antchen

I obtained an old bike that had handlebars on.. I unwrapped the tape and there was this gooey film left all over. I tried goo gone and it didn't seem to work so well. any suggestions for a fast way to remove this stuff??

blamp28

Simple Green+Time+elbow grease+success

rm -rf

Mineral spirits (paint thinner) worked for me. I wrapped the bars with paper towels, and soaked it for a while. It was still slow to remove. I think I used a nylon scrubber, too. But test it first.

Or try your goo gone again, but put plastic wrap over it and let it sit for an hour.

kramnnim

WD-40 will often remove sticky glue residue... Although if goo gone didn't get it...WD-40 might not be a lot better. Worth a try, I suppose.

Richard L

If it's just bare metal, use acetone (nail polish remover).

Coyote2

Why worry? When you re-wrap the bars with fresh tape, you will neither see nor feel that goo.

dsm iv tr

Isopropyl alcohol ("rubbing alcohol") tends to remove sticky residues as well as being readily available at any pharmacy, and cheap.

urbanknight

+1

I use bar tape without adhesive. No problems.

Chieftan

A piece of Duck Tape works...just keep blotting the stick residue. If you don't mind the fumes, 3M Adhesive Remover(Home Depot carries it) will take that stuff off in seconds with little effort. Of course, it'll probably give you cancer too.

RT

I couldn't re-wrap over goo. I'd always know it's there. No, I'm not a weight weenie, I'm OCD when it comes to forms of...goo.

Matt Gaunt

Wow. That's serious.

I have all kinds of crap under my bar tape: cable covers, insulation tape, goo from previous insulation tape...

Will you be able to sleep tonight with that in mind?

jens5

Goo-be gone

urbanknight

If you're that OCD, you could always just buy a new bar every time you need to rewrap it.

ginsoakedboy

I've found that the best solution to dissolve adhesive of all types is one of the citrus degreaser formulas like Finish Line. This works well for anything sticky -- remnants of bar tape, getting the residue of parking stickers off the windshield, etc. Last night, I pulled an old chainstay guard off of a bike and used some Finish Line to clean away the remaining adhesive.

Windecopower

Hi use neat petrol but don't smoke!!

San Rensho 

Brake cleaner.

madman451

speed degreaser

jwa

Ah, so YOU'RE the guy who started that clean-the-original-gunk-off-a-new-chain-before-installing-it idea!

due ruote 

Oven cleaner might work, although admittedly I've never tried it. I'm in the wrap-over-it crowd. I also don't worry about the residue on my tubular rims, so at least I'm consistent.

mike

+1.. WD-40. Don't know why it works so well, but it does. Good for cleaning dirty bearings too.

roy5000x2

Use Bonty bar tape so you don't have to worry about the sticky goo.

dobber

He'll probably sneak in you garage and retape them.

pachuco_cadaver

blowtorch to burn the goo away, and sterilize the bars at the same time so no crawleys underneath the new tape.

RT

Bah! Yer killin' me! Naw, I'll be ok. I just re-wrapped all three of my bikes. I always double wrap, no adhesive, just a real tight wrap.

rustguard

hey what ever works, but in the auto trade white gum mineral turpintine is the universal glue residue dis-solver. be carefull of solvents on aluminum, most of it has a finish applied even though it looks like bare metal. linseed oil sometimes works for me, also cheap shampoo and pre wash spray come in handy for a myrad of applications.
salute