2 rides/50+ miles into my new gravel bike now and the one thing thats bugging me is the slimness of the bar tape - feels like I'm gripping onto a garden cane! So is there a thicker bar tape I can get and what do people recommend? New the curly drop bar bikes so I've no idea if its even a thing or whether drop bar riders just have really little hands 😀
For years I was using the same old gel pads under my tape to keep a nice thickness - Last time I replaced it I did loads of online searching for the right kind of tape and I bought "Basso Cima Road Bike Bar Tape Black Soft Touch 3.5mm Includes Bar End Plugs" off ebay and its lovely and thick. Ditched the gel now 🙂
£27.99 from Chicken Cycles ebay store
Or here if you object to ebay - https://www.chickencycles.co.uk/shop/search/cima-road-handlebar-tape/
Cheers, I'll check that out.
Ergon BT Gravel tape is meant to be thicker. Got some to try out, just need to fit it.
Just put new bars on my bike and used lizard skin 3.2mm bar tape. Pretty thick and so far comfortable.
My Ragley Trig came with annoyingly thin bar tape, but rather than replace it I (well, my friendly local mechanic) put some more thin tape over the top.
I'm a big fan of double-wrapped bars anyway and I find the extra girth (fnarr fnarr) allows me to loosen my grip easier on rough ground.
I've used lizard skins 3.2mm for years.
This week I've double wrapped my road bike with some of this from bike tart over the top of the lizard skins stuff.
One ride in, feels significantly better than one layer of tape
It was a wee bit tricky to reach the brakes form through drops
https://www.biketart.com/products/fizik-microtex-tacky-tape-with-gel
Depends on the bars a bit.
Some have a narrow 31.8mm bit in the middle and immediately taper down to uncomfortably thin. Others are so chunky you can't start the tape until the bend otherwise it's too fat.
I tend to just put some offcuts under areas I want the bars to be a bit thicker, you can put them front / back to make them wider, rather than on top as well depending on what you want to achieve.
I swear by BBB BHT-16 bar tap. Usually under £20, lasts well. Limited colour choice available though - black, grey and sandy. I think it’s 3.5mm thick. I’ve tried a fair few others (including expensive stuff like Silca, Ergon, Fizik etc) and always come back to this. The Pro gravel tape is good, but not the £10 more I’d costs than the BBB stuff.
Just put new bars on my bike and used lizard skin 3.2mm bar tape. Pretty thick and so far comfortable.
It's comfy but doesn't last long IME. I've switched to Cinelli cork gel which is much more durable.
Fizek micro-cush suede stuff is lovely. Very comfy and lasts years. I did try the Wolftooth super thick stuff, but didn't get on with the texture, so back to the tried and trusted.
Maybe a few pounds less in your tyres will make more difference than thicker bar tape. Also check your riding position.
Maybe a few pounds less in your tyres will make more difference than thicker bar tape
Do both! Assuming tyres are too firm, which they may not be.
I do think there's something particularly valuable in thicker tape allowing a looser grip on the bars though.
Stop death gripping the bars. I just go for decent quality tape and be done with it.
Maybe a few pounds less in your tyres will make more difference than thicker bar tape. Also check your riding position.
How does lowering tyre pressures create thicker bar tape? Its not a comfort thing, I just don't like the feel of wrapping my hands around the spindly little bars vs how my other bikes feel with chunky grips.
Thanks to all who answered the question - I'll check out the options!
Used Lizard Skin for years, I like the grippy texture. Though currently trying Wolftooth. It’s nice but not as tacky
I’ve found Easton Pinline Logo tape very comfy and wearing well, comfy, grippy and easy to clean.
That Fizik fake suede stuff is a bit weird. I didn't like it initially (bought the wrong stuff by mistake), but it actually wears in. Eventually it actually wears out too, and where you hold it ends up almost as smooth as the classic cush tape.
The non suede classic version (3.2mm thick) was my go to. And what I am replacing the fake suede version on my commuter, since it's gone a bit baggy recently (after 3 years use in all weathers).
On the new gravel bike I am quite liking Ergon BT Gravel (or was it Allroad?) tape. It's proper grippy AF though, and feels much thicker than Fizik with a bit more squidge. Even has slightly off centre markings to help get the overlap right for either a slightly thinner or slightly thicker wrap.
I like Supacaz wrapped over Fizik gel pads, it's reasonably grippy and lasts for ages plus it's very re-useable if you change bars. I've used Lizard Skins and it's nice when new, but I found it wore out distressingly quickly. I have some nice Fizik Bondcush tape on my road bike, mostly because I liked the colour, but it's actually really nice tape. It lasts for ages because I only ride the thing once in a blue moon...
Maybe a few pounds less in your tyres will make more difference than thicker bar tape.
Or, hear me out here....... don't let extra air out of your tyres, causing drag, making the bike squirm in corners, and all the other issues caused by low tyre pressure, and just buy your preferred bar tape instead.
Do you let the air out of your tyres before a long motorway journey to make it more relaxing too?
it's very re-useable if you change bars.
Always seems an odd selling point touted by reviewers.
Tape, for me at least, lasts about 2000km before it's both lost all it's cushioning and worn away the top layers(s). I probably change my bars at about 10x that interval? Same with gear cables, I'd probably only change the outer from the lever on the third or so wrap?
And even the tapes that claim to be re-useable never look quite right the 2nd time and the edges start to peel up.
Some have a narrow 31.8mm bit in the middle and immediately taper down to uncomfortably thin.
Eh? They're all the same diameter, pretty much all road bars beyond the clamp area are 23.8 mm (15/16") and have been for ages. (MTB/flat bars are 22.2 (7/8") this grip girth/depth probably has more effect for them)
I've often put old bits of cork bar tape under the main contact areas when re-taping bars in the past, as a bit of a poor man's gel pad, which was of some benefit. I Tried double wrapping once and it honestly looked/felt ridiculous (for me) but my hands are probably not huge enough to notice the same issues some of you seem to be finding.
TBH bar tape, with or without padding or double wrapping probably isn't the single component to try and 'fix' comfort on a bike with, a few mm of tensioned, foam backed tape has a pretty limited performance envelope, and if you're getting lots of hand discomfort and numbness it probably points to bigger issues (IMO). Tape is a contributor, but if you're at the point of double wrapping, I would look at the rest of the bike's setup too...
Things I've found to help more recently include;
more stack (not an easy thing to just conjure up I know) with a slightly longer stem seemed to help with my weight distribution, narrower tops (with some flair) and a shallower drop again hugely improved weight distribution on the tops, hoods and drops and thus hand comfort.
I've also spent a disproportionate amount of time overthinking bar and hood angle and tilt too, I've currently got the hoobs slightly angled in, and transitioning from the tops at about 8~10 degrees up, not comically pointed at the sky but not dead horizontal or even down like you see some people have them as that's pretty much guaranteed to ruin comfort on the bars and mess with the way you grip the hoods or angle your wrists.
Plus of course bigger volume, lower pressure tyres (particularly for the front) if you can more effectively damp out shock and vibration from the bike at the point it meets the ground, you're basically asking less of the bike and your body in order to cope with the stresses of trundling along.
