Fizik Tempo 3mm tape is my favourite. Not sure about length but its mega comfortable and super hard wearing. Some people say that the leather style tapes aren't grippy enough but I've never felt like my hands were slipping off and the benefits of easy cleaning and damage resistance outweighs any small loss of grip IMO.
I've recently wrapped up my Cyclocross/Gravel rig with Silca's NASTRO CUSCINO bar tape for pretty much all the reasons you've mentioned in this video! Seems very good and plush so far. Tacky grip without being overly sticky.
Zipp Service Course is comfortable and grippy but durability is absolutely terrible, it has worn down and has little tears in it after only a few hundred km. It's much worse than Lizard Skins, and Lizard Skins is itself pretty bad for durability. I will probably have to replace it soon enough, and won't be replacing with the same again. I have got literally tens of thousands of km and years out of Fizik tape, I don't expect that from every tape but I'd expect more than a few weeks.
@@blorg8206 I've got over 10k km on Service Course CX on one of my bikes, and all the rest are still on their first set. Don't hold on like you're gonna wreck all the time 🤣
@@mellissanash7517 it is ?? Hmm 🤔 it seemed very similar , I have ESI on my fixie , but on my gravel bike the wolf tooth. It gets so disgustingly slimy with bar hands and sweat that I hate it now.
I always use Fizik Bar Tape and Bar Gel Kit, it's already thick but the gel makes it VERY comfortable I've tried a few thick bar tapes but the gel kit makes it the best bar (pun non intended) NONE!
seconded. best tape for gravel I know, not too thick, not too thin, perfect vibration damping, superb grip, easy to install; not cheap but worth every penny to me.
@@JustRideAdelaide The Ciclovation and Tasis tapes look very very interesting, especially since I hate gloves. But I'll probably start off with fresh rolls of my beloved Fabric Knurl bartapes as a control and switch between that and the Ciclovation tapes as an experiment. Shouldn't be an issue with rewrapping due to the gel backing. I lead a boring life and I need stimulation. :) (BTW the Pro Gravel Comfort tape looks like an interesting substitute as well. What can I say? I'm a sucker for Shimano stuff...)
wolftooth supple bartape is basically the best bartape in the world atleast IMO. Thicker than all of your choices too at 5mm no offence 😉 & literally lives up to her name & then some.
After trying the Lizard Skins for a while and deciding that I wanted the adhesive to be only on the handlebar side of the tape and not on the hand side, I got myself a roll of Specialized Roubaix tape, and that tape is now on all my bikes except one. Really comfortable and grippy without being sticky...
I thought about the Lizard Skins. I had some a couple of years ago and I found it absorbed every spec of dirt and looked terrible in a few rides. And y'know... aesthetics are just the absolutely most important thing in the world obviously! Ahhh but my bike did look briefly glorious with its glowing orange tape.
Thick, comfy bartape? Either the thickest Lizard skins (I think they’re 3.2mm) or the cheap Aliexpress stuff. It doesn’t last that long but it costs only €1.50 and is really plush. Thanks for the vid🙏
I use the lizard skins 3.2 stuff it’s expensive but i like the rubber feel. For my hacker bike i bought the cheapest cork stuff from ebay it cost about 2 dollars (pre covid) from china to cover the bars i wasn’t expecting much but it is thick and easy to wrap looks neat il see how long it lasts
current bike I have the Wolftooth 5mm stuff. Its really fat, I cant say if I am dead set on it though. I am going to try something else, maybe that Ciclovation chocolate brown for my new build
PRO Gravel Comfort tape. It's 3mm thick and 3m long. About.5m longer than their usual bar tape so it will cover extra wide bars. It's got a gel backing instead of an adhesive so rewrapping is no problem and is super grippy. I love mine.
I'm just trying to find a leather wrap I can soak in water to wrap around a warped walking stick... I would use metal ring type cuffs around hand holds and to keep the tape super secure too. Any suggestions?
Usually whatever the tape comes with goes on the bar. I have bought a roll of 3M tape for when the bar tape outlasts the finishing tape. I just dug through me emails and apparently it's called "3M Premier Grade Black Electrical Tape"
@@JustRideAdelaide Where did you get that from? I couldn't find it in Bunnings here in Brisbane. All I can find is Nitto branded tape. Been using that for a while, but it isn't really elastic enough and keeps pulling away. I'll probably try reverse wrapping next.
I commented this yesterday but: got a question for ya. With flare bars are they measured at the hoods or the drops. As in would my 42 cm road bars be the same tops as a 42cm flare gravel bar? Im interested in the Zipp XPLR SL 70 bars. I have 42cm road bars and would like the same with flares.
Yo! I was waiting to finish this vide before jumping into comments :D Short answer: flared bar widths are measured at the hoods. Some brands have started giving a second width at the flare. So the Curve Walmers I had were 55cm at the hoods, 70mm at the flare. THICC
@@JustRideAdelaide Ok cheers. I might get 44cm yet but im pretty comfortable 42cm and I dont plan on hitting technical trails... yet. I usually can help myself even on road bike hahah
Hi Kurtis, I've got the Zipp XPLR SL 70 bars. I had the Pro Discover Medium Flare bars in 42 previously, which measured 42 cm hood to hood (as in literally the distance between the centers of the brakehoods when properly installed). I then wanted to try slightly narrower bars (felt like a tripod) and settled on the XPLR bars in the claimed 40 cm size. Ended up measuring 38 cm hood to hood (confirmed by my bike fitter). Apparently different manufacturers measure bar sizes differently. Just another data point for your consideration. To be honest, I love the XPLR bars right now, even with the smaller than expected width. But then again, I've got quite narrow shoulders, and I ride most of the time on road. Might be a good idea to measure the bar in the shop and compare against the measurements for your current bar, or buy from an online vendor with a good returns policy.
@@phoebetan7519 wow thanks for the info. With flaring the shifters out the hoods then pivot inwards slightly which I was going to ask if that makes the hand position narrower which from what you said might have made that difference. But yea i wanted them slighter wider so I think 44cm will be right for me 👍Lucky I didn't impulse buy haha.
Hey mate, the tape is still going well. A little bit of wear on the tape where the heel of your hand rests when you're holding the hoods. Still plush and comfy.
Great video bro I will have to try a couple of these that you recommended when it comes time for me to replace my bar tape you’re wearing a light coat is it starting to get cool there ?
Thanks mate! And nope, technically I should be putting the coat away because we're weeks into Spring. Instead some asshole arctic blast has rolled in for a final slap of winter. Not stoked.
Classic Cinelli cork, for its tactile quality. Great smoothness, a tad too short for my 46cm w/ lotsa-sweep gravel bars, which finds me scouring the internets and landing here.
Oh yeah i got a colored bar tape. It feels great and is comfortable but i regret choosing a colored one. It gets dirty easy and is extremely hard to clean. Like way too hard... I will use only black bar tapes from now on. Big regret...
