Let the laughing begin

[MattTuck]

First attempt at wrapping my own bars.

In my quest to do more of my own wrenching, I took on the task of putting on some new bar tape. In hindsight, I don't think that this particular tape (Fizik 3mm tacky white) was the best choice for a first timer. It was very bulky and had some decorative stitching/stripe that seemed to accentuated any mistakes and uneven wraps.

Among the comedy of errors...

I cut off one end of the tape on the first handlebar (there were about 2 inches of plane tape with no stitching that I thought was 'extra' tape.) Turns out that was to tuck in with the bar plug, and that handlebar wrap came up a little short.

I really messed up the area around the hood and clamp.

I realized too late that the fizik finishing tape ended right where it is most obvious, as opposed to on the underside of the bar.

On the positive side, I can only get better!



https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-wmA0mJzbMA4/UyYZDBXbh3I/AAAAAAAAGdA/PETblBxMfyA/w1117-h629-no/IMG_20140316_173302762.jpg

[sloar]

thats not to bad, you will get better with each one. at least you did it yourself.

[FlashUNC]

I've seen way worse for a first try. The bend around the shifter is usually the toughest bit.

[rustychisel]

I've seen much much worse for a first attempt.

BTW, the finishing tape is pants

[93legendti]

You're being way too hard on yourself. By some cheap $8 reusable gel tape from Performance and in a few tries you'll have it down.

[R3awak3n]

try again, take the tape out and re do it till its right. Sometimes I screw up and I only notice when its almost all in, I unroll it to the point and re do it and its fine. But yeah practice makes perfect.

[vqdriver]

That's not bad. And the touches you mention are things that nobody else would notice but bugs me every time I see it on my own bike.

[PJN]

People that consider themselves "serious" cyclist and are big enough bike nerds to pontificate about bikes on the internet don't wrap their own bars?

Something is wrong.

[Hawker]

I've seen way worse for a first try. The bend around the shifter is usually the toughest bit.

Amen. But don't live with it. Unwrap and try again...unless your temper (or your back) are getting the better of you. Then, walk away and come back later. Took me about five bikes before I really started feeling comfortable around the brake hoods.

Still can't adjust my rear derailleur to save my life. :)

[gforce]

Looks pretty good and as others have said
you will get better at the details later.
My favorite tape too.

[VA-Scooter]

Not that bad - If you only work on your own bikes you don't this often enough to get real good at it. I can do a decent job but am very slow & have to back track a few times.

[cmg]

looks like some of mine, as long as you don't see the bar your doing good. here a park tools demo http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/handlebar-tape-installation-drop-bar

[Elefantino]

You're being way too hard on yourself. By some cheap $8 reusable gel tape from Performance and in a few tries you'll have it down.
Yes! Please do! :D

[bking]

People that consider themselves "serious" cyclist and are big enough bike nerds to pontificate about bikes on the internet don't wrap their own bars?

Something is wrong.

can't think of what it would be. i love bikes, love a good mechanic. only recently have i started to work on them; and i do have a lot of bikes.
One thing does not have to lead to another.

[umami]

Not bad at all.

It looks like your wrap direction is "backwards"--i.e. typically you finish the wrap so that the tape would be tightened by twisting your hands back toward your body. Personal preference, but convention suggests that you might end up unwrapping your tape over time if you run it the other way.

The finishing tape in the box makes a great toolbox sticker. It's never long enough or sticky enough to be used for finishing. Electrical tape works great as long as you don't over stretch it.

I always trim the extra tape and never tuck because my bar end plugs are unforgivingly tight. With practice you can make it look very clean.

You can pull that tape a lot harder than you think when working around the hoods. Practice with some used tape, perhaps, until you get a feel for how much is too much.

[tiretrax]

Good first try. I can't wait for your post after your first attempt to work on your derailleurs.

