Sewing on Elkhide Bar Covers

[93legendti]

I picked up some white Elkhide Bar Cover for my used Ebisu.

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=33189

Velo Orange says it takes ~ 2 hours to put on the cover. Any tips before I give it a go?

[JohnS]

Make sure the elk isn't still inside... :D

[justinf]

Pull it tight! It can be hard to get total closure, especially if you're running Campy Ergo. And remember to pop your levers off so you can cut the lever holes and still get the cabling right.

[dave thompson]

I picked up some white Elkhide Bar Cover for my used Ebisu.

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=33189

Velo Orange says it takes ~ 2 hours to put on the cover. Any tips before I give it a go?
I found it easier to sew on the covers with the bars off the bike. I positioned the shifters, taped the clamp on the bars then removed the shifters. You will have to cut a hole in the cover for the mounting of the shifters (or brakes) when the covers are sewn to that point. Make the hole smaller than you think it should be, the elk hide will stretch a bit. If the hole's too small, you can enlarge it (I used an Exacto knife). The job is easier if you aren't running cables underneath the covers but if you are, make sure they are secure to the bars. When stitching, pull each tight when the stitch is complete. The edges of the cover should meet. The elk hide will stretch while doing this so it shouldn't be a problem. Take your time.

I pre-wrapped my bars with cloth tape so I didn't have to worry about the covers shifting while I sewed them. Take your time, position the cover just where you want it before pulling the thread tight each time and watch to make sure the stitching is where you want it to be, i.e., underneath or to the inside of the bar. Make sure that both ends (the beginning and the end) of the stitching are tied so they don't come loose later. The directions are pretty good at explaining this.

Two hours, or more is what it took me to do the job.

[Dekonick]

they look nice on the website. How do they feel?

Ahneida ride has leather wrap - he might sell you some if you want to give that a shot.

It is realllly nice wrap...can't wait to actually use my sample.... :) :p

[Fixed]

bro if you have any left over
can you sew me up a pair of
moccasins please
cheers :beer:

[goonster]

Start with a small hole for the lever clamps. Expand with exacto knife or scissors as needed. Be generous when trimming the ends. Mine rode up a bit and left about 0.25" of bare bar.

Pre-wrapping with cloth tape sounds like a great idea. I may do that next time.

[rwsaunders]

Photo of Dave Thompson at his day job.

[William]

I picked up some white Elkhide Bar Cover for my used Ebisu.

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=33189

Velo Orange says it takes ~ 2 hours to put on the cover. Any tips before I give it a go?


The only thing I can add is get some of Ahneida's bar wrap if you can for your next wrapping party. Once you try it, you'll never want anything else. Yes, it's that good.


William

[mschol17]

Sew it on as tight as possible or it will slide down later... as I have personally experienced. With Campy Ergo it's a tremendous loss of religion to get everything to fit properly.

[justinf]

My God, +1 on the vile nature of getting the elkhide to work with Campy Ergo. I just sewed on another set today. Grrr. Getting both sets of cables through, the screw threads connected, and the hole size just right is a biatch.

In the end, though, it's nice.

[93legendti]

Thanks for the replies. I sent an email to Ahneida and Jitenshu about their leather wraps. The thoughts of sewing for 2 hours after riding and chasing my 1/12 year old around all day leaves me numb....

[justinf]

You should give it a go. It looks really nice when complete--I've almost forgotten the curses I invented yesterday.

[Smiley]

they look nice on the website. How do they feel?

Ahneida ride has leather wrap - he might sell you some if you want to give that a shot.

It is realllly nice wrap...can't wait to actually use my sample.... :) :p
Ride man sending FREE samples out :)

no wonder the frn is going to hell

[Dekonick]

Ride man sending FREE samples out :)

no wonder the frn is going to hell

well - my sample isnt a freebie - I was told it was ok to hold on payment until I wrapped my bars...

The check is on da way :) woulda sent it sooner if you used paypal!!! (we don't do much with paper anymore...)

the leather wrap is really nice....REALLY nice.

did I mention that it rocks?

:D