So I recently bought myself an LHT and am building it up to tour on/with in Mexico this spring. That's all well and good. I'm pretty strongly set on leather handlebar tape, and had been planning to get some of the Brooks stuff in green to match my green B17. However, <a href="https://epicureancyclist.com/?p=879">this blog post</a> got me worried about the Brooks stuff. Does anyone else have experience here?

I've been using leather on my road bikes for a while now, but never in a situation where it would be subjected to the wear/weather I'm likely to see touring. Is his experience with the Brooks stuff common or an outlier? Is the VO stuff or VO elkhide sewn-on handlebar cover likely to hold up better on a 2-3 month tour? Everything else being equal I'd love to go with the Brooks for the green, but if it's going to be significantly worse wearing, I can put aesthetics to the side.

I don't understand the attraction for leather compared to regular wrap. I just put on some Specialized roubeaux wrap and it's quite nice in the rain.

For me, the appeal of leather is just that I find it more pleasant to grip than other handlebar tape. It's firm, but with a little give, and there's a really pleasant amount of friction. I'm not married to it, and if it's a bad idea for touring I'll steer clear, but given my druthers I'd go with it.

A cow's hide lasts a lot longer than 3 months in all kinds of weather . . .

leather sounds slimy, slick, slippery, loose, then tight...

stella azzura tape?
https://www.google.com/search?client=...UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

i've used this stuff for a few years now.
its always good.

I picked up some of this: Handlebra and It is really nice. And he is a really good guy. It's nice to support a new small business. If you call him he is more than happy to give you all the tips and info you need to make your leather wrap last a good long while.

I've used the VO tape for about 11 months and it's my favorite of the handlebar tapes I've used. I live in Portland, OR so it's out in the rain a lot. I put some proofide on it, which I thought made it feel even nicer (a little grippier) and made it match my Brooks (honey) saddle better. I'm not sure if the proofide is what's made it hold up, but it's in excellent condition - much better looking and feeling than any other tape I've had for the same amount of time.

Wow, that Handlebra stuff looks perfect, and comes in the green I'm looking for! I just picked up a roll of the pre-water treated Hurricane stuff. Thanks a ton!

The review from Epicureancyclist is from an earlier version of Brooks wrap. It did not generally get great reviews. I have the current perforated version and have about 6000 miles on it and love it. Holding up great, very comfortable (I actually wrapped mine over some standard foam/cork wrap), great in rain (I commute in Seattle year round), and looks awesome. It looks like it will last many thousand more miles. I have the honey color; it's developing a nice patina.

I used elkhide on a touring bike years ago and had no problems; a pain to install but super durable.

I just put Handlebra on a commuting bike and have ridden it for 6 weeks now, mainly in the rain. So far, so good.

Are you a travel planner or a travel doer?

If the former, it's very important to spend a lot of time thinking about what type of bar tape you need, and once you've decided on the type, you need to spend at least as much time thinking about what colour to get.

If the latter, then you go with whatever bar tape you already have, or whichever one your local bike shop has for about 10 bucks, preferably black.

Honestly, you people read too much about cycling as opposed to just doing it. Get yourself some gloves, though. That you will need. Oh, oh! Better put off that touring trip for another year... there are many gloves to choose from.

I've never toured in Mexico, but I think that if I did, I wouldn't spend too much time making my bike look nice.

Check with VT_Speed_TR but I think he uses leather with a coat of shellac?

Some of us do both.

Try some San Marco Lorica handlebar tape;
suppose to be the same material SM uses for seat covers.
Feels nice, good grip when wet, absorbs some shock [not as much as the
gel/cork tapes] wears well, looks good, don't worry about the weather
with it. More expensive than cork or gel, less expensive than leather.
Sorry I don't have a close up photo-

Longfemur - I have trouble understanding these types of posts. If you don't like reading about cycling, why do you spend time on the forums doing it? Makes no sense. Moreover, if this is your point of view, why spend time responding negatively to reasonable questions when YOU could be cycling?

Agree with what someone said above... It's a freaking cycling forum!!!!!!!! Where people talk about (god forbid) cycling/cycling related topics!!!!!!! These types of complaints (don't worry, you're not alone) are like going to a concert and complaining about the loud noises.

Boy, I wasn't expecting to get you people'd! I guess I'll cop to being a trip planner and a trip doer. If it were an option for me to leave tomorrow or next week, I would get whatever bar tape I liked best at my LBS, but I'm in a situation where it doesn't make sense for me to go until February, so why shouldn't I take the time to investigate the little details like getting the tape I really want?

As for everyone else, thanks for the info. I've gone the handlebra route (it seems like a great product, but oof, I don't know about the name...) but all the info has been useful. Thanks!