Handle Bar Tape Recommendation
08-27-20, 03:57 PM
#26
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I like Arundel Gecko.
08-27-20, 04:08 PM
#27
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Here is the Supacaz on my R3
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08-28-20, 07:52 AM
#28
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Another vote for Supacaz
08-28-20, 08:15 AM
#29
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I really like the $2 imitation cork tape from China. It is very comfortable, wraps easily, doesn't fade, and has a tight cell that stays clean and washes well.
08-28-20, 10:54 AM
#30
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08-29-20, 09:32 PM
#31
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When I purchased my Cannondale Synapse in 2012, I loved the tape! So now I just use Cannondale Synapse 3.5mm tape. It's grippy and cushiony and you can get it for about $20.
08-29-20, 11:36 PM
#32
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I don't really have a favourite, but I do have a bunch of criteria for what makes bar tape good...
These days most tapes have a good adhesive; tacky gel stuff instead of stupid double-sided tape, which makes it good for rewrapping. Gotta have that.
A certain degree of toughness is desirable, but this is usually a trade-off against grippiness. At one end of the spectrum there's soft foamy stuff that gets torn to hell as soon as you drop the bike, at the other there's tape like that Velo carbon-look stuff which is tough as nails but gets pretty slippy in the wet, like ye olde vinyl wrap.
Then there's the factor of how well it'll wrap; the stiffer tapes are tough to do a nice job with on aero bars, and you can't work as much angle into a loop, which increases the difficulty at the levers and sharp bends. Also, if the tape has a tougher outer over a softer foam, wrapping it tight makes the edges dig in, allowing you to do a nice robust job going top-down, eliminating the finishing tape - a big plus. The tapes that have a couple of lines of stitches tend to be pretty good with this too. Another bonus with the stitches is that they really help with doing an even and consistent wrap; tape with perforations is great for that as well. Selle Italia's Smootape rates a mention here - no reference lines to help you, but the tapered profile allows for a really smooth wrap... It's two layers of stiff foam that's difficult to wrap; getting it to be as smooth as it can be is a fair bit of work, but it's also tough and light.
And regarding aesthetics, it's hard to do better than black. You can have have a dozen flavours to choose from though, and if you insist on an accent colour, black tape with either coloured stitching or perforations over colour looks great. Oh, and someone does a black tape with colour on the end, so it's just the horizontal part of the drops, that looks pretty good. I reckon most of the reason black is the go, is that it includes the levers in the shape of the bar. Fancy business like coloured hoods to match coloured tape looks good in almost the same way (except it's not black). Different coloured hoods and tape just doesn't look as good, like with the seat and the tape. IMO, obvs.
These days most tapes have a good adhesive; tacky gel stuff instead of stupid double-sided tape, which makes it good for rewrapping. Gotta have that.
A certain degree of toughness is desirable, but this is usually a trade-off against grippiness. At one end of the spectrum there's soft foamy stuff that gets torn to hell as soon as you drop the bike, at the other there's tape like that Velo carbon-look stuff which is tough as nails but gets pretty slippy in the wet, like ye olde vinyl wrap.
Then there's the factor of how well it'll wrap; the stiffer tapes are tough to do a nice job with on aero bars, and you can't work as much angle into a loop, which increases the difficulty at the levers and sharp bends. Also, if the tape has a tougher outer over a softer foam, wrapping it tight makes the edges dig in, allowing you to do a nice robust job going top-down, eliminating the finishing tape - a big plus. The tapes that have a couple of lines of stitches tend to be pretty good with this too. Another bonus with the stitches is that they really help with doing an even and consistent wrap; tape with perforations is great for that as well. Selle Italia's Smootape rates a mention here - no reference lines to help you, but the tapered profile allows for a really smooth wrap... It's two layers of stiff foam that's difficult to wrap; getting it to be as smooth as it can be is a fair bit of work, but it's also tough and light.
And regarding aesthetics, it's hard to do better than black. You can have have a dozen flavours to choose from though, and if you insist on an accent colour, black tape with either coloured stitching or perforations over colour looks great. Oh, and someone does a black tape with colour on the end, so it's just the horizontal part of the drops, that looks pretty good. I reckon most of the reason black is the go, is that it includes the levers in the shape of the bar. Fancy business like coloured hoods to match coloured tape looks good in almost the same way (except it's not black). Different coloured hoods and tape just doesn't look as good, like with the seat and the tape. IMO, obvs.
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Half-step triple, using double gear ~~~ 6400 STI rebuild walkthrough ~~~ Want 8/9/10s @126mm OLD? OCR. ~~~ Shimano cassette body overhaul ~~~ Ergopower Escape wear repair ~~~ PSA: drivetrain wear
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Sheldon Brown's bike info ~~~ Park Tools repair help
Half-step triple, using double gear ~~~ 6400 STI rebuild walkthrough ~~~ Want 8/9/10s @126mm OLD? OCR. ~~~ Shimano cassette body overhaul ~~~ Ergopower Escape wear repair ~~~ PSA: drivetrain wear
List of US/Canada bike co-ops ~~~ Global list
