Best bar tape for cushioning

[deluz]

My wife has arthritis in her hands and I am making some adjustments to our tandem to try and help. I ordered some bars that are narrower and shorter.
looking for some bar tape to add some cushioning. Nothing massively thick as her hands are small. Thanks for any suggestions.

[hokoman]

My wife doesn't have arthritis, but I put on flat bars with a little rise and ergon grips for comfort instead of a drop bar on our tandem. On my triple with the kids, I also ordered longer stoker stems, they were too bent over, so they were able to distribute the weight from too far forward, to more comfortable and upright.

[cnighbor1]

Use those pads that go under the bar tape for excellent cushioning

[Likes2ridefar]

Can you get a suspension stem maybe? I’d imagine that would be much more forgiving than any bar tape.

[djg21]

Originally Posted by deluz

My wife has arthritis in her hands and I am making some adjustments to our tandem to try and help. I ordered some bars that are narrower and shorter.
looking for some bar tape to add some cushioning. Nothing massively thick as her hands are small. Thanks for any suggestions.

The Silca 3.75mm bar tape is pretty plush. I have had Handlebra on my bikes for years, but needed more cushion due to some neuropathy I’ve started to develop. https://silca.cc/collections/bar-tape-1. I’ve had it on my bike about 6 weeks, and like it.

[herb5998]

ENVE tape is really good silicone, so it's washable. Plenty of cushion as well (3mm thickness).

The Silca stuff is great too, though can be a bit thick to wrap depending on the bar your installing it on.

[Vientomas]

Wolf Tooth Tape

[tellyho]

Silicone tape FTW. RSI, Wolf tooth, some others are now selling.

[shrimp123]

(cheap solution)
old butyl tube slit open to prevent layer slipping and wrapped over the bar... and your favorite bar tape on top of it.

you can replace the butyl tube with a hockey stick tape w/ or w/o cushion and bar tape on top.

BUT, it will get a little bulky. that wont work for small hands

[Fat Cat]

Originally Posted by shrimp123

(cheap solution)
old butyl tube slit open to prevent layer slipping and wrapped over the bar... and your favorite bar tape on top of it.

you can replace the butyl tube with a hockey stick tape w/ or w/o cushion and bar tape on top.

BUT, it will get a little bulky. that wont work for small hands

For me the bigger diameter spreads the loads on the hands over a larger area and is way more comfortable. One of the road bikes even has a double layer of silicone tape on the tops and it is just fine. Gripping is not a problem at all.
JMO of course

[bigbill]

I've got arthritis in my hands and I wrap a layer or two of electrical splice tape before wrapping the top layer. If you stretch it on, you can control how much thickness it adds.

You can find it at home improvement stores, it's rubbery in texture and sticks to itself.

[deluz]

Thanks for all the great feedback.
At this point I am thinking to go with the Enve tape as it has great reviews and many mention the cushioning. The Silca also seems a good option but I am afraid the extra thickness might be too much for small hands.
I think this will be just a marginal gain and not a solution in itself but worth a try.

[Wunder]

The 3mm Fizik tape is pretty good. I have that on my CX bike and my wife's road bike. Lasts a long time. I prefer the 2mm tape on my road bike for a firmer feel though.

[jacrider]

We recently put Lizard Skin on our gravel bikes. Amazing stuff. Comes in many thicknesses and colours.

[MikeD]

Thay make padding that goes under parts of the bar tape. Gloves with more padding too.