smorris 

OK, the Brooks looked fine with the cream/off-white cork tape I had on the drop bars. But I just finished putting the tan Soma bar wrap from Riv on the mustache bars, and the Acorn bags arrived. Seems to me to be too many tans together. I can probably put some Proofide on the Acorn leather and get it a little darker. And maybe shellac the bar tape. Not sure how things would turn out. I'm going to wrap the ends of the bar wrap with black cord, so at least that won't clash.

Any thoughts or suggestions?








Yea, I know. The bar wrap looks like an Ace bandage...

mkeller234

IMO, shellac the cork. I have seen it done here before and think it looks nice.

gridplan

If you can find (or make) stitched leather wrap, that might look better than the wrap you have now.

smorris 

Proofide; I noticed the match between the Acorn straps and the side of the Brooks, too. Matching the rivets is a stretch for my eye, though. Maybe the shellac will darken the grips and just a bit of Proofide on the leather. It is brand new, so isn't worn or discolored at all. I've never shellaced anything except wood before, so that will be a new experience.

I just got the Acorn bags, so prior to that, I had the rear rack on to use with one of my panniers for tools, wallet, cell, etc., on rides. Mudguards are on the list, but wouldn't work well with my roof rack when I take my daughter to ride on nearby parkways. I haven't ridden in the rain since I dug this bike out after a 15 year hiatus and refurbished it. When it rains, I ride the Vespa!

Gridplan: I considered the Brooks perforated leather wrap, but couldn't bring myself to spend the $89. VO has a sewn-on leather wrap that may be an option.

Thanks guys!

USAZorro

I'd leave it be for now, and keep eyes open for the next set of bar tape. Cork will be toast within a year.

Roll-Monroe-Co

I wish I had your problem.

rhm

Proofide will darken the leather a bit, and is probably a good idea anyway. You can darken the leather even more with black tea; if you do that, do the tea first, then let it dry. You can always do it again, but you can't undo it. Apply the proofide after it dries. Tea might work on the cork as well, I haven't tried.

smorris 

Oh, tea! I have a big pot of loose leaves every morning I can use. I've got a bit of scrap cork tape to test it on. Thanks.

nlerner

Here's shellaced "natural" cork tape with a new honey Brooks on my Dawes. Not quite a match, but I'm hoping the bars darken a bit more (or at least before the saddle does!).



Neal

trelhak

I can second the shellac'ed cork. It feels great, it's a piece of cake to apply. If you get an amber shellac on natural cork tape, it will develop a beautiful patina over the miles. When paired with a honey-brown Brooks, it won't match initially, but once they both start breaking in, both items (tape and saddle) will have so many different shades of brown on them that they will match.

Please note, though, that you should use natural shellac. (from the flakes) If you use the average shellac you get from Home Depot it has chemicals and solvents in it that may not react so nicely with your skin. Natural shellac is, as its name would suggest, a natural material that shouldn't irritate the skin unless you're specifically allergic to it.

Really, though, you shouldn't worry that that much about color coordination. I think it's a disease you get from spending too much time on these forums, lord knows I struggle with it. What was once a perfectly good bike now looks like it might as well be in a dumpster unless you spend on a Nitto stem and seatpost.

squirtdad

My vote is maybe shellac the cork, but other wise, don't bother with the rest, ride it and let the patina of use do a natural matching ..or mis matching over time. Option b is make it a fixie and go for neon pink and purple

vjp

Your bike looks very nice! I would proofhide the leather on the bags and personally I would go with a colored cloth tape ( red would be great ) wrapped over thinner synthetic foam tape for a cushion.

When I first saw shellaced tape I thought that it was interesting and kind of unique but it is now feeling really played out, especially on the cork tape, personally to me it looks like you are trying to hard.

vjp

jdmitch

Yeah... I think natural weathering, even if mismatched, results in a far more beautiful look than contrived matching. The problem with matching it all right now, is that things are going to change as they weather anyway. Which means, yeah, you could match them perfectly now... but it won't last.

smorris 

Trying too hard? And not contrived at all or I would have gone with Brooks antique brown leather bar wrap. As much as anything, I just can't get past the Ace bandage look. Other than that, it its OK, and I know it will get a patina as it is used. But I figure for it being a nearly brand new, unrestored 1992 bike, it should look nice.

This was it before I swapped the bars and added the bags.




That was an off-white Paramount cork bar wrap on it then. I considered brown cloth, as I have used cloth many times in the past, but I liked the above padded cork. Red cloth tape? On a green bike? It isn't a Christmas present!

I'll try the shellac. Thanks for the photo reference, NEal.

Steve

vjp

Your bike does look nice. The next paragraph was referring to people with shellaced tape, which you don't have, so I wasn't referring to you or your bike....

vjp

Ex Pres 

I used shoe polish to darken the cork tape on my Frejus. Try some on your spare cork.

rhm

Here's a picture of my Norman Rapide. The handlebar tape is brand new Tressostar white cotton tape which, when applied, was so shockingly white that it looked almost blue. It's a beautiful white, but it looked bad on the bike, mainly because the mudguards, which were white once (in 1950) had yellowed, and the new tape looked... well, it just looked new. I don't mind it getting dirty, but under the dirt I also wanted the tape to look a bit aged. So I applied a little black tea. I think I did too much, actually. But here's the effect:

jdmitch

What's that bag on the back? It's very nice looking.

1fluffhead

Just ride it and let your body sweat leave its color on it.

norskagent

That's how my brooks bar tape got two-toned.

smorris 

I rubbed in plenty of Proofide on all the leather. That darkened things up a bit. At least it isn't so glaringly screaming "NEW LEATHER"

That's what I'm doing. Just taking me a while to get used to it again.

Thanks all,
Steve