Warbird21

I'm considering the Surly Truck Stop bar for my Salsa Warbird. My current bar, a Salsa Cowbell 3 has a 44 cm width.
The Truck Stop bar comes in 42 or 45 cm widths.
A 45 cm bar would be fine I'm assuming?
(I've never swapped a bar out before).

My bar tape is in great shape - I assume I can reuse it?

Thanks for your indulgence on probably dumb questions...

chaadster

Width is merely a matter of personal preference, so yeah, 45cm would be fine otherwise.

Whether the bar tape is resuable depends on how it comes off the bar. Some tapes stretch and deform, and don’t really like being re-wrapped. Try and see if you can get it to lay how you want on the bar; there’s not really any way to know otherwise with the info you’ve given. You may have to settle with less wrap coverage on a wider bar, too.

CliffordK

Most of the older tape was glued on, and never came off cleanly.

Many more modern tapes are simply friction wrapped.

I've reused tape from time to time, sometimes with good results, sometimes it is already a bit worn by the time I want to reuse it, and just disintegrates.

I thought I was getting tape China Direct off of E-Bay for about $1 a pair of rolls, but prices seem to have come up slightly. Still, it wouldn't hurt to order some ahead.

Oh, I never quite get the wrap around the brakes the same, so I often get some unique stripes from weathered to formerly covered.

dwmckee

If you reuse old tape you will miss out on the delightful pleasure of new bar tape. And it is cheap; why skimp with the new bar? Also, see the Park Tool video for wrapping bars, Calvin does a great job on that video!

tFUnK

I reuse bar tape all the time, especially if it's a nicer tape still in decent condition. That said, changing out bars is a great opportunity to try new tape (eg, if you wanted something more grippy or with more cushion), and there's a certain satisfaction in riding riding with new bar tape.

Moisture

First, Measure your Biacromial (Shoulder) width.
Second, determine the width of the bars you are planning to use at the drops (unless you plan to be mostly in the hoods)
Compare the drop and reach of your current bars with the Surly's. You may need to make some adjustments to stem length to compensate.
Keep in mind that the Surly bars have a 3cm rise. You would need to take some spacers out from underneath your current setup to compensate for this.

FWIW, I upgraded the 46CM stock bars on my gravel bike to 48cm surly truck stop bars, and I was very happy with the decision. The upgraded bars have less flare than the Satori X-Race bars they were replacing, along with more width, which put my joints into a more comfortable position at the drops. Keep in mind that taking spacers out from underneath your stem will marginally increase your handlebar reach. The reach of the Surly bars were about 8 or 9mm longer to begin with, so I needed to change to a stem that was 10mm shorter to more or less compensate.

Moisture

Stem Comparison Tool | yojimg.net

I just used this resource to determine that a stem which is otherwise identical in size/degrees, when mounted 30mm higher on a 72.5 degree head tube angle provides 9mm less reach.. So, I haven't exactly compensated quite as closely as I first thought...

Warbird21

Update:
Bike: Salsa Warbird
I have 50 miles on the new bar and stem combination - its proven to be a perfect combination.
Stem: Redshift Shockstop 90 mm/6 deg rise
(replaced a Salsa 100 mm/25 deg rise)
Bar: Surly Truckstop Bar - 45 mm
(replaced a Salsa Cowbell 3)

The bar has the same specs as the Cowbell,but added a 30 mm rise section

I successfully reused the Salsa foam bar tape. It was wrapped away from the seat, so I duplicated that (then learned that was probably wrong). So far, it seems to be unmovable but looks sloppy on the finished end. I have a set of new tape on the bench, should it fail.

The stem has no discernible movement, but seems to soak up chatter on the C&O Canal. (which is always a little rougher this time of the year)

My next tape job will be better!

Camilo

Next time if you want to finish your your handlebar tape to stay put and look good, don't wrap the electrical tape around the bar like that. It doesn't even have to touch the bar at all, just secure the handlebar tape to itself to keep if from unwinding. Take a look at this video. Works well, looks much better and doesn't leave a sticky mess on the handlebars when you remove it.

Warbird21

Well that's pretty cool - I'll give that a try!