[Elefantino]

Good first try. I can't wait for your post after your first attempt to work on your derailleurs.
Or build your first wheelset. :)

[phcollard]

Hey Matt it doesn't look that bad! Even after several dozen tape jobs I still cannot manage to do it perfectly. And there is always, always, one side that goes on better than the other one! So I unwrap and start again. That can take me like 30 minutes to get the job done to my satisfaction and again it's not perfect. The key is to keep calm (which I struggle with) and have plenty of time ahead.

[bshell]

Unwrap them and then rewrap them. If the tape has lost its little stickum line on the underside just go buy a roll of double stick scotch tape and lay it down on the whole bar in the same spiral manner as the bar tape.

Electrical tape of your color preference to finish the job. It seems to conform much better than any supplied finishing tape I've used and it isn't another advertisement.

Make it look pro with a nice, square finished edge...ie. Use the finish tape to hold the last wrap of the tape job together, NOT to tape it to the handlebars.

Give yourself a bunch of time/rewraps and you'll learn to do it well. Then be stoked every time you look at it!

[bshell]

Oh yeah, measure outward from your stem and pick the spot you want the job to end and mark it with a light pencil or piece of tape. Then you can adjust the wrap spacing to meet the line and have a symmetrical end result.

The shape of the tape should be used as a guide for the amount of overlap. There are always feathered edges, lines, perforations, etc. that help keep you on track.

[nathanong87]

don't use the finish tape to tape the bar tape to the bars. Finishing tape should be taping to itself.

[avalonracing]

It takes a big man to admit that he is green at taping bars.
My advice would be to find a tape that doesn't even have a rear adhesive and do it again and again until you are happy with it. If you like a tape without that comes with that adhesive you can roll the sticky stuff off with a bit of effort. Correctly wrapped bars do not need sticky tape on the back to stay wrapped.
As others have said, the finishing tape that comes with the bar tape sucks, use electrical tape.
I actually enjoy wrapping bars as it kind of satisfying when it is done right.

[josephr]

....great job for first timer and any dIY bike wrench would be proud. that being said, electrical tape is better than 'finishing' tape...if you're absolutely set on getting it perfect, knock yourself out...but most DIY wrenches more than happy with that and, seriously, you'll probably only be the only person who notices.
Joe

[Netdewt]

I watched like 100 YouTube videos before I did mine. It helped. There are lots of little tricks to know. You can always wrap, unwrap, rewrap, etc.

[Admiral Ackbar]

could be worse. just make sure you get each wrap around the bar even in overlap and tension. yours looks a bit uneven around the hoods and loose onto the bar tops.

and my #1 rule is to only wrap the finishing tape around the bar tape itself, not onto the bar.

have another crack at it and you'll probably get it right

[eippo1]

One thing to know about the tape that you used is that you can pull on it pretty well and it will not tear. Pull it harder and get more wraps and it will be comfy and "pro." :cool:

[Seramount]

wrapping bars is pretty much a no-stress activity (unless you pull the tape too hard and break it). otherwise, if you screw it up, just re-do it.

I usually nail the first side perfectly and then have to futz around with the other side to get it just right.

and fwiw, I think it looks better if the terminal end of the finishing tape is at the 6 o'clock position (on the bottom of the bar).

[benb]

Personal preference but one other thing you can do is pull the tape tighter in some spots (drops) so that you have more tape for more overlap and cushion in other spots (up by the hoods and bar tops).

[fuzzalow]

Personal preference but one other thing you can do is pull the tape tighter in some spots (drops) so that you have more tape for more overlap and cushion in other spots (up by the hoods and bar tops).

Yes I agree with doing this too but my method is different. IMO there isn't that much length to be gained by pulling the tape tighter. Plus I think it should be uniform in tension all the way around. When you pull tension in the tape in wrapping, do not pull straight but kinda wave the roll in your hand up and down to pull tension into the edges of the bar tape.

