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Worn bar tape. One side only.

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Worn bar tape. One side only.

Old 10-19-20, 03:07 AM
  #1  
Amt0571
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Worn bar tape. One side only.

When in confinement in march I replaced my road bike bar tape. It was my first taping, so I didn't expect great results and used a cheap 5€ gel tape from Decathlon that was, apparently, the same that came stock with the bike and had lasted for a year and a half without noticeable wear (I did the retaping because I had to remove a frayed cable and I couldn't do ir propery with the tape on).

The job turned out to be quite successful and everything looked nice on both sides. After 7 months of use, the tape looks perfect on the ride side, but it seems it has thinned to almost nothing on the left side, and the corners are lifting in the places where I usually put my hands. When I taped it, I made sure to apply the same tension to both sides, and at least from an aesthetic point, it looked the same.

How is it possible that one side looks worn and the other looks (almost) like new? It seems to me that when riding I apply equal force to both sides.

I'm going to buy new tape, but I'd like to know what I may have done wrong to try and not repeat it again. Or is it possible that quality is inconsistent in such a cheap tape?

Last edited by Amt0571; 10-19-20 at 03:30 AM.
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Old 10-19-20, 04:14 AM
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In this case I'd say the cheap tape is the problem you've mentioned. It's hard to believe you'd put different pressure on the tapes. It's a good idea to buy a little more expensive one and we will see how that goes. Decathlon isn't known for high quality products and I pretty much agree with that in my own experience, besides clothing for forest/hunting
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Old 10-19-20, 04:42 AM
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Originally Posted by jakepaulo32
In this case I'd say the cheap tape is the problem you've mentioned. It's hard to believe you'd put different pressure on the tapes. It's a good idea to buy a little more expensive one and we will see how that goes. Decathlon isn't known for high quality products and I pretty much agree with that in my own experience, besides clothing for forest/hunting
Well, to be honest, the whole bike is from Decathlon and I can't fault its quality. I know of nobody else who sold in 2019 a 1200€, 8.5kg bike with full Rival hydraulic groupset and Ksyrium wheels. The assembly quality is another thing... I had to check everything when I bought it, but I already expected that.
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Old 10-19-20, 07:21 AM
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How do you wrap the bars? If you start at the drops and work up toward the stem the edges of each wrap face away from you and your hands don't tend to peel or lift them. Starting at the stem and working down makes the edges more vulnerable. For the short term, unwrap the bars and switch sides with the tape to even out the wear.
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Old 10-19-20, 08:09 AM
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Originally Posted by HillRider
Starting at the stem and working down makes the edges more vulnerable.
Not necessarily. This is how I've always wrapped on all my road bikes. If you keep the tape tight enough it will stay put, and the edges won't roll up. I prefer this method so that I don't have to use adhesive tape to secure the bar tape at the top. I prefer the cleaner look of no adhesive tape.

Dan
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Old 10-19-20, 09:02 AM
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Are you right handed? Depending on your hydration/nutrition habits, or rather how often you're using your right hand to grab a bottle/bar/gel, steadying your handlebars with your left hand might mean gripping a little more firmly and increasing the wear on that side.
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Old 10-19-20, 09:09 AM
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I don't know I have silicone grips on my bike and the right side has a smooth spot worn in it the left does not and i am right handed.
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Old 10-19-20, 10:36 AM
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Originally Posted by _ForceD_
Not necessarily. This is how I've always wrapped on all my road bikes. If you keep the tape tight enough it will stay put, and the edges won't roll up. I prefer this method so that I don't have to use adhesive tape to secure the bar tape at the top. I prefer the cleaner look of no adhesive tape.
Yes, done carefully and if you aren't too rough on the tape your method can work well but, in general, starting at the bar end and working up leads to a more durable wrap for most of us.
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Old 10-19-20, 10:45 AM
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Bar Tape can last me years before replacing. I can even change cables and housing and reuse it.
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Old 10-19-20, 10:57 AM
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Originally Posted by deacon mark
Bar Tape can last me years before replacing. I can even change cables and housing and reuse it.
Same here. I'll reuse bar tape until it's too frayed and worn to hold together. One of my bike has had the same bar tape for 29,000 miles and it has been reused twice following cable and housing replacements.
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Old 10-19-20, 11:56 AM
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Originally Posted by HillRider
How do you wrap the bars? If you start at the drops and work up toward the stem the edges of each wrap face away from you and your hands don't tend to peel or lift them. Starting at the stem and working down makes the edges more vulnerable. For the short term, unwrap the bars and switch sides with the tape to even out the wear.
I start at the drops. My previous road bike was a 400€ model from Decathlon which had, at least visually, the same tape of this one and it was fine after 5 years.

