Robvolz 

I was going through that Swiss bicycle shops restoration work - or as I like to call it, Bike Porn -

And I noticed several bikes that had leather slip on and laced up covers. Maybe the racers didn’t use it, but when did it become a thing?

Lattz

Not sure if they were the first, but most possibly the best known thanks to the usage by big brands, Almarc started in 1975. One in good condition is a big plus in value on a bike, they recently restarted doing them in the ~USD300 range over here in Europe. They are sewn on the bar, basically delivered as a Cinelli bar and stem.

Chombi1 

I dunno, but I think Almarc leather bar wraps were typically used on very expensive bikes.........that usually never really got ridden rhat much, lest the wear it might cause on said leather covers........specially the white ones.

panzerwagon 

Rhode Gear made a similar product in the 80s-- my '84 specialissima came with a well-loved set. Very comfortable and perfect thickness.

thumpism 

NIB and hiding in my garage.

tkamd73 

Looks like it’s been in that box quite awhile, maybe not really much of a “thing”.
Tim

pastorbobnlnh 

...or, make your own. It's really not that hard. I prefer thick goatskin.
Also, it works well for fashioning impossible to find hoods.

Soody

gorgeous work

easyupbug 

The bar wrap I get and have done some but the hood work you show is exceptional, clearly superb. Please some day if you have the time could you possibly do even a basic tutorial?

Dylansbob 

I picked up a used set of handlebars with Walnut Studio's sewup grips, with the intention of resewing them to another bar. VO used to offer elkhide sewup that I once installed on a early, "red barn" Trek TX.

​​​​​​https://walnutstudiolo.com/collectio...ther-bar-wraps

pastorbobnlnh 

Thank you.

Thank you as well.

I do need to create a thread on leather hood construction. I need to pay tribute to the late rootboy who provided my inspiration. He made vintage Campy Record hoods. IIRC he primarily used cowhide, which is more challenging to work. The goatskin is stretchy, and the stitching process pulls the seams together nicely.

I've been so busy this year re-locating for retirement (moving in stages), that I've not had any time for leather hood work. I do have several levers with difficult to source hoods which would be great to use for a tutorial. I'll try to do so in the coming months.

BMC_Kid 

Shimano Dura-Ace AX levers?

pastorbobnlnh 

A front view while I was making the hood. The final top seam stitching is more complete.

BMC_Kid 

Nicely done. I have these levers and two bikes.

Robvolz 

Wowzers

Robvolz 

These

Mr. 66

A very rewarding effort they are, but they don't slip on

Robvolz 

I know, I know. I was using slip on to make sure they were not confused with taped on, like bike tape

thumpism 

I did use a different set on my Klein with Cinelli stem and bars. They're pretty nice in use and only a moderate hassle to install, but probably moreso with barcons and aero levers.

martl

got one that *was* ridden

gearbasher

My 1980 Motobecane came with fake, plastic ones.

dweenk

It may take th patience of Job to do that work. Pastorbob may know something about that.

Chombi1 

It looks like they don't wear that well......
Looks like it turned onto rawhide.
Problem is they are not that easy to install compared to bar tapes.....plus its much more expensive.

martl

that bike was ridden intensively for 20+ years. The hide itself isnt really "installable" one would buy the handlebar set including the stem, the bar, the hide and the brake lever mount points afair. At that time, one usually would not spend a lot of thought about which brand of stem and bar to use and they werent an item used to "upgrade", even the top models had a combo which combined were less than 100DM - not Euro . A 3T stem was maybe 39DM, a Cinelli one a bit more maybe 60.
In the wake of the MTB boom, that started to change and people were looking at boutique brands like Syncros etc, which were much more expensive. The market for racing bikes used to be conservative so these were mostly found on the them emerging "new" bikes that broke with traditional looks, like Kleins or Treks. Before that, if you wanted your bike to stand out from the crowd, the Almark combos were an option. This bike also had a few ICS parts on it, the pimped shifters with the leather inlay.

martl

There is a nice instruction on how to do this in https://www.rennrad-news.de/forum/th...innähen.70313/ - its german but the pictures are extensive enough to follow, i think. no chance of success without the proper fuel, goes without saying




There also are sets sold by "Velobitz". Seems to give decent results if used with skill. (not my work, not my bike)