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Peeling lizard skin bar tape?

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Peeling lizard skin bar tape?

Old 03-09-19, 11:49 PM
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Peeling lizard skin bar tape?

Is this a thing with lizard skin bar wrap? The outer most layer is peeling...
it’s not really losing comfort or grip. It’s not sticky... but not expected.


On a second note... my daily rear tube seems
to be losing about half pressure per day. I’ve searched for leaks twice over and found nothing.
Leads me to believe the stem has a slow leak? It gave me some trouble previously unscrewing with
the adaptor. I think I’ll try another tube




Last edited by mouse; 03-10-19 at 03:49 PM.
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Old 03-10-19, 12:01 PM
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Tube thing sounds like a busted valve stem. Never seen that happen to Lizard Skins before, but I also only bought them once because there are better and cheaper bar tapes out there. How old is the tape?
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Old 03-10-19, 01:05 PM
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Originally Posted by seau grateau
Tube thing sounds like a busted valve stem. Never seen that happen to Lizard Skins before, but I also only bought them once because there are better and cheaper bar tapes out there. How old is the tape?
I’m pretty sure it’s the valve stem, after checking again for leaks and re-inflating last night, it’s holding pressure again just fine. Grrrr, frustrating.

Hard to say say how old the tape is. It was new in package still, but it was in the very back of the sales rack at the LBS and quite dusty. I imagine it wasn’t super fresh as this perticilar LBS sticks to more low budget walk ins and doesn’t sell a lot of the more pricey consumables. When wrapping it felt quite nice other than the peeling.
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Old 03-10-19, 03:33 PM
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My wife's lizard skin tape is doing the same thing and she's only ridden the bike a handful of times since I built it for her a couple years ago


If you're looking for something with a similar tactile feel to it, I've been really happy with my Fabric Knurl tape, which also appears to come in pink.
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Old 03-10-19, 04:08 PM
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Originally Posted by mouse
Is this a thing with lizard skin bar wrap? The outer most layer is peeling...
it’s not really losing comfort or grip. It’s not sticky... but not expected.

On a second note... my daily rear tube seems
to be losing about half pressure per day. I’ve searched for leaks twice over and found nothing.
Leads me to believe the stem has a slow leak? It gave me some trouble previously unscrewing with
the adaptor. I think I’ll try another tube
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Old 03-10-19, 10:42 PM
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Yup, that's common. The outer layer of lizardskins bartape is very susceptible to the natural oils produced by your body and found on your skin. It gets worked in as you ride. Penetrating and seeping into the tape, causing the slick/ waxy outer layer to lift from the padded backing.
Which sets it right up to be peeled off by the friction of your hands when you wield the handlebar.

Not really preventable even with post-ride wipe-downs so use it before you lose it! (Ride more!)
Also, wiping it down with alcohol in attempt to get rid of hand oil will dry out the tape causing it to get brittle!
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Originally Posted by veganbikes
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Old 03-10-19, 11:32 PM
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Originally Posted by jlafitte
This gave me a good laugh! I'm excited for the revamp of this movie... supposed to be a much darker, more adult version of the originals. Hopefully its great. But damn them tube gremlins.
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Old 03-10-19, 11:40 PM
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Originally Posted by StirFry
My wife's lizard skin tape is doing the same thing and she's only ridden the bike a handful of times since I built it for her a couple years ago


If you're looking for something with a similar tactile feel to it, I've been really happy with my Fabric Knurl tape, which also appears to come in pink.
Good to know. Thanks for the suggestion. I do like the feel of the lizards, but getting zero miles out of a $30 product is bull****. Gonna try out your tape when this stuff starts falling apart completely... probably relatively soon.

Originally Posted by Leukybear
Yup, that's common. The outer layer of lizardskins bartape is very susceptible to the natural oils produced by your body and found on your skin. It gets worked in as you ride. Penetrating and seeping into the tape, causing the slick/ waxy outer layer to lift from the padded backing.
Which sets it right up to be peeled off by the friction of your hands when you wield the handlebar.