Originally Posted by Unca_Sam
Are you right handed? Depending on your hydration/nutrition habits, or rather how often you're using your right hand to grab a bottle/bar/gel, steadying your handlebars with your left hand might mean gripping a little more firmly and increasing the wear on that side.
I'm right handed, yes. I tend to drink with no hands the handlebar though

Originally Posted by deacon mark
Bar Tape can last me years before replacing. I can even change cables and housing and reuse it.
Yes. That's what I thought. This tape doesn't seem like the most durable, but I didn't expect it to last less than a year.

I didn't reuse the previous tape because it was damaged at the right drop.
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Old 10-19-20, 03:22 PM
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Originally Posted by _ForceD_
Not necessarily. This is how I've always wrapped on all my road bikes. If you keep the tape tight enough it will stay put, and the edges won't roll up. I prefer this method so that I don't have to use adhesive tape to secure the bar tape at the top. I prefer the cleaner look of no adhesive tape.

Dan
I like to use self-fusing silicone tape to secure the wrap at the top. It sticks to itself so no adhesive to bleed out, and it comes in many colors including clear so you can match or contrast the tape/bike color. Another alternative is a wrap with hemp or similar twine.
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Old 10-19-20, 06:30 PM
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Originally Posted by Amt0571
When in confinement in march I replaced my road bike bar tape. It was my first taping, so I didn't expect great results and used a cheap 5€ gel tape from Decathlon that was, apparently, the same that came stock with the bike and had lasted for a year and a half without noticeable wear (I did the retaping because I had to remove a frayed cable and I couldn't do ir propery with the tape on).

The job turned out to be quite successful and everything looked nice on both sides. After 7 months of use, the tape looks perfect on the ride side, but it seems it has thinned to almost nothing on the left side, and the corners are lifting in the places where I usually put my hands. When I taped it, I made sure to apply the same tension to both sides, and at least from an aesthetic point, it looked the same.

How is it possible that one side looks worn and the other looks (almost) like new? It seems to me that when riding I apply equal force to both sides.

I'm going to buy new tape, but I'd like to know what I may have done wrong to try and not repeat it again. Or is it possible that quality is inconsistent in such a cheap tape?
I'm not saying this is why your bar tape wore more on one side, but here is an anecdote regarding my experience. I put more pressure on one side than the other for a while. I realized I could not take my left hand off the bar easily, to drink, or wipe sweat away, or wave to the myriad of other bikers. (cough) I attributed it to being right handed, and I am sure some of the reason was due to that, but, I found I wasn't sitting stable on the saddle, I was dropping to one side to compensate for a too high saddle. It made me unstable on the bike, and had to sort of turn and lean to the left a bit to compensate for dropping off the right side of the saddle, to stay "stable" on the bike. This was a small imperceptible bit of gymnastics, but was discovered after seeing the dimples form on my leather saddle, skewed to the right side of the saddle. I dropped my saddle height and now I am stable on the saddle, the dimples have reformed symmetrically on the saddle, and I can ride easily with either hand off the bars, or no hands on the bars. I will admit to still being more coordinated drinking with my right hand, but, I am right handed.

We are all different, and you may just favor one side.
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Old 10-19-20, 11:31 PM
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Originally Posted by phughes
I'm not saying this is why your bar tape wore more on one side, but here is an anecdote regarding my experience. I put more pressure on one side than the other for a while. I realized I could not take my left hand off the bar easily, to drink, or wipe sweat away, or wave to the myriad of other bikers. (cough) I attributed it to being right handed, and I am sure some of the reason was due to that, but, I found I wasn't sitting stable on the saddle, I was dropping to one side to compensate for a too high saddle. It made me unstable on the bike, and had to sort of turn and lean to the left a bit to compensate for dropping off the right side of the saddle, to stay "stable" on the bike. This was a small imperceptible bit of gymnastics, but was discovered after seeing the dimples form on my leather saddle, skewed to the right side of the saddle. I dropped my saddle height and now I am stable on the saddle, the dimples have reformed symmetrically on the saddle, and I can ride easily with either hand off the bars, or no hands on the bars. I will admit to still being more coordinated drinking with my right hand, but, I am right handed.

We are all different, and you may just favor one side.
Never happened to me before the retaping. Neither did on my previous bike. My saddles have been set at 77cm from the center of the bottom bracket for years.
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