How To Replace Bar Tape - Perfect Tape Wrap Every Time - Cycling Maintenance 

I know, great little tip that. Told to me by an old boy that ran a bike shop for years. I always try and get a 'Top Tip' in every video.

You’re welcome, Paul. That pencil trick was shown to me years ago by an old mechanic. It’s the simple tricks that you always remember. 👍

@@ribblevalleycyclist really helpful, as I have always got it wrong lol

I always cut it in the wrong direction and had to re-do it. Tape used to finish 1 inch after the levers 😂

Glad you liked it, thanks 👍

Thanks, Macca 👍

Glad it helped 👍

Glad it was helpful!

Hi, Thanks! The way the tape is overlapped means that if you wrap from the bottom, when you move your hands from the tops to the hoods and drops, you’re going with the flow of the overlapping. Also, you naturally push outwards when on the tops/hoods, which also goes with the flow of the overlapping. But if you wrap from the top, you’re going to push into the overlapping, and it’ll start to curl up and eventually rip. Also, if you wrap from the top and need to change a cable, you’re unwrapping the lot! A pro mechanic will usually wrap from the bottom up for these reasons. However, saying that, wrapping from the top looks a lot neater, and I'd like to give it a try some time. Maybe do a video on it! Thanks, Jon

I was shown by Lennie Rogers who was a road bicycle builder in the 1960's and 1970's . Doing this now to a high standard is second nature to me .

I did my previous wrap too to bottom and it does look cleaner and the top blends into the bar better at that top as you don’t get the bulge due to cutting the tape and having the thicker part of the tape as an edge (hard to explain but side profile of tape is like a tabletop ramp). It does however come unwrapped as Jon has said. Not really an issue if you change it fairly regularly. It did last a good year at least.

I switched to wrapping from top to bottom and I have not had any issues with the tape curling or unwrapping. Maybe it depends on the material of the tape.

Good point, James. To be fair, I'm one for doing exactly that on my own bikes, especially my winter bike...... "Think I'll put another 27 turns on, just to be on the safe side" 🤣

Only wrapping the bar tape with electrical tape is really good advice. I watched loads of videos on bar wrapping and it was never mentioned. I've been doing it wrong for years 😀

@archiecraig The stuff they supply has a logo on it, so it has a high plastics content…. Not ideal. But still, it looks good. The electrical tape makes the whole thing work 👍

@@ribblevalleycyclist Sorry, what I mean is, when finishing, wrapping the bar tape with electrical tape and not winding the electrical tape around the bar itself. I think this is the point Jalfred92 was making.

@archiecraig Agreed, it gives a crisp sharp finish 👍

Glad you liked it..... And I'm also glad I don't have that wired mic any more 🤣

It is a real stunner. It’s due to come back onto the channel, to have a set of fancy deep carbon rims fitted. I do hope that bar tape has been looked after!!!

Thanks 👍

Fantastic question Brian, The generally accepted way is to wrap from the bottom up. However, you are correct, in the early days when we had thin hard chalk tape, it was okay to wrap in either direction. However, with today's thicket tape, it gives issues. The way the tape is overlapped means that if you wrap from the bottom, when you go from the tops to the hoods and drops, you’re going with the flow of the overlapping. Also, you naturally push outwards when on the tops/hoods, which also goes with the flow of the overlapping. But if you wrap from the top, you’re going to push into the overlapping, and it’ll start to curl up and eventually rip. A pro mechanic will usually wrap from the bottom up for this reason. However, saying that, you can wrap from the top down if you want. Also, it’ll look neater, because you won’t need finishing tape on the top. As I say though, it’ll start to look messy sooner.

@@ribblevalleycyclist Thanks so much for your reply. I thought the tape thickness had something to do with it but I wasn't sure. It's been years since wrapped from the top down but I don't remember it unwrapping or pulling apart. That said handle bar tapes have changed a lot during the past 30 plus years.

Yeah, bar tape back in the day was more like insulating tape……. I remember getting cold hands from the metal underneath because it was so thin!!!! And it lasted forever. The modern stuff is a lot more comfortable, but it doesn’t last 5 minutes

In a word "SERVICEABILITY" . Also "COMMONSENSE" . Even a child would understand if shown .

Hi Adrian, The bar is part of the maintenance stand. Unfortunately, you can't but the bar on its own. Here is a link to the stand with bar: amzn.to/3PcSxfN Hope that helps, Jon

Agreed, Lech, that does look a lot neater that way. However, if you need to change a cable, you're taking the tape off....... Which, with hydraulic hoses and Wi-Fi shifting, is becoming less of a problem.

Share the knowledge Robert 😉

Good for you, Özgür