SoSmellyAir

My point is that setting the saddle too far forward relative to the saddle rail clamp may affect a rider's balance on the saddle, regardless of what motivated said rider to slide the saddle forward in the first place, e.g., to decrease reach, to sit more forward relative to the BB, etc. The extent of this effect (of course) depends on the rider's weight and where exactly the rider sits on the saddle. You had mentioned positioning the saddle to prevent "falling forward"; this is taught in the two videos below, which I follow to set my saddle fore/aft position relative to the saddle rail clamp.

Sy Reene

"Bar Tape" ?

cxwrench

"Set for balance"? What? and "seat post offset should used to adjust reach"? No. Not how it's done.

cxwrench

"Set for balance"? What? and "seat post offset should used to adjust reach"? No. Not how it's done.

SoSmellyAir

Perhaps I have misunderstood what the two videos I linked are describing. So how should saddle fore/aft position be set?

urbanknight

Anybody else also feel like the OP wrapped them backwards? I wrap heading OUTWARD (clockwise on the right, CCW on the left) as I was taught that the natural wrist motion would pull the tape taught instead of trying to unravel it. I wouldn't undo it if I were the OP, but rather take note in case it does come undone prematurely and do the next job the other way when the time comes.

Also, that adorable dog seems to want to play tug-of-war with your bike.

genejockey 

Set saddle fore/aft position as in the videos, but unless you can't get the saddle as far one way or the other as it needs to be in the seatpost you have, you don't need to change it. It's where the saddle is relative to the bottom bracket and thus the pedals that you're adjusting. Relative to the saddle clamp is mostly irrelevant - except, as I said, if you can't get it where it needs to be in that seatpost.

I have a variety of bikes with different seat tube angles, from fairly steep to fairly slack. The slackest ones, I use zero setback posts with the saddle clamped near the back of the rails, whereas on the steepest I have a seatpost with 2cm of setback clamped in the middle of the rails. But they all have the same setback relative to the bottom bracket.

Branko D

Hypothetically the saddle and post flex a different way with different seat tube angles and seatpost offsets but same saddle setback from BB. How much of an issue it is in practice? I can't really feel it 🤷
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ratell

Supacaz is a great tape, but it's on the short side. Doesn't leave a lot of margin for error. Glad you got it sorted.

Fox Farm

practice my son....

Iride01 

I mentioned that in reply #13. No one seems to have been bothered about it but you and I. Maybe someone else mentioned it, but I'm not going to dig that hard to find them.

Vinnems

There isn't a right or wrong way per se, but the preferred way is, when viewing the bars from above, to be moving away for the frame when you come over with the wrap, starting at the drops. That way, as your hands naturally "rev" on the handle bars, it goes in the direction of the tape.
And some tapes are naturally shorter. I used Deda tape on my bike originally, and had no choice but to overlap only a third or I'd never make it to the top, and even then it didn't come as far up as I prefer. I used Cicelli tape last time, and could've overlapped by half and would still have tape left over.

urbanknight

So you did. Sorry I (and apparently everyone else) missed it. Maybe we were too enthralled with the saddle position debate.

Bah Humbug

That's the direction I wrap, and was taught to wrap.

rm -rf

Starting at the bar end:
I hate when the bar end tape starts getting loose. Grrr.

Here's how I start the taping: I use a narrow strip of gorilla tape to secure the end of the tape to the bar end. It's half on the bar, half for folding over inside the plug. This is way more secure than using electrical tape.
The tape end is on the bottom of the bar.
One full revolution around the bar end, no angling yet. Now I start angling up the bar, overlapping about 1/3 of the tape. Pull it pretty tight here.

~~~
I like tapes without the adhesive strips -- silicone grippers are way easier. I often have to redo the part past the shifters to get good coverage at the turn -- lots of overlap there, and still reach the middle of the bar area.
Tapes are shorter than they used to be!

urbanknight

I do a full revolution with the tape hanging about halfway off the end of the bar (however much is needed to make the plug tight), then fold it in and stuff the bar end in after it. Seems to do a pretty good job of holding the tape in place, at least after I get one more revolution down.

Agree with no adhesive. Not only does it gunk up the bar (I know it's hidden, but still), but it also makes it difficult to unwind a little to make adjustments or fix a mistake. I can get picky and want both sides to have the same thickness and number of turns.

genejockey 

(raises hand)

genejockey 

I like the adhesive, because I'm forever misplacing the electrical tape or the shears I use to cut the angled end up by the stem, and I have to step away and find them, and when I come back, with the adhesive I only have to redo the last loop. But I could probably make do without it. I find that the adhesive on the Fizik tape I use isn't terribly sticky, so unwind/rewind is not that much of a problem.

Cinelli tape, OTOH - the adhesive is too strong and the tape itself too weak, so that if you're trying to adjust the wrap any time down the road, the adhesive tears up the tape. Luckily Cinelli tape is cheap - I use it for the first wrap after a build, so that if I later decide I need a different bar or stem, I'm not out the cost of good tape.

urbanknight

Dang, post #4 even! Guess I haven't been paying attention lately.

SoSmellyAir

Sorry to have sidetracked with the saddle position vs. seat post offset discussion. Back to the main topic, here is my OCD way of wrapping bar tape:

Start from bar end, leaving an overhang of about half the width of the bar tape for securing bar end plugs, wrap outward (i.e., clockwise when looking at right bar end from rear and anti-clockwise when looking at left bar end from rear), overlapping by about 1/3 on the bottom (i.e., outside of curve of bar shape), because the extent of overlap on the top (i.e., insider of curve of bar shape) would change as bar curves, swap tape direction around base of STI lever, so that the tops are wrapped by pulling tape over the top toward rear of bike. Do not cut, temporarily tape bar tape in place with masking tape, then do the other side. Both sides should end with same remaining lengths; if not, redo the side with longer remainder, using slightly less tension, until both sides have same remaining lengths. Then cut and secure with finishing tape.

Reflector Guy

LOL I am reminded of the slippery plastic tape my old (70s-era) Sears bike had..... It wasn't stretchy or clingy at all so you had to keep it wound tightly the whole time until you could tape down the ends. Letting go for just a moment would cause a dozen or more loops to immediately uncoil!

I also seem to remember starting at the stem and finishing down by the bar ends. If there were mistakes to be made - I made them!

genejockey 

Some folks do wrap from stem to bar ends. Then you don't need finishing tape. I've never done that, myself.

DiabloScott

OCD would count the laps - both sides the same number of wraps, both above and below the brakes. A truly OCD would be counting as they wrap and already know how many laps it was going to be.

Vinnems

I'm stuck in my habits, but I don't know why starting at the stem isn't more popular. I can't see it not resulting in an equal product; you're wrapping the same, just backwards. Most tapes offer more than enough that you don't need to worry about running out.
Next time I do a wrap job, I think I'll give it a try.

downtube42

I did stem to bar ends for years, in the days of cloth or thin plastic tape. No need for finishing tape, as the plugs finished it off. Then I learned that was wrong and changed my ways. Like a lemming. I understand the rationale, but must admit I dislike the look of finishing tape.

Sometimes things are done the way they are done because that's the way they are done, and justifications are imagined and argued.

Wrap your tape how you like. Buck convention. Live free or die.