You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Maybe a daft question but about to replace stock handlebars and wondered if I would need to change the tape at the same time or if its normally sticky enough to hold in place and re wrap the new bars.
Current tape is in good condition.
If it's in good condition it'll be fine. When it's old and rotten it usually comes off in chunks.
Depends on how long it's been wrapped and the make of tape. Some adhesive is stronger than others and will rip the tape as you remove it.
probably best to get new tape, bars might be a slightly different width and shape which changes the amount of tape needed. then the minor issue of how mangled the tape has been going round the shifters and obviously how strong the adhesive is.
It's only been on since September..Some decent fizik stuff. Noted the shapes are pulled tight around the shifters and this is I'm concerned about.
Let us know how it goes, I've got some FSA carbon drops ready to go on but didn't want to destroy the near new fizik tape in the process.
adhesive bar tape ? rarely comes off in good condition.
one of the many reasons i dont use adhesive bar tape....
Basically yes, but often there are rips you don't notice until you try to reuse it. And as others have said if it's really sticky maybe you won't get it off.
And you'll need to replace the sticky tape bit at the end, insulating tape seems to work for me there.
Worth a go, depends on your skills/experience as well as above
I've often re used it after replacing cables. I usually have some new tape ready in case though.
Cheers guys I give it a try.
I'll do one at a time if i can, so as I've unwound from the old bar I'll transfer to the new one. Rather than removing both and having them get tangles up.
Wrap your bars with electrical tape first - you can wrap and unwrap the bar tape as many times as you like - just thrown out some fizik stuff I fitted to a new bike 10 years ago!
Give it a go, but if it's been on a while, it won't come off in one piece.
Tried doing that when I swapped bars and again when i got new sti's, didn't work either time as it came off all stretched and bent into shape so impossible to wrap it again as the spiral was all wrong.
<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">Having tried umpteen expensive bar tapes, which were nice, I now just go with cheap and frequent changes. Cheap new tapes nicer than old posh tape and I seem to wear it off the bends really quickly.</span>
I rewrapped my existing bar tape a couple of weeks ago when I replaced the levers. The adhesive was pretty much shot so I added some double sided tape to the bars before wrapping the bar tape, worked like a charm. I was also careful to use the tape on the same side it came off of so as to try and work with any existing deformation in the tape.
Have reused tape many times. Silicone tape has no backing and goes back on after a trip to the washing machine. Other fizik tape is ok if it hasn’t been on for too long. Once it has stuck, removal is the key.
Yep, have done it loads of times. As others have said all depends on type of tape and age of tape. Worth a go though as what have you got to lose.
If you're tight like me you can also do down the two-tone route. I've got expensive Fizik stuff on the drops where it lasts forever and from the levers up it's half a roll each side of £1.29 tape from china/ebay. Effectively new bar tape for 65p!
Wrap your bars with electrical tape first – you can wrap and unwrap the bar tape as many times as you like – just thrown out some fizik stuff I fitted to a new bike 10 years ago!
I wouldn't do this, as when you remove the bar tape it's a good chance to inspect the bar. And it will take time, and how many times are you going to need to re-wrap bar tape - maybe once a year for cable changes if you use it quite heavily in the wet?
I wouldn’t do this, as when you remove the bar tape it’s a good chance to inspect the bar. And it will take time, and how many times are you going to need to re-wrap bar tape – maybe once a year for cable changes if you use it quite heavily in the wet?
Depends on your mileage, how hard you are on it, special events, colour, how accepting you are of old tape, how durable the tape it etc.
I go for cheap and often, it's a quick job and I like fresh spongy bar tape on the tops.
Others like to tell you how well Lizard Skin DSP lasts, even as they struggle to unwrap their poor cramped hands off the tape that long ago lost any vibration damping properties.
I used to do it 2 or 3 times a year. On 2 or 3 bikes. It was usually knackered by the time it came off. Even the expensive stuff.
I didn't pay retail for it though. And usually bought a box at a time (24 rolls of black, white, red, no one needs any other colours than that.)