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TAPING HANDLEBARS - INTRODUCTION
MORE THAN JUST WRAPPING WITH TAPE
 Taping a set of drop bars is a relatively straight forward and easy task.
Though I can offer a step by step procedure as to how I wrap handlebars, only practice will add what is needed to achieve really good results.
Fortunately, modern handlebar tape can be forgiving of the beginner's lack of expertise
and achieving satisfactory results the first time is not at all unrealistic.
There are many different kinds of handlebar tape, ranging from simple cotton
cloths and more exotic corks blends of yesterday, to today's ultra modern carbon
fibre stuff, that I know little about.
 Choosing handlebar tape is a very personal issue. I can
only comment on what
works best for me. Getting on in years, I have learned to tolerate "Carpal Tunnel
Syndrome" in both wrists, and tend to put function
before form, when choosing tape. With that in mind, I rarely install the
thin unpadded cotton cloth tapes, common on many, if not most, vintage road bicycles.
My choice, these days, is the more modern cork/rubber blends
that feels a bit like dense foam. A normal
 set of tape includes two
lengths of tape, two brake lever cover strips, two end caps and some form of
finishing tape that I have never bothered to use.
Some cushioned
tapes look more vintage than others while still offering adequate cushioning and grip
 qualities.
Other cushioned tapes include embossed manufacturer logos and these I
find to be inappropriate in appearance for vintage road bike
application. The
more vintage looking tapes tend to have a surface texture and/or air holes, both
of which add user friendly function to the more acceptable vintage form.
Before beginning it is a good idea to know that there are two fundamental
kinds of handlebar tape, adhesive backed and non-adhesive backed. Both
have their advantages. Non-adhesive backed can be unwrapped and rewrapped
with little difficulty. Adhesive backed tape is less forgiving in the re-wrap
area. The adhesive backing, though not all that powerful initially, just
might stick really well with the passing of time. If it does so, attempting to pull the tape from the bars
and rewrap will be difficult. If you are a novice at wrapping bars, get a really cheap set of
non-adhesive backed tape and practice wrapping until you get a bit of a feel for
starting, stretching and wrapping.
 I should add also, that I rarely install any kind of sticky
backed handlebar tape. Generally, I wrap my bars at the beginning of each
season with new tape. I do this for a couple of reasons. New tape
dramatically improves the looks of any old road bicycle. Secondly, new
tape is clean and usually germ free and since our leaders have managed to
increase my awareness of the possibility, make that probability, of a pandemic,
I try to keep my hands clean. Finally, handlebar tape, be it cloth or
spongy rubber, absorbs moisture, much of which will be salt soaked sweat.
This can cause horrible damage to a set of alloy handlebars. Having seen a
great many bar set destroyed because of this situation, I choose to check and
re-wrap my
handlebars at least once each season.
Needless to say before taping, it is a good idea to ensure that the handlebars are
reasonably clean. Check the surface carefully and make sure that there are
no lumps of old tape still clinging to the bars. Check also to see if
there are any sharp edges or burrs that could cut flesh. If you find any
of these little culprits, smooth them off with a file or emery cloth and polish
as required. This
is quite important, since you will be testing your brake lever placement with
no tape on the bars. Any nasty or sharp spots need to be identified and dealt with,
before you test ride without tape.
NEXT - POSITIONING THE BARS AND LEVERS |
