Monday 20 April 2015

My 1st go at wrapping handlebar tape!

I bought my roadbike from my housemate second hand so I had no choice in the colour. My bike is very white which looks beautiful but it is hard to keep the bar tape white and clean.
 
I replaced the very uncomfortable white saddle with a slick looking lightweight Specialized Ruby at the end of last year and have now finally made the plunge to buy new BLACK bar tape Gerhard van Niekerk recommended to me.
 
Those of you that know me will know that I have the best intentions for taking on bike DIY, but they don't always work out as they should. Opening the brakefluid caliper instead of calibrating my brakes on my MTB , replacing my jockey wheels, but tightening them too much so the chain kept on bouncing around to mention only a few of my mishaps. 
 
I've been procrastinating this job for over a month. My biggest concern was how would I know where to divide the tape so that I have an equal amount for each side... Duh... I only realised once I opened the box that the manufacturer's did that for me! 2 rolls containing bar ends, a handy extra little piece for the hood and some tape to cover up the end was all rolled together. No mess, no fuss basically, all I had to do was roll the tape.
 
With a simple search on Mr Google, I found this very helpful step-by-step written and video guide on how to do it. Thank you Road Cycling UK for the great instructions.
 
Can I also just say that because I know myself too well, I made sure that I read and watched this before I start edas I really didn't want to mess up this job.
 
 
All the ingredients for the task at hand... oh and electrical tape.
 
Remove old bar tape first

Ta-dah right hand side done perfectly the first time!

Mmm spot the difference...

My friend came over for tea whilst I was doing the left handside so I did the 2nd side a little bit quicker. All looked fine until I came back from Waitrose, I noticed 2 bubbles. So I unwrapped everything again, did it really tightly and then ended up with perfectly wrapped handlebars only to then realise somehow I twisted the tape as I came over the hood onto the straight part and now had perfectly wrapped handlebars, but they looked slightly different.

The BIG question was, would I be able to cope with the difference?

Well the next photo is the answer to that very important question!

The answer is NO, NO I couldn't deal with it.
So I had to unwrap the tape for the third and final time again to correct it. I think it was a case of not wanting to deal with comments from the perfectionistic roadies I know. (I won't name and shame them, they know who they are.)

TC Tips for wrapping your own handlebars:

1. It is a simple task, but can take longer than anticipated
2. Get all your 'ingredients' ready before you start
3. Don't rush it, keep concentrating
4. Make sure you leave an overhang at the ends, I found this one of the more tricky parts, the first one in particular was hard to wangle in again

I'm well chuffed that I managed to do it even though it was a faff. I rode with it yesterday and it was all good!

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