trailmix

nice bike!

noglider 

The price is now $29 and dropping. 13 hours left as of now.

Wilbur76

Thanks for all the nice pics. Certainly handsome! I probably won’t go leather or simulated leather from some of the comments (install pita) and also because I’m bored so to keep busy I like to throw on new wrap every few months.

MKahrl

The Brooks leather has lasted longer, 5 years, 12,000 miles, than I expected. It gets wet a lot riding in the rain and really gets wet atop my car on trips in the pouring rain. Abrasions can be smoothed back down with neutral shoe wax. Eventually with various rewraps it loses the stickiness of the under side. I need to come up with something that holds it in place better.

Fahrenheit531 

This.

Also the Brooks microfiber feels artificial, while Fizik is more like authentic supple leather.

kocour

I have used both the Brooks microfiber and leather bar tape in the brown color. The microfiber got scraped up exposing the black material underneath the brown finish. I was able to touch it up with brown and black acrylic paint that I mixed to match the original color. I toped that with some clear nail polish and the repair is hardly noticeable. But I noticed over time that my brown Brooks seat and bar tap changed colors and no longer matched. After a couple of years I transferred the microfiber to another bike and replaced it with Brooks leather bar tape hoping it would match the seat better. The leather tape does have a couple of seams, but if you wrap it just right you can position the seems to the underside of the bar. I recently crashed and scrapped up the leather tape too. I was able to smooth the finish with a fine (600 grit) sand paper and cover it with brown shoe polish. Over time the seat and leather tape also faded at different rates and no longer matched. I took some brown shoe polish to the seat before applying Proofide. It seems to have worked pretty well and the bar tape and seat now look similar in color. I had worried that riding in the rain might damage the leather tape more than the microfiber tape, but have had no problems with either. I do apply Proofide to the leather tape every couple of months. I do not notice a big difference in the feel of the microfiber and leather tape. I usually ride with gloves, but even when I don't, the microfiber and leather feel about the same. Based on my experience I would recommend the microfiber due to the price and lack of seams.


Brooks microfiber bar tape repaired with acrylic paint.

noglider 

A bit of rubber cement out of the brush-and-lid bottle will suffice. Just don't use too much. If you need to get it off, it will come off with persistent rubbing.