Not really preventable even with post-ride wipe-downs so use it before you lose it! (Ride more!)
Also, wiping it down with alcohol in attempt to get rid of hand oil will dry out the tape causing it to get brittle!
Damn, that's a huge let down. Especially for $30+ tape. that otherwise is quite comfy. Will not be buying this again. Whats even worse is this happened as I was doing the initial wrap.. zero miles. After riding today its obviously even worse. Other than looking like crap, hasn/t really effected the feel of the tape... but I'm guessing the bare under layering won't last long. Probably old stock tape... but still. I've run tape almost a decade old that didn't have this issue. Definitely going to complain and mention to the LBS they should take the one other pack of the same tape off the shelf. Maybe they'll give it to me LOL.
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Old 03-11-19, 06:46 AM
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I've seen car steering wheels deteriorate like that when the driver has unusually sweaty hands.


-Tim-
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Old 03-11-19, 04:23 PM
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supacaz and the new all-city taps are both good.
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Old 03-11-19, 04:44 PM
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I've recently become a fan of Zipp Service Course CX. Supacaz is pretty $$$ but has those nice fancy bar-end plugs though. And Cinelli cork will never let you down.
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Old 03-11-19, 08:08 PM
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I haven't had the issue till recently and have been using their tape for a long time. I had it happen semi recently after some rough riding in the rain over 3 days and it did that a little but not enough to really bother me too much and since I need to redo my Di2 wires to go with the bar end junction A it is a perfect time to replace the tape which is over a year old now.

I have used the Fizik tape as well and like that well enough but I don't think I will stop using Lizard Skins any time soon. My hands love that tape and I give my hands what they want!
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Old 03-11-19, 08:59 PM
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Originally Posted by seau grateau
I've recently become a fan of Zipp Service Course CX. .
+1

Or the non-CX version if you like a smooth surface.

Half the price of Lizard Skins too.


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Old 03-12-19, 12:45 AM
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Originally Posted by TimothyH
I've seen car steering wheels deteriorate like that when the driver has unusually sweaty hands.


-Tim-
When I was looking at used 911's, suede steering wheels were atrocious for the most part.
Appearances aside, not sure if slightly damp/moist from futile cleaning or prior owner.
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Originally Posted by veganbikes
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Old 03-12-19, 02:13 PM
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FYI

https://www.velocipedesalon.com/foru...ure-33815.html


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Old 03-12-19, 03:10 PM
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Originally Posted by TimothyH
Possibly wrapped too tight. I tend to over muscle almost everything... but from what I'm hearing they don't tend to last very long regardless.
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Old 03-13-19, 08:49 PM
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You sure you got Lizard Skin?

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Old 03-14-19, 01:02 AM
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Originally Posted by IAmSam
You sure you got Lizard Skin?
There's a good chance the knock-off is from the same factory! Third shift!
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Originally Posted by veganbikes
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Old 03-14-19, 06:27 AM
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Originally Posted by Leukybear
There's a good chance the knock-off is from the same factory! Third shift!
And a Kilo TT is exactly the same as a Flite 100, just from KHS's 3rd shift; and WTs are built after hours at QBP's Steamroller maker...amirite?
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Old 03-14-19, 09:12 AM
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Originally Posted by IAmSam
You sure you got Lizard Skin?


Originally Posted by Leukybear
There's a good chance the knock-off is from the same factory! Third shift!
Haha!!
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Old 03-14-19, 09:50 AM
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Originally Posted by IAmSam
You sure you got Lizard Skin?
There is no difference between $5 bar tape and $40 bar tape. It all comes from the same factory in China where there is no quality control. Imperialist corporations just want you to think you are getting something special and so jack the prices to rip people off.

Marketing

Jeff Bezos

Tariffs

I'll post more argument trigger keywords and cliche's as soon as I think of them.


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Old 06-23-20, 09:43 PM
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Originally Posted by TimothyH
There is no difference between $5 bar tape and $40 bar tape. It all comes from the same factory in China where there is no quality control. Imperialist corporations just want you to think you are getting something special and so jack the prices to rip people off
If you can point me to the $5 same-factory knock-off of Fizik Terra Bondcush Tacky, I'd appreciate it
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Old 06-23-20, 10:55 PM
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LBS convinced me to buy Lizard Skin tape, but it did not hold up well. Back to Fizik for me.
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Old 06-24-20, 02:09 PM
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My Lizard Skin peeled. Replaced with Zipp Service Course CX. No problems yet.
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Old 06-24-20, 02:11 PM
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Opinions on Zipp Service Course CX vs Fizik Terra Bondcush Tacky? Looks similar but Zipp is less than half the price
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