Any tips on bar tape winding?

Iwasgoodonce

Old School Grand Master
As above. Gears, bearings and brakes I can do. Puting the tape on road bike bars I always mess up. Do you cut a 50mm pice off the end to stick behind the levers or am I making that up? I always seem to run out before the end. What sort of overlap do I do? I am using cork tape (Silva) and have two bars to do. Tips please.

Thanks.
 
Always found the park tools sites guide pretty good.
 
Most tapes come with a short strip for popping behind the levers. Keep it tight enough that it will not move but not so tight that it snaps. There need not be a huge overlap, you don't want the adhesive sticking to the previous wrap of tape after all. You can avoid the need for taping up the end by using a small off-cut of skinny inner tube at the stem end of the tape.
 
Wrap the tape so that your hands o nthe tops pushing forward act to tighten it.
So wrap from the inside towards the outside (across the top of the bar tip) when starting from the end of the drop.
 
Taping bars is as much about attitude as anything else - a steady hand and a pure heart will see you through (which is probably why maintenance always ends with bloodied knuckles and heightened blood pressure for me).

Slightly more helpfully, I find it is best to keep the bartape taut but not tight (and only experience will get you a feel for that), don't rush, and be prepared to unwind partly and start again if you're not happy. Tricky parts are the underside of the drops as you approach the levers and obviously around the levers themselves. For the latter I've found that the bit of tape supplied wrapped horizontally over the lever clamp works, as does cutting it in half and laying it horizontal at the levers. Oh, and peel back the hoods, makes it much easier.
 
I remove the brakes levers but leave the brackets still on the bars and then wrap the tape. This makes it much easier, you just wind the tape all the way from the ends to the middle. Plus there's no need to peel back the hoods, which might not be possible with old hoods or it might damage them.

I use non-aero levers (Campagnolo Super Record), so this might not work with more modern levers though.
 
I peel the hoods forward and do a figure of 8 around the levers. Neater than using the silly bit of tape they give you.
 
I think keeping the tape at a constant tension as you wind is the key. Watch the overlap on each turn to make sure it's even as you progress along the bar.

Judge by eye how much tape each turn is taking so that you end with the right amount of tape to tuck in. Be prepared to unwind a bit if you are using too much tape too soon, and increase the tension a little as you rewind.

Carefully peel back the brake hoods. Then use the spare bits of tape supplied to cover under the brake levers and avoid gaps.

And if you really want to be fussy trim the end at an angle so that you have the same thickness of tape to tuck in all round and secure with the bar end caps.

I like to see nicely wound bar tape!
 
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