Bar tape... A study.
 

I'm not asking about which bar tape to run because I know what works for me. What I am asking is if you, the poster could share if you prefer a thinner bar tape or a more cushy bar tape. When doing this there is no need to mention what bar tape you use. Doing this because I have noticed over the years that the thinner type of bar tape has meshed better with me than the cushier bar tapes have. Though to be fair, I also prefer to use a glove with no gel padding in it.

Thin.

I prefer thin tape with no padding same goes for gloves. I guess i'm just light on my hands because I can ride for hours without discomfort.

Whatever LizardSkins are considered.

Thin + leather batting gloves with no padding

too much padding and my pinkies/ring fingers go numb.

Thin and thin padded gloves.

More cushion for the pushin big gears yo.

Thin.

Big hands, thicker bars. Cushion-y for me.

Thin but cushioney. Unpadded gloves. Exactly what I find w/ lizardskins.

picked up my first ever cadence bar tape last week, no test yet. normally prefer super thin with gloves though but really like volee tape too

thin tape, unpadded gloves. same theory as chamois and saddles. "squishy" stuff can actually have a negative effect, causing undue movement. all of those areas require firm support.

Cushy all the way...

most of my riding has been done on bars wrapped with old tube, just switched to volee tape and even though its at least 2x as thick as the tube, i dont think its particularly thick

that being said i usualy wear mechanix gloves that have no padding or no gloves at all, and the new tape is definitely my favorite so far

Thinner cork, and non-padded gloves when I need them

No gloves, useless when wet, dangerous really, colorful cork tape, on a grey day the colors from the tape are on my peripheral and it makes a gray day colorful

Thin as possible. No gloves unless it's cold.

Depends on the application. I haven't found a pair of fingerless gloves that don't leave me with blisters on the webs of my thumbs, so when I'm riding urban or touring I prefer a thicker tape for more cushion. Likewise with my mountain bike, I prefer Ourys to the thinner offerings out there.

When I'm distance riding without a load, for some reason I really like thin tape. Don't really have a good reason for it though.

Thin ftw
( no gloves )

cushy, no gloves

Bought two bikes with cork over the gel cutlets (one fizik, one bontrager) Hated both, felt completely disconnected from the steering and ride of the bike. Took the cutlets out of both, just bare cork and bare hands. As the weather cools, I'll put on a pair of mechanix gloves ($15 at... anywhere)

Never had trouble with cotton and bare hands either. Maybe I have a strong core?

Just an fyi, the leather soaks sweat up like a sponge and after a while they smell like funky vinegar
which subsequently means your hands also smell like funky vinegar

Perfectly adequate gloves though, they get the job done

I've never noticed that. Probably because I only wear them when the weather's cold and I'm sweating less. They're also cheap enough that I change them often. probably doesn't help that I weld in them and am always burning holes and putting tears in them, increasing the turnover.

Thin. No gloves.

Started with cotton tape coated with shellac 35+ years ago. For the last 30yrs it's been two layers of tape... cotton over cork...and padded gloves.