Calsun

Why whine on a forum when you should have confronted the person at the bike shop and requested that they fix the bike.

Koyote

Bingo. They'd have to remove the tape in order to remove the extraneous brake levers, and then they could re-wrap it as per your preference. Why didn't you just ask them to do the job as written up?

Kai Winters

Now that is plain wrong and incompetent of the shop and its employees.
I'd have asked why the work was done incorrectly and how much of a refund I was going to get for the incorrect work.
I work in a bike shop as a wrench and if we screwed up like this we'd have accepted the fault and made it right immediately with a profound apology. We have screwed up in the past and will likely do so in the future...that is why we take responsibility and make it right.
If it's the only shop around that sucks...learn how to do it yourself it is far more satisfying...

dscohen

Agreed. It's not so cut and dry as we'd now need to source more blue brake cable housing to redo it; otherwise, I would have had them redo it then and there. I'm also a little concerned about the tape losing its tack once they unwrap and rewrap.

MaxKatt

You guys are tough. I don't know I ever would have notice that. Still not even 100% sure what the issue is.

With that said, I'm a guy who spent last season with black electrical tape I did myself. Sinful as it was on Zipp carbon bars on a Merckx 525.

Had my guy re-do it with Lizzard Skin medium thick. Liking it, but if I had to do over I'd go with their thickest. After 20 years riding, I've learned I have big hands and am happiest with chunky vibration dampening tape that I can nicely hold loose tight.

genejockey 

Bar + Tape = Bar Tape, I suppose.

venturi95

I've been wrapping bars since 1976, and boy are my hands tired. (JK) I would only use electrical tape as a last resort, even the best tends to slide a little. But if you must, use whatever finishing tape the manufacturer included over electrical tape. If there are no little bits for under the lever hood, just cut some small pieces off before taping.
Calvin, for the love of Merckx, just use an ink pen and leave the razor knife for cutting linoleum floors or hydraulic lines. I have never had an issue wrapping the lower part in the same direction as the upper, nor have I ever seen it an issue. That is to say, keep the direction of the upper wrap like Calvin says. Folks tend to twist the upper flat part of the bars (next to the stem) like someone trying to accelerate a motorcycle throttle, while they ride.

urbanknight

That's awesome, especially since he did it better than you would have. I am extremely picky doing my bars, wanting both sides to overlap the same amount and end at exactly the right spot with the tapered cut to line up at the same point around the bars... with a small bulge in the drops where my palm rests and more overlap (thicker padding) on the tops... and a over/under criss-cross pattern to cover the brifter clamp. Of course, that takes me about an hour with a many times I end up backing up and rewrapping. I don't know if a shop would be that thorough, but it doesn't matter because I actually enjoy the process.

Kai Winters

This is why you learn to do it yourself...it comes out exactly the way you want it to and if it's not right you do it over until it is...chapeau ! ! !

Kai Winters

Tape doesn't lose its 'tack' that quickly.

eduskator

Some bar tapes comes with two 2-3'' long pieces of material made specifically to cover those two area of the handlebar that are hard to wrap, some don't. I always put one around each levers before taping my bars to prevent this from happening.

Your LBS should be able to correct the problem. Bar tape can be unwrapped and re-wrapped.

t2p

it was a heckuva lot easier to do a great job wrapping bars before needing to deal with shifter cables and (especially) hydraulic brake lines

t2p

it might depend on the method used when maneuvering around the hoods - especially when ‘changing direction’

some method / methods apparently will leave the small void (bare exposed ‘V’ shaped spot)

t2p

hour ? you are flying lol

I’m fortunate to get one side completed in an hour

when shift cables and hydraulic brake lines (and related) are added it can become a PITA ...

obviously would go quicker if you did a number of them

Koyote

I don't understand how shift cables and brake lines make it more time-consuming. They're generally taped to the handlebar and the wrap goes right over them.

roadcrankr

Going back to the 90's, I always use those extra strips for some padding in the drops, right at the first bend in the bars.
And never worried about covering the rear of the clamp, which my paws never touch.
I wonder if I will ever experience the day of bringing my bikes to a shop and let them have at it.

urbanknight

maybe because I’ve done it many times. I used to wrap my family’s bikes as a teen, and have wrapped my own almost every year ever since then. Still never quite happy with how I do, too.

FWIW my cables and lines are scotch taped in place and that generally stays put when I rewrap the bars.

t2p

I also secure (tape) the cables and lines before wrapping the bar

Koyote

So then how does that complicate wrapping the bar? Still trying to figure out that one.

t2p

hydraulic brake / shifter assemblies are larger / occupy more space behind the clamp - and the irregular shape of the rear-most portion protrudes away from the bar (especially the brake hose fitting area)

some of the protruding part of the brake / shifter assembly / brake hose must be covered - or unwrapped portions will be visible ... however - due to the shape of the rear-most portion, when wrapped the wrap will be pulled away from the handlebar slightly ... and also gotta be careful how much of the assembly is covered by the wrap because the hoods have ‘nubs’ that sit inside recesses on the assembly ... if the wrap covers the recesses - the hood might not fit into place neatly

there ... clear as mud

mschwett 

i must be doing it REALLY wrong, it only took 15 minutes or so, with zero experience. there must be some nuance i'm missing.

NoWhammies

That's too bad about you not being happy with the bar tape. What did the LBS say when you asked them to redo the work?

t2p

much more of a challenge to wrap around the top assembly compared to the bottom

Koyote

I've never found it particularly challenging...Hence the question.

'Course, on my hydro disc brake bike, I use Brooks Cambium Rubber bar tape, which is its own special hell as it has no stretch. So I wouldn't notice any difficulty with the brake hoses.

mschwett 

ignoring the obvious attempt to make it look complicated by posting an exploded diagram rather than two comparable photos … how is this harder? it attaches to the bar in the same way and is a similar shape at the wrapping interface, just a little thicker.