Alan@TreeFort

Hey folks. Tried searching the web and the forum for some help on this but to no avail.

I'm restoring a 65 Cinelli SC (https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...y-this-Cinelli!) and am about to wrap up the bars. It uses cloth tape, and has no brake hoods, of course. They are standard Universal levers. I guess I could just have at it and wrap it up like I'm used to wrapping modern road bikes, but want to make sure I'm doing this the right way. Is there a "proper" way to wrap bars that use cloth tape and brake levers with no hoods? If so, anybody know of any tutorials?

Thanks.

rootboy 

Huh oh Alan. You're dredging up a subject again that, while shouldn't, generates a lot of controversy. Top down. Bottom up. This way, that way. I don't know why some folks have such strong opinions on this.
Now...here is how you MUST DO IT !
Just kidding. I would just do it how you know , with maybe a wrap around the base of the lever next to the bar, as on Aixaix's recent thread on his Cinelli re-paint. That looks pretty cool. There's lots of threads on here regarding wrapping bars.
Can't wait to see this baby all cleaned up !

Alan@TreeFort

Haha ok I understand.

Yep, getting pretty close. Most stuff is clean, need to rebuild one of the wheels (I stupidly oriented the hub in the wrong direction, logo reads from the front of the bike instead of the back), treat the interior of the frame, mount the tires, and reassemble everything. I'm thinking it'll be about another month or so, just in time for December in Michigan lol.

Alan Edwards

Just make sure you wrap around the brake lever and cover up the gap between the lever body and the bar. You know the figure "8" around the lever ??? Some make an extra wrap around the lever body.

dbakl

Can't you just switch the QR side to side and spin the wheel?

For what its worth, we did cloth top down in the 70s, held with the plugs, but bottom up seems better these days. Wrap the base of the lever cris-cross then once around square if no hoods (Universal hoods on ebay or repro, but pricey).

Ex Pres 

Just something to think about - on my last cloth job I put down a layer of old inner tube first, then clothed over it. The tube adds just a little padding, and some in size/diameter, which I find more comfortable. I don't find that it makes the bars look clunky, either. YMMV.

Alan@TreeFort

Then the logo on the rim faces towards the non-drive side instead of the drive. *face palm*

rootboy 

Alan. Just took a look at your Cinelli thread again and saw your wheels. Have to say, outstanding looking. Yeah, Universal hoods that just ended on ebay Sunday went for fifty bucks. Seems to be the going price when you can find them. Pricey is right. At the risk of taking one side or the other, I'll put in with dbakl. I always used to wrap top down cause that's how I learned it, but I recently did my first ever bottom up wrap and finished it off up top with fine crochet thread. Not sure what period correct would be for finishing the wrap on top and will leave that to those more knowledgable. What have you got for bar end plugs ? FWIW I recently found some plain steel caps at the hardware store that were meant for finishing tubing. Slightly domed. Wanted to replace the oh-so French white Velox plugs I originally used on my Frejus with something else. The plain steel caps worked fine and look understated.

rootboy 

oops. correction. Sorry Alan, it wasn't Aixaix's Cinelli where I saw the lever wrap. different bike,...somewhere.

randyjawa 

This is how I did the hoodless Universal brake lever bodies on my Torpado Five Speed...

rootboy 

Since we're posting a few pics, this is how I finished mine off Alan. FWIW.

Alan@TreeFort

Ok, so is electrical tape pretty standard? Of course I always use it my current bikes, but wasn't sure about whats PC for the vintage stuff.

Doohickie

Vintage? Wrap from the middle, out to the ends, and use the end caps to hold the ends on. No adhesive tape needed. I never heard of using adhesive tape to finish handlebar tape as a kid, then when I started riding again in 2008, everyone was using tape.

I think starting from the ends and working in started when people started using gel tape or padded tape or whatever. When the tape is spongy, you tend to peel up the edges of the spiraled tape if it's wrapped old style. I think that's why it changed. When you wrap it ending in the middle, you tend to push the edges of the spiraled tape down.

Case in point: Vinyl bar tape on a Schwinn Varsity I pulled out of the city dump. I believe it was the original handlebar wrap from 1973.

Alan@TreeFort

Awesome, exactly what I needed! I never like the look of finishing off the bar with tape, but like you said its required with gel tape because it will peel up if not oriented correctly.

So do you cut the roll in half? Or do you need 4 rolls of cotton tape? :-O

Alan@TreeFort

Upon using my brain a little more, I suppose you don't need to cut the roll - just start it halfway up the roll at the middle of the bar. Yes?

khatfull

Two rolls, one per side. Newbaums is great to wrap with and is very comfortably long.

Cushy for cloth too, I love it.

And tape looks good sometimes if you work at it:

Capecodder

One roll per side.....

ColonelJLloyd 

For 60s era bikes I prefer the look of cotton for sure and almost always without shellac, or at most one coat. Wrapping some tape around the levers as randyjawa shows is how I like to do it. Cut one or two 2" pieces from each roll and use to prevent voids/gaps in your wrap behind the levers (cover up the clamp). I recommend Newbaum's as well because it is thicker, but more importantly, longer than Tressotar.

I wrap from the bottom up.

rootboy 

Ditto on the Newbaum's. Very nice stuff and as the Colonel says, that extra length is very handy, especially if you're going to wrap the lever bodies. Their light blue would look very nice on that bike.

bibliobob

A little wood glue will nicely secure the ends of cotton tape....

iab

These are mine. I say do it however you want.

tru

https://www.raydobbins.com/molteni_replica/molteni_tip

rootboy 

This is how I do it, minus the getting the tape wet step, but the OP doesn't have hoods and needs to wrap over them as in the above photo.

dbakl

I never saw that in the 70s. Both vinyl and cloth wrapped from the top and held with the plugs. As someone said, I think bottom up and electrical tape evolved with padded tape.

dbakl

Is that a Gloria? Was it at Velo-Retro's meetup in Pasadena one year?

Oh, sorry, I was thinking of this one, remembering the water bottles: