How To Tape Wrap Road Bike Handlebars
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- čas přidán 9. 06. 2024
- I demonstrate how to wrap bike tape. I did a video on this a few years ago. But when I needed to wrap some handlebars I decided to make a new version of the video with my HD camera.
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I could not tell you how many videos I watched on rewrapping handlebars. I am a newbie at wrapping. This was my first time to wrap myself. I have always paid the bike shop to do it, but decided to save the $15 of paying someone and do it myself. Out of at least 10 different videos I watched, this one was the most helpful as far as detail. It is one thing to watch a video, but when you see camera close up of your work with very detailed instruction or explanation and why you do it this way or that way, I find myself gaining confidence and telling myself I can do this. Why pay someone? The first side took me three tries to do it correct, the second side was easier. now that your video taught me, I will never pay a bike shop again to wrap my handlebars. Thank you very much!
what do you mean 3 tries to get it right? can you actually detach the wrap and try again? won't the sticky part be ruined?
Depends on the tape. Some are more forgiving than others and will allow you to unwrap a bit a try again.
I've watched a few videos on this now. This is the best one yet, I'll probably wrap my handlebars this way going forward.
Few tips:
- When you leave the extra wrapping at the beginning, insert the plug to see if the amount is sufficient, you can remove it and then proceed with the wrapping.
- Inspect the entire wrapped side before doing the final taping; you may find a section that wasn't wrapped properly and will want to address that.
- Some gravel handlebars are quite wide, not all wrap bike tape is sold in equal length and you can buy longer one depending on your use case.
- You can burn the end of the final taping job by taking a driver and heating it up with a lighter then touching the tape lightly to make it melt to form a seal, optional.
- Once one side is done, on the other side reaching the top, look at the other side to see if you arrive roughly at the same spot.
- Practice makes perfect.
Probably the best video available on this topic. RJ is my go-to channel for bike mechanics - especially vintage stuff. Thanks for sharing your knowledge bro.
I am gonna go ahead and watch this video once more then go ahead and go ahead and wrap my bike! Thanks!
Perfect. Best video I've seen for this job. Just completed my first ever attempt at wrapping my handlebars and it looks like a professional job. Thanks
Cool!
NICCE.......great demo very detailed but yet not complicated........I know its just tape...but it looks great if you do it right !!!
I have followed this technique exactly and the end results were like a pro . Well done to The Bike Guy . Please more instructional clips of bike maintenance etc . Keep up the good work .Thank you!.
Umm...I do have a few other videos... :)
RJ The Bike Guy Yes I have watched many of your videos on bike maintenance and they are all very informative etc. This just happens to be the first one I have commented on!.Please keep the excellent work !
This was a huge help, RJ. Maintaining tension is paramount. It's also worth checking the wrap is even as one goes along. Evenly-wrapped handlebars make a bike look good.
thank you sir for taking the time to make videos like this
I might add this to my bike skills this year. Thank you for another great video!
Hey RJ I just wanted to thank you for this video, I just re-wrapped by classic DeRosa with your method and NOT the figure 8 style I've been doing. Works great and that tip about loose tension at the end with the electrical tape was really helpful. I found that on hot days, the electrical tape will slip but that low tension tip was great!!! Hope you do more videos soon!
This video is awesome! it was really easy to follow and a huge help, I have just wrapped my first set of handle bars, on my classic Norco, and it has come out really well.
Finally someone gets the wrapping procedure correct, i see so many of these videos that say to wrap to the inside. You explained it very well, you always wrap to the outside of the bars on both sides. You also used the small tape strip to cover the lever clamp so you don't need to do a figure 8 around the lever, that uses too much tape and leaves a bulge under the hood. I personally would have used blue or white tape on that blue and white bike, but to each his own, good video.
I like black tape as white or blue tape can start to look dirty quickly.
With STI-levers having to do a figure 8 is unavoidable. The contact point with the handlebar of STI-levers is much wider and the strip doesn't cover-up enough of the handlebar.
