OT: Favorite white bar tape?

[crossjunkee]

Tried searching without much luck. I'm in the process or building up a new race bike for the season. I know, a little behind, but better late than never! I've been using Rapha for years. I love white but haven't used it in long time. I used Cinelli cork last time and it looked horrible after one ride, ha! Does anybody have a favorite brand that's "easy" to keep looking fresh? I have zero experience with Lizard Skin for instance.

[MattTuck]

Tried searching without much luck. I'm in the process or building up a new race bike for the season. I know, a little behind, but better late than never! I've been using Rapha for years. I love white but haven't used it in long time. I used Cinelli cork last time and it looked horrible after one ride, ha! Does anybody have a favorite brand that's "easy" to keep looking fresh? I have zero experience with Lizard Skin for instance.

Just don't get something tacky! that stuff is the worst to keep clean.

[rst72]

Fabric Silicone: https://fabric.cc/products/tape/silicone-bar-tape/

My favorite bar tape and I have white on 2 bikes...VERY easy to clean. It also can be removed and re-wrapped when needed...no adhesion. Plenty of length to stretch to desired thickness.

[David Kirk]

I like the Fizik tape. It's got good grip, cleans very easily and wraps up tight and stays in place.

dave

[54ny77]

Fizik "Performance" white tape. It's got the slight ridge and stitching on it.

Looks great, and can be cleaned with a little simple green and a scrub brush to look good as new.

Lizard Skin feels great but turns yellow over time and is a pain to clean.

[CDollarsign]

I had good luck with the Specialized Classic wrap. This was 5 years ago - not sure if it has changed.

[ikecycke]

I just bulk-buy really cheap stuff off eBay. It's less than $3/set, so I can replace it pretty often and keep it looking fresh. The bonus is it's actually pretty decent as far as stretchiness and comfort. During race season, I'll switch it out every 3 weeks or so, and then just switch out to the black stuff during the off-season.

[efixler]

A few months ago I would have definitely been in the Fizik Performance camp, but I'm loving the silicone lately. No-adhesive is a big plus too.

[Seramount]

Fizik Microtex.

if you're going to run white tape, this is a good choice.

super easy to clean, extremely durable. have removed/re-installed it with no tearing.

often available on ebay for under $20.

[steamer]

How about Zipp Service Course CX? Anyone used that in white? Easy to clean?

[OperaLover]

on the Fizik Microtex. Easy to clean lasts a long time. Looks classic.

[crossjunkee]

Thank you, all! Excellent advice as always! I think the Fizik and Fabric are going to be my front runners!

[mtechnica]

The fizik 3mm stuff is something else. Stays cleaner than you’d imagine possible. Super comfy too.

[alancw3]

the fizik tape is easy to clean and lasts a only tme.

[jtbadge]

The good Fizik tape has been called "Classic Touch" for the last couple of years. Don't get the "Tacky" or "Soft" versions in white.

[Mzilliox]

Fizik is the best tape in town. cinelli caleido if you need a bit of color as well

[zennmotion]

Zevlin Big 40 is discontinued, but you can still find it, hoard it if you can. Super wide so you can wrap it thick or thin as you want, cleans really well, grippy when wet without being tacky, especially great stuff if you don't ride with gloves. Also great if you like wide bars or a thick wrap, you'll never run short as they give you an overgenerous length. 2nd favorite is Cinelli Volee/tennis grip stuff, feels like leather, looks classy.

[Tickdoc]

Another fizik fan here in white. I had the duo once which is tacky top and shiny bottom, but the tacky is hard to keep clean. 2mm performance is my fav.

https://s1.thcdn.com/productimg/1600/1600/10770162-3044537701367389.jpg

[mtechnica]

Another fizik fan here in white. I had the duo once which is tacky top and shiny bottom, but the tacky is hard to keep clean. 2mm performance is my fav.

https://s1.thcdn.com/productimg/1600/1600/10770162-3044537701367389.jpg

Isn’t that pic the 3mm kind? At any rate the kind in the pic is my favorite. The thinner stuff is just as good besides not having the padding strip which I like to have nowadays.

