randyjawa 

These days, I prefer to build older steeds, those from the early seventies or older. My question is pretty straight forward - what handlebar tape, or ribbon or whatever was available in those days..

At the moment, I have only two oldies, a 1968 Legnano Grand Premio (red cotton tape installed years ago)...


...and a 1958 Rabeneick 120d which will be completed this summer, if the virus will allow me to return to my summer cottage (I do have black, dark blue and red cotton tape, the same as that on the Legnano)...

100bikes

There were a few options in the early 1970's and many more toward the end of the 70's.

Tressostar cloth tape was a brand, but there were a number of other adhesive backed cloth tape options.
.
Hunt-Wilde made plastic handlebar wrap in a variety of colors. Not certain, but likely was OEM on Schwinn drip bar models.

Grab on grips(foam sections) was introduced sometime in the late 1970's

Benotto introduced its plastic wrap in the US.

As the bike boom was in full swing, there were any number of of new introductions of brands and iterations.
Section type grips with textures, padded plastic wrap,etc.

randyjawa 

Thanks 100bikes. It would seem that I will be using some of my cotton tape and hate to do so. I bought dozens of sets, years ago, for two bucks a set. Try to find cotton tape at that price now. Anyway, thanks again. Now all I have to do is decide on dark blue, red or black...

I fitted the Legnano bar to the Rubeneick, for test riding purposes, and kinda like the look but the color seems to jump out at me or does it..?

IsleRide

Nothing says vintage ride more than cloth. Cork is a close second. Never understood foam and plastic wraps.

BFisher

That's the one you painted blue and gold, right? If so, black cotton would look great.

randyjawa 

Yes, and I dooooo wish that I had that bike here, in Winnipeg, with me right now. And, black does seem to be the way to go as I ponder the situation...

Salamandrine 

I agree and still like cotton. Yet, plastic wrap in various forms has been around since at least the early 60s, probably earlier. Foam "Grab-On" grips have been around since the mid 70s and were quite popular then. Ambrosio Bike Ribbon padded vinyl tape was also widely used in the late 70s and through the 80s. Not sure when it first became available. All of these synthetic coverings predate cork tape, which didn't appear until approximately 1985.

Anyhow, back to the OP. I vote for cotton for both of those. It seems to me that in 1958 a single position slip on grip on a dropped bar would have been slightly archaic already, but probably still period correct. Even so I'd put cotton on just to make the thing have more than one position. It has a certain retro cool as it is, but it looks painful and dangerous unless you're really into the retro tweed thing.

Chombi1 

IIRC, Grab On actually had a thinner version of their foam grips that they tried to sell to sport and racing bikers. I almost bought a set for my bike back then, but the vinyl padded tapes came up, and I quickly forgot about Grab Ons.

randyjawa 

This cockpit is for test riding and component set-up only. The brake levers have gone to another, very patient, forum member. My intended levers and I have my last set of Universal hoods tucked away...


...connected to this long reach caliper (rear only) which another forum member helped me with...

IsleRide

randyjawa I know you don't want to take away from your stash of bargain-priced cloth tape but you can't keep it forever. I recently found long-stored Cat-Eye cloth tape to be unusable close to the inside of the wrap. The adhesive backing was bonding to the top surface of the cloth. I was only able to use 80% of the rolls.
Use it.

randyjawa 

Good heads up on the expiration possibility. I did not think of that and, for what it is worth, my tape installed just fine last summer. I hope it is still good.

I still have some of this stuff left,,,

Velo Mule

That Benotto tape is pretty. I rewraped my bike in probably 1980 or '81 with it . Once on the bike, I hated it and thought it made the bike too pretty. I used Yellow Benotto ribbon that matched the yellow in the Serotta logo. Other people liked it so I kept it for a while.

For early '70's to early '80's I think cloth was the most common bike enthusiast way to go. I only remember Schwinn's and other American (lesser) bikes having plastic wrap. Maybe some of he lower end Japanese bikes of the time too, like Royce Union.

Tressostar was the preferred tape, at least for me at the time. I would use either black or white tape.

Cougrrcj

I still have a couple rolls of 'No 1 Tape' on the card from probably the late '70s or early '80s.. 'The Tape' was another early synthetic thin foam tape from BITD... I believe my old Fuji is still sporting the same wrap (can't remember which it was - No 1 Tape or The Tape - ) that I put on it waaaay back in 1980 before I took it on tour...

Mr. 66

...or wrap with leather. This is what I did for one of my rides last weekend.

New hoods in the plan.

Last ride 76 

You sewed them youeself? Good job!