I use this same method with STI levers as well, no problem.
The old 10 speed Campagnolo levers? Because with those are bulkier than Shimano and just the strip doesn't suffice.
I haven't done those, but I am guessing they couldn't be so bulky that this method wouldn't work. But use whatever method you like.
Thank you for the great video. Directions are very clear and easy to follow.
Great instructional video! Reviewed a few times before taping the bars on my Specialized Crossroads conversion. Had watched your work on the Trek 700 hybrid as you converted it to a gravel racer. Nice stuff!! Thank you.
Thanks for this video. I re-taped my handlebars without any problems.
I always was afraid replacing my tape but when I saw your video I tried it and it worked perfectly. Thanks.
The only difficult part was with the caps.
At 6.00 finally some body doing it the correct way, thank you
Thanks. Always thorough.
This helped me a lot, thanks!
Cheers mate .. concise and extremely helpful .
Great tutorial! Helped me a lot!
Thank you for all your information. Well done and said, Thanks again.
I am really thankful of you
excellent tutorial in the subject.
Also nice to see the bicycle was a Nishiki.
My old favorite bike and built under licence in Gothenbourg, Sweden.
nice video, very good, practical pointers, especially the one regarding which direction your hand will rotate on a bar (it is obvious when you start to think about it). Thnx
Really much thankx for uploading such a useful video :)
Top man,cheers for that.
Thank you for the tip.
WOW! What a professional video! Thanks a lot!!! :)
very detail thanks!
Like it very easy to follow and understand.
thats a nice bike.
Hey RJ The Bike Guy, keep doing what you are doing, doing it great :)
Big Help!! Thanks!!
very good !
Great video. It helped a lot. I can finally re-wrap the handlebars on my vintage raleigh knowing i wont make a mess of it. Sound out
David O Sullivan sound lad
This video nicely demystified the question of how to do this.
my dad says thank you very much for such a great video :D
thanks for the tutorial, my bike looks pretty now. nice nishiki btw :)
good job bro, thanks for tutorial :)
Finally a bar taping video which shows a simple and easy method to follow ... too many use figure of eight which creates bulky bars when double wrapping
Right taping orientation too
many thanks
Hi there. Let me start with saying I love your videos. You've taught me so much over the last few months. I have a bike with the shifters in the same place as the ones in this video. I was wondering if you could make a video on how to convert this particular type to the sti type levers or brifters. I watched the one on downtube shifters and was wondering if the process was similar if not identical. Would you need the barrel adjusters still? Thank you R.J. Keep on keepin on with your knowledge.
dylan welch The process is the same. You might need into install a cable housing stop on the downtube. In the the other video I used the mounts for the downtube shifters. A bike with stem shifters obviously won't have those. But they might have cable stops there. Or you can install a clamp on cable stop. Like this:www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B004FSVVN8/ref=nosim/youtube25-20
Maybe I will make a video converting from stem shifters to STI. Probably won't be soon since I will have to find a suitable bike.
Thanks man.
Thank you! 😊
VERY VERY NICE
thanx for the uploader
I watched your video AFTER wrapping my handlebars, and I just found out that I have done it the wrong way. :(
But I actually think that my instinctive technique may be "better" because I don't use electrical tape...
At work, my bike stays in the sun all day long, and electrical tape ends up melting and unwrapping itself...
I started from the top, over wrapping very tight at first, until I reached the lower part, without any cutting. or using electrical tape.
I then just stuffed the remaining 6 inch of tape into the tube and put the cap.
Works perfectly !
Thanks for all your very instructive videos !
czcams.com/video/1rlveAo7EcE/video.html
i cut my e tape to length before i begin and tape it to the top tube in strips for easy access when i finish my rap. less awkward, no third hand needed. efficient as well.
awesome
Hola parcero!!!! yesterday I did it my self on by bike, muchas gracias parce see ya!!
What do you do if your brake levers don't have hoods? Would you recommend first getting break lever hoods? Or just wrap without the hood?
Thank You :)
Great video.
Why do you twist the tape at the brake, some folk don't ... what are the reasons you do please ?
I usually ride with my hands on the top, so getting the top bit right is probably important to my style of riding.
Regards from the UK
Best explanation. Thanks for the hint with the electrical tape. Start tight and end not so tight. And the explanation about the direction of wrapping. And the reason why all the professionals starts from the end of the handlebar should be explained. Maybe the reason is for the tape not to go off when the palms are slipping along the handlebar. Thank you!
+Marius Oprean I agree, sound advice all over. The GCN show had a pretty good video on wrapping the bar tape, but this video here explained the little details, which can make a big difference. Thanks RJ The Bike Guy!
Hi RJ great videos. thanks for the help. I was wondering if I can wrap my brake cables too. I have an old 70s Raleigh Record. my cables come out from the top of the brake levers. I notice on the bike your working on the come out the back. is there a difference from mine and yours. can I wrap my cables or will it restrict the handles bars from turning from side to side.
+Joe Gabriel You have non-aero brake levers. You would need to install aero brake levers where the cables go under the tape. czcams.com/video/gk-GpDiPDms/video.html
Thank you for another instructive video.
I recently had my bars taped at a bike shop. I can see that they were taped starting from the ends, with the wrapping to the inside on both side of the brake levers. So the tape job follows what you advise except the portions between the ends and the brake levers are wrapped to the inside rather than to the outside. I notice there's some wear that I think would have been avoided if the wrapping had been done to the outside.
There is another method of wrapping that wraps to the inside on the drops and involves crisscrossing behind the brake levers.
I think that's how my bars were taped. Is that right? It doesn't seem to be as good as wrapping to the outside on the drops.
Thanks for the video - very detailed! What kind of bar tape would you recommend and what is your personal favorite?
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00142FFCG/ref=nosim/youtube25-20
I used to have a Nishiki Sport, I loved that bike!! what do you do with all these bikes you work on?
+Robert Simpkins I sell most of them locally. I keep some of the ones that I really like and that fit me.
nice video! you helped me out a lot! but what are the types of gearshifters you got there on you bike?
Some kind of stem shifters. Probably stock to the bike.
Good video im a mtb guy but it seams im forcedntondo 1-2 bar wraps a season in my shop
Really love the lizard skins dsp tape!!!
May I ask you, what brand watch are you wearing? I'm a watch nut and I really like it.
It's a Citizen Eco-Drive Calibre 8700 Perpetual Calendar watch. Thanks.
So I am attempting to put new bar tape on my vintage peugeot, however my handlebars have screw in plugs that won't come off. Any tips for how to make it work?
Very helpful video. I ordered a thicker (shockproof) tape online and it came with those strips you showed; it also has 9 small aluminum pegs - about 1/2 inch long. Any idea what the pegs are for? Thanks!
Not sure off hand what they would be for.
nice tips at 1:28 and 2:28!
I confess i've never thought about it :D
Thanks, I just wrap my bike :)
Cave: Of course the DIRECTION of the wrapping matters! I do it (like he correctly did) from the end up to the middle of the handlebar BUT wrap from the outer to the inside. This is why we bikers tend to pull with our hands on top of the handlebar and so the pulling is in the ‘closing’ direction of the wrapping which results from wrapping out- to inside.
I replaced the handlebar tape on a Schwinn 27 inch road bike I had back in the early 90s. It was the first time I did that. The only thing I think I did different was that I started wrapping from the top of the bars and going around to the bottom of the bar ends. The brake levers had the extension levers in the center, and they didn't have those rubber hoods on them like the ones in your video. It came out pretty good for being a first time.
If you used plastic tape or clothe tape, no problem going top down.. If you used modern tapes like cork, it will roll at the edges.
RJ The Bike Guy Yes. It was a cloth tape kit.