[Duende]

http://images.app.goo.gl/dCF59G5BV3NHhLFg8

When men were men! ;)

[pdonk]

Fabric Silicone: https://fabric.cc/products/tape/silicone-bar-tape/

My favorite bar tape and I have white on 2 bikes...VERY easy to clean. It also can be removed and re-wrapped when needed...no adhesion. Plenty of length to stretch to desired thickness.

+1 - have it on my moots. The white is easy to clean, easy to install, feels good on non gloved and gloved hands.

Next upgrade to the SV will be this tape in black.

[bigbill]

I use Cinelli white cork and take joy in the dingy, smudged look after a few rides.

[fignon's barber]

The good Fizik tape has been called "Classic Touch" for the last couple of years. Don't get the "Tacky" or "Soft" versions in white.



This. Classic touch (I think it used to be called Superlight) cleans up easiest, and it's their cheapest tape as well.

[BdaGhisallo]

Zevlin Big 40 is discontinued, but you can still find it, hoard it if you can. Super wide so you can wrap it thick or thin as you want, cleans really well, grippy when wet without being tacky, especially great stuff if you don't ride with gloves. Also great if you like wide bars or a thick wrap, you'll never run short as they give you an overgenerous length. 2nd favorite is Cinelli Volee/tennis grip stuff, feels like leather, looks classy.

Red Monkey Sports bought the tape business from Zevlin and you can get it from them.

[Seramount]

I use Cinelli white cork and take joy in the dingy, smudged look after a few rides.

hmm, why not just start with gray tape...?

[dmurphey]

hmm, why not just start with gray tape...?

Who buys white bar tape?

ESI is the best bar tape. It is thicker tougher silicone bar tape. Try it and you will say it is comfy and durable.

https://esigrips.com

[Seramount]

Who buys white bar tape? ESI is the best bar tape.

seems like lots of us buy white...it's the most common color I see on other people's bikes.

at $42, ESI should be a killer product.

but, I'm too cheap to try it so will never know.

[charliedid]

I use Cinelli white cork and take joy in the dingy, smudged look after a few rides.

:beer:

[andrew+]

http://images.app.goo.gl/dCF59G5BV3NHhLFg8

When men were men! ;)


Seriously though

[fiamme red]

http://images.app.goo.gl/dCF59G5BV3NHhLFg8

When men were men! ;)https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikeforums.net-vbulletin/1024x681/ofs_hinault_lombardy_12_198_e1507219283178_1cca1d7 5da82843f9753d8132fa81647110afc36.jpg

[Veloo]

I tried Shorex for a bit. It was good but got dirty so I went back to glossy Fizik.

http://www.shorex.com.tw/web/product.php?id=185

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ca/en/fizik-superlight-glossy-bar-tape/rp-prod130086

[dgauthier]

I thought the whole point of white bar tape was that you *had* to change it frequently, so it was a sign of a meticulously maintained bike.

[charliedid]

I thought the whole point of white bar tape was that you *had* to change it frequently, so it was a sign of a meticulously maintained bike.

I thought it was so when it got dingy and gross it meant you actually rode your bike more than you talked about it.

[Brian Smith]

I thought the whole point of white bar tape was that you *had* to change it frequently, so it was a sign of a meticulously maintained bike.

dgauthier gets it.
If white tape is quickly soiled, and wasteful/expensive to have continually re-applied, the idea is then that a rider with continuously clean white tape is either a poseur or has had concomitant attention paid to the parts selection and tuning of their equipment in the less visible than tape details. It signifies that the bike has been taken care of as diligently as a professional rider's bike would have been. It showed that unlike a cat. 5 who ends up touching his bars with dirty hands after changing a wheel, the rider was confident that such things were not going to be a problem.
I recall an instance, at one "pro-shop" I wrenched in, a bike was being handed off to me after a representative had finished speaking to the customer on a service intake. The customer requested that a derailer adjustment performed, and the bike had soiled white tape around the hoods. After glancing down at the work order, I looked back up to the floor rep. and remarked, "Are we not changing the tape?" The customer was still in the building and within earshot, but in simply a look the representative expressed to me, the communication was clear. "Oh, so THAT'S what we're dealing with here..." This customer wanted their bike cleaned, and a pro look, but was unwilling to pay the paltry "white tape tax" for what we provided in service.
The idea of the machine's performance being cultivated seems kinda lost now.
What's discussed favorably now is white tape that is easy to clean.
That's OK, but we miss something if we don't know from whence we came.