What works better is if the amount of tape overlap varies between where you want the tape to be thinner, such as at the end bottoms of the hooks, and where you want it thicker, such as around the top curve of the bar just behind the hoods. In this case, keep the spacing on the overlaps wider at the bottom and make the spacing tighter at the top just after you have cleared the brake lever body. It will look nice if the spacing between the wraps is nice and even - wider at the bottom & tighter at the top.

Use electrical tape to secure the end by the stem. Overlap the electrical tape about 3/8" past the end of the bar tape. Use a guitar pick or popsical stick to double-back the electrical tape under the exposed end of the bar tape so the naked edge no longer shows.

[StephenCL]

Use electrical tape to secure the end by the stem. Overlap the electrical tape about 3/8" past the end of the bar tape. Use a guitar pick or popsical stick to double-back the electrical tape under the exposed end of the bar tape so the naked edge no longer shows.

Sage advice from a man who knows! I've found the Popsicle stick can be a little thick....guitar pick is perfect...

Stephen

[fuzzalow]

Sage advice from a man who knows! I've found the Popsicle stick can be a little thick....guitar pick is perfect...

Stephen

HaHa! Yes the popsical stick is just an accommodation for those that don't play guitar! You and I both know that a Fender Thin or a yellow Dunlop Tortex pick is the right tool for the job!

[KJMUNC]

Never heard that trick but will try it next time I tape.

Funny this was posted and getting so many hits as it seems like every time I wrap bars it's like the first time. I guess if you do it frequently enough you get it down, but once a year at most for me and I goof up wrapping the shifters every time.

[torquer]

http://bookofjoe.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c5dea53ef0191047273dc970c-800wi
Or build your first wheelset. :)
Many of us have been there...

[benb]

What works better is if the amount of tape overlap varies between where you want the tape to be thinner, such as at the end bottoms of the hooks, and where you want it thicker, such as around the top curve of the bar just behind the hoods. In this case, keep the spacing on the overlaps wider at the bottom and make the spacing tighter at the top just after you have cleared the brake lever body. It will look nice if the spacing between the wraps is nice and even - wider at the bottom & tighter at the top.

Use electrical tape to secure the end by the stem. Overlap the electrical tape about 3/8" past the end of the bar tape. Use a guitar pick or popsical stick to double-back the electrical tape under the exposed end of the bar tape so the naked edge no longer shows.

Yes "vary the overlap" way to describe what I was saying.. that is really what I do I just didn't really convey it well.

Not sure I get your description of this guitar pick thing.. picture?

edit: Found your picture from another thread.. that looks awesome for sure.. going to have try it.

[fuzzalow]

Yes "vary the overlap" way to describe what I was saying.. that is really what I do I just didn't really convey it well.

Not sure I get your description of this guitar pick thing.. picture?

edit: Found your picture from another thread.. that looks awesome for sure.. going to have try it.

No problem Re: "Overlap in the wrap", brilliant minds think alike. :)

Glad you like the double back on the electrical tape solution. So the rest of the readers of this thread can see, the picture of how this looks is:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-xV8Rw4SWHVs/UW_5g2qulNI/AAAAAAAAAVc/MNMMNP_UaDU/s640/dsc00255.jpg

P.S. If you look closely at the lefthand bar tape wrap, you can see the spacing of the wraps by the seam line of the bartape. Wider spacing at the bottom is less padding because the tape overwrap is less. Tighter spacing at the top is more padding because there is more overlap of bartape over itself. Easy huh?

[Javaman]

^^ Cool! Always wondered how that was done! I always wrap my own bars and could never get it that way I wanted to...
So great job being the first time!

[rwsaunders]

A few years ago, I thought that I had properly installed a tube in a new tire. Proper lighting and a quick check would have proven otherwise. After I had about 50-60 psi of air in the tube, I noticed a small bulge, which rather quickly turned into a large bulge. In the few seconds or so that it took to try to disconnect the pump head and let the air out of the tube, the tube worked it's way out of the tire and exploded. At least I couldn't hear Mrs. RW yelling at me for a while.