but is your bar tape on backward
Yes and no. I learned to tape bars when the choices were cloth or celo, and you started at the stem. I know cork will not stand up to this (I have several examples as proof), but I just cannot get used to go the other way. Anyway, I found this retro pleather stuff which traditionally goes top down, but I guess could go either way.
I considered going center out with the bar ends (they are a real pain), but at the end, I just wanted to ride it. I want to ultimately do shellaced cloth, so I considered this a temporary...potentially long term...thing.