[Closed] Bar tape recommendations please

Lizard Skins tape is awesome and they do three thicknesses iirc.

I just put some Selle Smootape on my latest build. Piece of piss to wrap, dead long so you can wrap it round the hoods with plenty to spare, and it's pretty thick too.

Fizik bar tape is nice, available in a few thicknesses (and loads of colours). You can get gel pads to go underneath for extra padding.

Cheap and cheerful - Yaw bar tape. Long enough (just) to wrap properly, though also comes with cheaty bits. Reasonably well padded, does the job.

How is any type of bar tape more or less difficult to fit?

Some give, some stretch, some break when fitting. They're all different.

How is any type of bar tape more or less difficult to fit?

Some of it is too stiff to wrap nicely; some of it isn't long enough; some of it snaps when you try and stretch it etc. etc.

Fizik bar tape is bloody awful stuff to fit. No stretch. Lizard skins is OK if you like it but slippy in the wet and it delaminates if you stretch it too much. It's also stupidly expensive. I find the tackiness of the feel not nice.
Deda is cheap, nasty, and almost always slightly too short.
Having fitted most brands of tape I'd go for either Specialized or Bontrager stuff. £15 a shot, piece of piss to fit, comfy and hard wearing.
I prefer Specialized Bar Phat myself.

+1 for the Lizardskins, they have a nice video explaining what to do which made sure I got it right and the tape itself (DPM 2.5) feels lovely.

I use Fizik 3mm, it's a bit stiff to wrap but once on it beds in well.

The 3mm is a lot thicker than the 3mm suggested, so bare that in mind when buying.

Didn't like the Fizik stuff,took it off and put on Cinelli.

+1 on LizardSkins DPS.....however in that video, he has arguably done it wrong 🙂 as has tape going away from him on the tops when it should always be towards him, in the direction the hands will pull it back. Surely he should either have done a fig of 8 at levers to change direction, or followed the common practise of clockwise on left bar, anticlockwise on right, and no doubling at levers... 🙂

Salsa gel cork bar tape. I've got some spesh gel pads underneath from the Bar Phat tape I had before.

Plenty long enough. I cut some off the ends when I wrapped my 46cm cowbells.

Black.

Arundel is very good. like Lizard Skins but cheaper. I like Fi'zik micro but not for wet, muddy off road conditions. Application is a skill.

ESI bar tape is nice.

I didn't like the Fizik performance tape, it's pretty thick and hard edged and always felt really ridgy/edgy. I got it on OK though it didn't poke nicely into the bars. Looked good though and was pretty tough.

Lizard Skins DSP is good. Nice to apply, has a tacky feel - even when wet - that means you're not having to grip the bars as tight(reducing vibration and fatigue). Even the thickest version isn't that padded though so some fizik/Specialized bar gel applied first will cover all bases.

Meant to say, DSP also comes with a couple of bits of proper length, properly sticky bits for taping the cut ends. The only bar tape to do so in my experience.

Meant to say, DSP also comes with a couple of bits of proper length, properly sticky bits for taping the cut ends. The only bar tape to do so in my experience.

That's still just finishing tape designed to go over electrical tape which you use to tape the cut ends.

I though gorilla tape was the answer to any 'what tape for my bike' questions? 😳

[url= https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/BTPXNSG/planet-x-non-slip-textured-gel-bar-tape ]Planet-X non-slip[/url] stuff is really good, not too expensive either.

Well that is fair advice ianc, I presumed as it was an official type video it would be right.

It all looks OK so will just have to hope I don't unwrap it when hanging on the bars!

[quote=iainc ]+1 on LizardSkins DPS.....however in that video, he has arguably done it wrong as has tape going away from him on the tops when it should always be towards him, in the direction the hands will pull it back. Surely he should either have done a fig of 8 at levers to change direction, or followed the common practise of clockwise on left bar, anticlockwise on right, and no doubling at levers... And then there's that Cube (and others?) 50:50 tape that changes colour half way along. In order to get it lined up correctly you have to wrap both bars clockwise. Think you could handle that Iain? 🙂

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Do you also have to rotate the bars to an outrageously jaunty angle to make the Cube tape line up?

I'm a fan of Fizik tape - I think it's called performance, fairly sturdy, grippy and cleanable.

Anyone who doesn't think some bar tapes are more difficult to fit than others has clearly never tried to fit Brooks Cambium tape 👿

Just get the standard stuff from planet x and double wrap, inexpensive and looks totally ****g pro. You could easily do two-tone with this method

I asked this same question a few Months ago, After perusing the reccomendations i went for the Lizard Skins DSP tape, medium thickness. It goes on well and has some nice end plugs so those with OCD can line the both of them up, The finishing tape is sticky and goes on well but i think i prefer it without it ? It is Grippy, mine has been nowhere near dirt & Muck so cant comment on that but i'm happt with it and after a fair bit of time using it it is wearing well.

And, as we are on about dual coloured wraps, when i was a kid we used to nick strips off the Fly screens on door ways, the Multi coloured plastic strips were the bar tape of choice way back then, there was a lad round our way could wrap Red, White & Blue. Bar tape wasn't as luxurios as it is nowadays.

Zipp service course tape.. Best stuff I've tried. Soft, grippy in the dry or wet and easy to put on.

In order to get it lined up correctly you have to wrap both bars clockwise. Think you could handle that Iain? 🙂

Absolutely no way could my OCD deal with that, no 🙂

I asked about this today, as the previous keeper of my new caad8 had white bar tape on there. My track history has too many mechanicals to press on with white bar tape.

General recommendation was ESI tape - reusable, reversible and washable. Will be trying it...

Nicolaisam already suggested it so am not on my own here.

Zipp Service course CX tape. Stretchy, grippy, comfy, cheap as chips. Took it off after six months and fitted it to my new bars. Went on like brand new. Buy some. Immediately.