2020- favorite bar wrap?

[A1A]

A couple years ago we were fortunate in our little neck of the upstate NY woods to have an LA Area pro bike mechanic move to the area to take care of his elderly mom. He set up shop in her garage (basement in the winter) for repairs only and it's been a blessing. I dropped one of my bikes off for a spring tune up (I have him do stuff I used to do) and he pointed out I could use some new tape. I normally use Cinelli cork. I said sure and then he asked me if I wanted him to double wrap the bars. Said I never heard of such a thing, I'm 65, that's saying a lot... So he said a lot of the pro cyclists double wrap their bars with cork or similar for more cushion and to increase the diamer slightly for an easler grip. So I said sure, let's try it on this bike first. Got it back and wow, better than a new pair of gloves, almost a magic carpet ride. Probably added about $15, didn't ask for a breakdown but once a year or two why not. Think I can swing an xtra $15 even with a tanked 401(k), better than numbish hands after 50 or 60 miles.

[jpritchet74]

Silca, hands down. The most comfortable I have ever ridden (I don't ride with gloves) and the texture is amazing.

Unless you want white - it gets dirty quickly and doesn't clean well.

[Jad]

I like thin tape and have really liked using Newbaum's (though I think they have padded now). It wears fairly fast, but I like the texture and how simple it is. I also like the colors.

[gibbo]

Originally Posted by Clancy

To Gibbo.....

That is BEAUTIFUL!

Thanks Clancy, I am hoping they last a long time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[teleguy57]

Originally Posted by pritchet74

Silca, hands down. The most comfortable I have ever ridden (I don't ride with gloves) and the texture is amazing.

Unless you want white - it gets dirty quickly and doesn't clean well.

Hmmm. I have a roll of white waiting to be wrapped and was hoping it was going to be better than other white tapes I've tried to stay a bit cleaner, or at least clean up nicely. Worst was Fizik Tack; it was -- and any little bit of grime grabbed on and never released.

Finding that right mix of cushion, grip, hand feel (I usually am gloveless in the summer) and ability to keep clean is a real challenge for those of us who are white tape people.

We'll see how the Slica performs for me once I get it on the bike.

[MagicHour]

Fabric Knurl

[RiderR]

Originally Posted by Clancy

My favorite for the last few years has been the Cinelli Volee tape, really like the rubberized feel.

+1. Looks and feels classy, cleans easily, good grip when wet.

[Bob Ross]

With these caveats
A) I've never wrapped my own bars; and
B) I have never encountered a bartape that was either so bad that I swore "Never again" nor so amazing that I swore "This is the tape I will always use going forward"

...I will say that the Handlebra leather bartape that came on my Sachs was pretty darn nice.

[zennmotion]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

grumble.

bought some of the supacaz white stuff on sale from ebizzle.

note: i have 42 compact bars.

this tape, for me, was too short, not 2-ways about it, there is no way i'm wrapping the whole bar with this stuff. damnit.

back to the drawing board.

Red Monkey (used to be Zevlin) Big 40 is what you want, and then you can stop looking. It's super wide, and super long. 22 bucks, not cheap but reasonable, you can find some colors on sale and it has good longevity. I can't can't believe I flipped through 5 pages of a bar tape thread, but I did just to make sure someone mentioned the stuff, and they did in several posts. FWIW, it was special-curated and branded with the NFS logo and sold for awhile by the Big Guy TT across the hall (so it has the appropriate snob cache/seal of approval over there ) I hoarded a box full when it appeared Zevlin was out of the business but you are now all saved from bar tape calamity when Red Monkey brought it back. Now go buy some
https://www.redmonkeysports.com/coll...e-single-color

[everbeek]

If you look at my earlier post you will see that I found Silca white easier to clean than anything else I had ever used.

Originally Posted by teleguy57

Hmmm. I have a roll of white waiting to be wrapped and was hoping it was going to be better than other white tapes I've tried to stay a bit cleaner, or at least clean up nicely. Worst was Fizik Tack; it was -- and any little bit of grime grabbed on and never released.

Finding that right mix of cushion, grip, hand feel (I usually am gloveless in the summer) and ability to keep clean is a real challenge for those of us who are white tape people.

We'll see how the Slica performs for me once I get it on the bike.

[TiminVA]

I've been using Salsa tape for several years now. Good feel, lasts forever and available in many colors.

[teleguy57]

Originally Posted by everbeek

If you look at my earlier post you will see that I found Silca white easier to clean than anything else I had ever used.

You know, now that you reminded me I did recall reading it. The roll I have is Nastro Piloti and going on some Deda Trentacinque bars so I'm ok with not adding a lot more bulk (but I'd be ok with a little bigger too).

My hold up is that I'm thinking about swapping out my iLinks housing for some Jagwire Elite link -- and maybe running them internally through the bars. I'd think about doing that with my brake cables as well, but they're Campy hydro internally routed through DT, BB and CS, and not excited about doing that over again, bleeding etc.

I suppose I could just do everything on the outside of the bars like they are now...

Again, thanks for refreshing my memory!

[gbcoupe]

I've been buying some other brands for a little pop of color underneath, but hard to beat Deda.

Affordable, perforated or no, lots of color choices and holds up well. Comfortable wet or dry. I don't wear gloves FWIW.