How are those Nishiki bikes? I want to try to pedal out on the road to a local store and see what it's like to shop like that. I am worried about chaining my $600 bike outside and not having a way back home. I am getting pretty good at tweaking the shifting and have a few park tools already. I see those Nishiki bikes and other vintage bikes a lot on Facebook/Offerup etc. I was thinking of doing a "gravel bike" and getting a hybrid and swapping out the handlebars but I think I should just start out with a road bike and add bags or wear a backpack.
They vary just like other brands.
I use a Dremel with a cutting wheel to do a clean cut of the brake cables because I can't get the proper tool around here. Is there a way to crimp the sleeve caps without the cable tool?
Pliers?
Is it also possible to do it without the electrical tape you're using en just with the tape you get with the tape itself? Because i don't have any electrical at the moment. Great video btw! Very good instruction en nice close ups! Very helpful.
I ment with the extra tape you get with the bartape. Not the small piecies of bartape but the tape you also used to overlap the end
+Max Pistoor Not easily. You can maybe use some other kind of tape. Or do you mean at the finish. You pretty much need a little bit of electrical tape. You might try the short pieces that come with the bar tape, but I don't think they would hold well.
+RJ The Bike Guy ok i will try something thanks for your fast answer
Thanks once more. I just wrapped half a bar (also my first) with a white ciclolinea tape left from the late eighties/early nineties. Probably not as sticky as it once was but probably sticky enough to hold for a while. Main idea was just to try out a new look, different levers and to practice. Now I have one side nice and white with big and hopefully comfy tektro r200, the other black and messy with roughed up super slr 105 lever. Until tomorrow atleast. Do you have any tips for restoring the whiteness to an old white faux leather saddle (without the risk of staining your pants)?
You might check an autoparts store for cleaners for leather seats. Or google it, to see if any household cleaners would work well.
Thanks for quick answer. I guess I'm on your clock now (middle of the night here).
9:30pm here.
thank uu
Hi,buy guy! I want my shifters in this position you are showing here (stem? I guess) . On mine, they are now in the downtube..and it is too much bending to change shifts and I have to look down and get distracted. Do you have a video on how to move them. What do I need to consider before attempting, thanks a lot!
+lromeroyt You can switch to stem shifters. You'd have to mount cable stops where the shifters are now and install stem shifters. Another option is STI shifters: czcams.com/video/SJJyl0xPrJ0/video.html
+RJ The Bike Guy ok thanks!
I'm glad that I already have those on that position on my bike :)
Just curious as to what exact handle bars you have installed here. Looking at replacing mine on my old City Limit and these look perfect. Thank you!
They were the stock bars on the bike. Other than that, I don't know.
they look like crappy old aluminium ones. you can find them quite often on pretty much any old road bike. i found a pair on a bike left out for rubbish collection. I took the bike and still have the handlebars lying around. you might as well just buy a new pair from your local bike shop because you'll get a pair of better quality. If not then just keep your eyes open, you might see some on an old bike none wants anymore.
Ebay is a good source for handle bars. Pay attention to the dimensions, or you may end up with bars that are too big or small for you.
Bike guy! question: Could I convert an old touring bike into a 'Dutch-like' bike (more straight seating, longer stem?). Is there a video on this? Thanks for your help.
+lromeroyt I don't know what you mean by dutch like.
Dutch bikes or straight up position. Never mind, I handle it! thanks!
+lromeroyt In the UK we call these type of bike sit up and beg
do we?
Now did you have to buy two roles one for each side? or when you buy one it gives you enough to do both sides? It looked like it finished one role for each side.
I have just done mine, typically it will come with two rolls, one for each side, in the same box when you buy it.
Yes, when you buy the tape, it usually comes with two rolls. Sometimes it also comes with the precut 3" pieces that go behind the brake levers too,
OK thanks
What brand tape would you recommend?
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00142FFCG/ref=nosim/youtube25-20
Take your time, no rush....
Start at the middle of the bar and work toward the open end where you'll install the supplied plug that will secure the foam tape without any need for electrical tape. you can start squarely with or without the illustrated step and go angular after your 1st wrap.
czcams.com/video/9OrKpze98jc/video.html
That's some nice tape, where can I buy this?
