Wil Davis

I've found the Park Tool tips to be very useful, especially the "reversed electrical tape" trick.

These were finished using vinyl electrical tape:

CdCf

Why can't they make longer bar tape? To wrap it with sufficient overlap, I'd need at least another 8-10" of tape on each side. No matter how careful I am, the tape will invariably slip out somewhere, since the short tape didn't allow for enough overlap.

I'd prefer to have it so that the space between each tape edge is less than half an inch throughout, at the longest!

DocRay

Wrap tape around the insert part -no rattle or hum.

DocRay

Profits would plummet.

patentcad

Where's the 'how do I tie these damn shoelaces?' thread?

CdCf

Then why not start selling them in two or three different lengths? That way, people have a choice. My bet is that the longest choice would very soon become the top seller...

After all, handle bars come in different widths, both in terms of end-to-end distance and tube diameter. Why one single length of bar tape should be expected to fit all kinds of bars is beyond me...

DocRay

The sub-prime mortgage market crash a few weeks ago was traced to 32mm to much bar tape from Cinelli, according to MSN market analysts...the market, she's a fickle beast.

workscollective

slightly off topic...but how do you guys suggest doing pursuit bars? I always start them at the end with the reverse brake levers and go towards the stem from there. Seem to work ok but right at the brake there is a bit more tape than I really like...

mikeoverly

I think bar wrapping has gotten unnecessarily mysterious, probably thanks to the cross-pollination of methods via the web. I still don't get the whole electrical tape toward the stem deal, or why anyone would wrap from the bottom to the top, necessitating the need for electrical tape as "finishing."

If you wrap with tension with at least 1/4-inch overlap from the tops to the drops you get a cleanly-wrapped bar that stays wrapped ... dead simple. Just anchor your first wrap on the top with 100-percent overlap and keep the tension tight as you go down. Brifter housings can be taped tight to the bar with a few pieces of electrical tape beforehand. The tape you have leftover can be cut if need be ... otherwise just plugged into the bar-end, so no worries about how much tape is leftover at the end of the wrap ... assuming you have any leftover.

elmaya

try this....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cFbWpwojro

666

Found JUST what the OP needs:

HANDLEBAR TAPE FITTING DVD - $6.12



https://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=N1019

gios

I've always wrapped my own bars and like to use Cinelli cork. So this last time around I went with white and took a pic and only then noticed the gap on the left side bottom front. Carefully took off the electrical tape end and un wrapped, re wrapped, and fixed it. before and after:

indyfabz

This thread will become a teenager in a few days. Boy! Time flies. Seems like just yesterday that I ordered its first diaper changed.

PoorInRichfield

The title of this post made me chuckle I'm glad I learned how to wrap handlebars a million years ago when "bar tape" actually was tape. It was much, much easier to wrap than today's padded tapes are. However, I much prefer riding with today's padded and grippy tapes, like Lizard Skins. I'll admit that if the tape doesn't allow much stretch, is very wide, and very padded, it can be a beast to get a nice looking wrap.

PoorInRichfield

White tape always looks so good when new, but how do you keep it clean? Seems like one would have to replace it every year to keep it from looking nasty, yellow, and dirty

Andy Somnifac 

Ohh, I love zombie threads almost as much as I love a good new bar wrap.



Top-down w/ no finishing tape preferred.

noodle soup

I love a good bar wrap as well.

Keep trying, and you'll get the technique down someday.

datlas 

Looks nice, but I still prefer to start from the bottom. Makes it less likely the tape will unravel.

What's the deal with zombie threads, btw? I have suggested that any thread over a certain age (say 6 months? A year? A decade??) should not be bumped except maybe by the OP to update what happened.

noodle soup

+1

The tape job he did isn't bad, it's just a little uneven.

Andy Somnifac 

The trick is a good once around tight 100% overlap at the top for the first go around. A nice cushy tape makes it easier too. I've been doing it this way for years without any unraveling issues. The downside is at the bottom, getting everything to finish up nice and neatly can be a pain.

mrblue

Practice. Practice. And more practice. Just like riding a bike, it takes lots of practice and trial and error. Eventually, after you've done it a few times, you will be able do it with your eyes closed. And if you get really good you won't even need those little pieces to cover the shifter clamps.

PoorInRichfield

My experience with taping "top down" is that one's hands/gloves have a tendency to catch on the "edges" on the wrap due to the direction of the taping, causing the taping to wear prematurely. I'm not saying one can't prefer top-down taping, but there's a "scientifical" reason why it's suggested to tape from bottom-up.

Andy Somnifac 

​​​​​​Point taken. But we all have our quirks.

BoraxKid

Yep, you just replace it once a season, along with all the other wearables on the bike. Bar tape is pretty cheap and is meant to be replaced regularly.

genejockey 

This is why I bought a pair of white gloves after re-taping my red bike with the white tape. The black version of the same glove seems to bleed onto the tape.

Also helps if you have other bikes, so you're not always riding the one with the white tape.