How to attach bicycle handlebar tape

[jimbethpiggy]

My forty year old carlton left the factory wraped exactly the same , i changed it after twenty five years using the same method .....no problems....

[arbanaskocudo]

isnt duck tape better than a electrical tape, i doubt in electrical tape

[wolfy9005]

@arbanaskocudo I think you mean duct tape. I'd imagine the reason electrical tape is chosen is because it is narrow, maybe 10-15mm, and it comes in as many different colours as your like. I've only ever seen silver/grey duct tape, and its usually very wide.

However, I can say that it still does the same job. It doesn't look as pretty, but when you have nothing else, it works. Electrical tape is cheaper, though.

[budash2]

You people are ridiculous, first you need to find out what shape hands you have. fo your thumbs point back towards the bike or forwards, towards the handle bars? That will determine which way you roll your tape.

[Ladybuggi1]

This way should only be used if you haven't got electrician's tape to finish it off. i did it this way, but it is better the other way, from bottom up, as when your hands bear down, your weight can shift the tape along as you are going "against the grain" so the tape will only last a few months. Mine is already starting to shift, i think it will need re-doing soon, but i've now bought some electricians tape!

[r0sebud100]

I'm a handlebar tape inspector and this man should be put to death..Simply for going the wrong way and for being ugly.

[WuTangThang]

This is a bad technique. It will unwrap overtime from the force of your grip.

[Frwrks]

looks awful

[diddyxxx]

some people will moan about anything. good vid

[pvonelsner]

I like wrapping this way. Never had any problems. I ride 150 to 250 miles per week.

[Iwannakillmylandlord]

Do notwrap your bars this way!

Wrong end of the bar and wrong direction.

This guy works at a bike shop and should know better. SHAME ON YOU!!

[odinandme]

THIS VID IS CRAP

You see how the guy wrapped the tape so that when you put hands on it, weight actually untinghtens the tape? Wrapping should be the other way around, so that when you put your hands on it tape is tightened. Will last longer.

Second, with this method when you put your hands on top of bars, close to stem, tape will untighten.Electrical tape (or vinyl) is still needed if you plan on riding in that hand position.

[Artemis458]

well I dont think any one video has all the ansewrs, but I did find this one of some use atleast, it explained teh tape overlap nicely and camera view was good.

[Jpmadore1]

I have an older road bicycle with "suicide levers" (which is a misnomer-I've adjusted them so they work just as well as the drop levers), so can anyone advise me how to wrap the handlebar without wrapping the "suicide levers"? Thanks!

[antiaverage1]

The levers are easily removed by removing the screws on the outer side of the hoods. Remove, wrap, and then replace.

[Jpmadore1]

Thanks!

[DrummerNigel7]

take off the levers thats what i did. and then screw them back on

[asparks65]

top to bottom is just old school guys! Some folks prefer it that way, it's cool. I prefer bottom to top but I'm not here to slam anyone for their preference. It's not your bike andd you don't have to ride it. Give him credit he did get the rotation right, most don't!!!! He did although forget the 8 around the hoods! I can wrap either way and make it last just as long either way, no prob !

[Adipatus]

RE: Wrapping tape on handle bars.

Please tell me more about this "8 around the hoods".

[smhnwcfp]

Alway start at the bottom with a 70 degree cut which is flush with the end of the bar. This will do away with any of the unsightly bulging of over-lapped taple. In addition alway begin wrapping with the tape toward the bike for iether side. End at the top with another 70 degree cut and finish with some flexible tape in an accent color for the bike.

[bananathrash]

This is the best method. It requires no electrical tape, which is ugly, and thats not what its meant for anyways. Ive wrapped a bunch of bars, and almost every bar style, and have yet to hear of bar tape curling. Ive always gotten bar tape for free, from yuppies that think it should be thrown away when theres a scratch on it. Do whatever your mechanic advises, just make toss it in a free bin for someone else to use.

[carltonreid]

I thought I'd give some feedback on this bike. It's now been ridden daily for 5-6 months, including commuting and racing. The bartape has not moved a jot.

Rob, the mechanic, has been wrapping bartape for many years.

However, as one man's meat is another man's poison, it's perfectly OK for people to prefer a different method.

In fact, the video says there are different methods, and this is just one of them. It's only bartape, let's not get too worried.

[rustinpieces]

All wrong. Everyone knows it should be done the other way 'round. And I know how to tape, I got a compliment once from my (now retired) mechanic. That wasn't a guy to give compliments easily. It'll just curl up taped this way, like stated by cobblemonster. Plus, the guy in the vid doesn't tighten the tape enough - it should be stretched to the max, continuously.

[audi5000]

is that adhesive tape????

[cobblemonster]

Any bars I've ever seen wrapped from top down to the bottom have, over time, had all the edges curl up from downward pressure from the hands. Every pro-team since the dawn of time have wrapped bars by starting at the bottom & moving up. Have yet to come across a bar-tape brand that advocates wrapping from the top down, presumably because it's completely impractical; though I suppose they might sell more bar-tape once it all furls up requiring a new lot...

[carltonreid]

Thanks for the comment, getplaning. The method shown is the favourite of this particular bike shop mechanic. Others favour your method. Others favour other methods. Each to his own, I guess. Me? I always get mechanics to do my bartape, and I don't mind which method they favour.

[drglinski]

I like the top down method. Schwinn did it on their road bikes for years w/ no problems, until some yuppie decided that going the opposite way with electrical tape ends looks better. Might as well just use electrical tape for the whole thing.

[getplaning]

Wrapping from the end up to the top lasts longer and is more comfortable on the hands.