+skittlz101T I don't remember what brand it was. Probably Specialized or Bontrager. Try Amazon.
RJ The Bike Guy I've looked but they all have some type of pattern on them. I like this tape because it's solid black. Thanks for the reply.
You did it back to front. I have always wrapped handlebars from the stem to the bottom, tucking the excess into the hole at the end of the bar and inserting the plug. This way you dont have to worry about any sticky tape becoming loose. It works much better the reverse to how you show it.
Maybe for old tapes that didn't stretch. czcams.com/video/9OrKpze98jc/video.html
Walk into any bike shop and look at how brand new bikes are wrapped now.
anyone know the best tape for the price? I have many bikes i'd like to change the tape on
I like this stuff: www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00142FFCG/ref=nosim/youtube25-20
I've bought 4 kinds of tape for my Fixie Pista Drop Bars and it never covers it whole it only covers up to where there would be brake hoods. Any advice??
It sounds like you are wrapping with way too much overlap. Only overlap the tape around 1/3 of the width.
+RJTheBikeGuy I'm going to try the 1/3 overlap.
So quick question. What if my handle bar brakes do not have a good?
Hood?
Then you might try something like this: czcams.com/video/JDzEMggk-z8/video.html
I'm using Fizik Performance tape which is asymmetrical across the width of the tape. Because of the asymmetry, I am unable to follow your directions at about 5:00 to reverse the direction of wrapping so that the wrapping after crossing the brake levers is to the inside rather than to the outside. In other words, with Fizik Performance tape I must choose whether to wrap the entire bar either to the outside or to the inside. Which do you suggest?
Here's a link to Fizik Performance tape which includes a picture showing the asymmetry:
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AONXMU8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Does anyone have an answer to my question above?
That tape seems very soft, could you give me the bran name? I been thinking about getting something softer.
+Luciano Narno Sorry, I don't remember. I often use Specialized or Bontrager tape.
+RJ The Bike Guy Thanks a lot!
I love Nishiki, I I miss the one I lost, sucks. It was so bloody fast, I think faster than the crippled Kona Major jake in my bedroom.
What brand of tape are you using here?
Daniel Barber I don't remember, but I typically use either Specialized or Bontrager tape. Ah, I watched the video real quick, and the end cap has the Specialized logo on it, so it was Specialized tape.
Thanks man, so many helpful vids
I guess I've been doing it wrong for the past twenty odd years. I've been wrapping from top down and now I understand why it's wrong. However I wrapped my sons 10-speed top down about six years ago and it's still in perfect shape.
You wanna go ahead and post a comment
Go ahead
I might, not sure yet
i make my first restoretion in greece thanks brather
I assume the people saying to start from the stem are using adhesive tape.
If you start at the stem, you can wrap the tape over itself. But again, starting at the ends of the bar is the better way to wrap.
Worked for Raleigh for 20 years and we never wrapped bars like that. The correct way is to start at the top and work down , and tuck the tape inside the handlebars and fit the cap.
You must have worked there a long time ago when they were wrapping with cloth tape or some other non stretching tape. With modern tapes, the edges will roll if you wrap like that. Go check out how Raleigh bikes are wrapped now.
@@RJTheBikeGuy We used a thick plastic tape that was not sticky like the tape you use.i worked there from 1970 - 1990
@@shaynelowther8893 Yes, plastic tape can be wrapped top down without rolling at the edges.
Maybe this dude should watch his "go ahead"!
Need to put on new hadlebar tape. This is my reference way. Espeacially the wrap turn at the handle.
Next time start at the top and work your way down. When you get to the end, stretch the tape a bit and it will curve into the bar. Then finish it with the bar end plug. Thats the way professional bicycle repairmen do it anyway.
Which "professional bicycle repairmen"? Maybe 40 years ago with cloth tape. Not with modern tapes.
Change rear get set