nothing black electrical tape (as suggested above) didn't cure. Good times.

I've been riding with bontrager tape because thats what the shop had. Its nice - nicer than the profile tape I tried once before. I just wish it didn't have their logo stamped all over it..

That bontrager tape is pretty nice. Too many logos for sure tho.
I've even re-used it before and it stayed nice and comfy.

cyclepro tape....cheap and has last me two months and a nice lay-down accident. Pretty tough as far as cork tape goes....but the cork peices are starting to fall out, so i got a few pockholes, but no tears yet.

lazer tape. synthetic made from some crazy compound used in some other extreme situation -- i forget the ad. anyway theyre outta business now but it is the best tape ever.

The Soma tape I am using right now seems to have the most cushion of any tape I have ever wrapped. Not a fan of bare bars, 'cept on horns

Cloth tape is a good in-between. I don't like how cork feels, but want a little extra grip over bare bars. Just ordered some Benotto tape, I'll see how that is and post when I put it on.

Yojimbo's has cloth tape too, in a pinch.

velox cloth is the way to go

The problem with the wraps is that I bike through beer goggles and then hook my handlebars on telephone poll anchor cables and go flying off, and it rips the tape. Then I end up riding around grabbing electrical tape, and if thats the case then why not just use that in the first place?

Maybe eventually I won't bust my ass alot.

No, although cork is a "low-tech" material, in the 70's "cork" handlebar tape did not exist the way that we know it today.

Cinelli cork tape is only part cork-- basically it is ground up cork in a matrix of synthetic material.

Tressostar baby!

if cork/cloth tape isnt your thing, at least use the thin plastic stuff....i doubt that stuff will tear very easily, and it will prolly give your gloves something a bit more grippy to deal with.

I just wrapped my bars with some Moda Chunky tape and boy oh boy its some good stuff!

That's that old Benotto tape I'm getting.

i cut the ends off some keirin grips and slid up to the middle of my 'horns. they're durable, gripy, and if i change bars (been thinking about some risers), i can use them again.