HOW TO WRAP HANDLEBARS ON A ROAD BIKE, NO TAPE SHOWING *CLEAN* 

Is this not the cleanest setup to run?!?

This is ofcourse the logical technique if you don't want to use electrical tape. However, ofcourse there's a very good reason why the bar tape is professionally wrapped from the end inwards. This is because your hand would typically run over the bar in an outwards direction. With this technique that would mean your hands would run "against the grain" so to speak and this can wear out the edges of your bartape quickly. This is why we use finishing tape. Otherwise everyone would just do it like this guy in the video. Another pro tip is to change the direction on the lower part of bar wrapping from the inside to the outside (when starting from the end of the bar ofcourse). Because when you grip it your hands tend to rotate in the opposite direction when gripping the lower part of the bar. This way the rotation will tighten the tape instead of loosening it up. In the end this doesn't matter much for performance but this technique would make your bartape significantly more durable meaning you'd have to change them less frequently. So pick your poison: frequently having to change your bartapes or a piece of finishing tape...

The first time I saw someone wrap it reversed was a few years ago. I started doing it shortly after when I was in a gravel race and it rained for most of it. The finishing tape came loose as a result on one side and wouldn't stick anymore. I had to unwrap the bar tape some and tie it off to keep it from unwrapping anymore. The only drawback to the reverse wrap is I push against the edge of the tape when reversed wrapped.

Manufacturers used to use this method for decades until the "Pros" decided to do it the other way. I have used this method all my life and I have never had any tape come loose, I am 55. I always use tape with the adhesive on the back. I used to do this at Raleigh and have easily done over 30,000 bars this way so I have a little bit of an advantage 😀. I know it was over 30 years ago but the skill never leaves you once you've learnt it. 125 bars a day, 5 days a week and 48 weeks a year. I was doing it for just over a year.

The best wrapping technique and video on RU-vid. So much cleaner and tidier looking, and no tacky electrical tape on your £300 bars. Also like the description and camera work arouind the shifters. This is always the tricky bit. Thanks GC. Ive been doing it wrong for years!

Thanks for the video. I've been using this method for many years and even used cheap tapes from aliexpress that came without an adhesive. No issues of tape slippage at all.

I did this on my bikes after seeing your previous vlog on reverse wrapping the bars. So fresh, so clean!

Looks clean asf. I enjoyed your take on this. You can add a doublesided tape strip on the rear edge of the bars for extra strongness to keep that tape tight.

About to wrap my bullhorns, first time doing it. Thanks for the assist. Maximum effort!

Just wrapped my S-Works hover bars with SupaCaz tape using this tech. I started the wrap exactly at the top of the hover rise. Worked great! Super Clean looking.

That was great! Going to use this technique on my upcoming bar wrap. Thanks for taking the time to show the figure 8 wrap in such detail, I WILL be referencing that! Love the Supacaz bar tape too😊

Have to admit this looks dope. After fluffing my bar tape numerous times last night I did this and it looks great. Much easier to get it tidier at the top starting here and the lack of need for securing tape makes it look super clean. I’m not convinced it won’t roll or move about but I’ll see how it fares. Bar taping is a bugger of a job if you are plagued with ocd lol!

As someone who had never wrapped bars before I used this method after watching many other videos. This method gives the cleanest look and I will never wrap bars any other way. Thanks dude!

It looks great but I find my hands are rubbing against the edges if you know what I mean instead of over the tape edges

This is the way I used to do it back in the 70s when all we had was Cloth or Benotto shiny tape, nothing is new.

Made it look so easy!

Did this for my girlfriend and she loved it. Says three fingers is better than two. Says it feels great even after several hours of hard riding. She asked me where I learned this and I told her the internet. She did not believe me.

Dang. Made it look so easy. Well done.

This is the best tutorial i have watched so far ty for sharing

Really enjoy your videos !! You da man !!

Awesome job brother, thank you so much for this video, now I can do my own bar tape, except I’m gonna have to watch your video couple of more times…. lol…thanks again brother

Great job looks awesome 👏

Nice work 👍

This my friend is perfection! Never settle for average!

My mechanic also does it this way, love it!

nicely done!! great videos

Tried this way on my gravel bike totally sold great video thankyou.

Best tape job I’ve ever seen sanitary !!!!!

Best tape job I've seen. I've been doing it wrong for 15 years, now I know.

Exactly how we did it in 70’s! We tended to favor the French Tressostar or Tressoplast tapes.

Simply the best... One question... can you use this method with the Di2 bar ends? How would you finish off the wrapping? With electrical tape?

Good technic. I will try this next time. I had the same Supacaz tape on my bike but it lasted only 4 months in some light rain and sunny conditions.

I’ve always wanted to wrap my bartape this way, but I have the shimano di2 bar end junction plug thing, so as far as I know, I can’t use this technique. Maybe if I ever get another bike with the new 12spd di2, I will try this technique. Awesome video anyway.

Been waiting to see this reverse wrap bar video. My problem is pulling and stretching enough of the bar tape and the figure 8!!! Great job!!!! Now I have a video to refer to

This is the way that I wrapped bars in the 1970s. I mostly used adhesive backed cloth tape (I believe it was Tressostar) back then. Looked good at first but the tape would gradually fray and creep then down the bar eventually leaving gaps. Plastic tape (Benotto was popular in the 1980s) wrapped this way would also creep leaving gaps much faster. That's why nowadays the pros wrap from the bar ends up. If you don't mind retaping your bars more frequently then top down as in the video works.

You sir, are an artist.

I always use this way of bar wrapping. As a daily bike commuter I have no bad experience and disappointment on this method. Just always wear your bike gloves to prevent your tapes to get sweaty and filthy

Just waiting for my new bar tape to arrive and this came up on my feed ❤ it's gotta happen

Perfect 👌

That is super cool.

Sweet job 🥳

Спасибо за ваше видео. При следующей намотке руля сделаю также.

That was awesome

Looks good

I need to try this but with 2 different color tapes and switch at the hoods!

If you cut away small triangular piece from the starting point of the bar tape, make sure on the inside edge....can avoid bulging :)

Could you please do a full video on how to increase your FTP by 200 watts, I didn’t quite get it 😂

Hell yeah brother! Thanks!

That looks sweet fo sure@!

Excellent

Could you show us how your wrap a bar with the Shimano EW-RS910 E-Tube Di2 Bar Plug Junction Box please 🙏🏻 obviously without using electrical tape 👍🏻

I do reverse wrap on my carbon road bike and normal wrap for my steel frame gravel bike. Do know why... but reverse wrap on the steel gravel bike looks weird to me... looks sexy as hell on road bike.

Nice!

Would that figure 8 work with thick tapes like Silca Nastro Cuscino 3.75mm? I love the clean look of this and I wonder if it would work with such thick tapes.

I prefer end to stem wraps as you’re not rolling the edge of the tape. Wrapping the drops with double side tape first is good though, as if you ever crash and rip tape, it won’t unravel.

HEY GC! My favourite bike RU-vidr! I love you! I posted this in the which bike discord channel but Factor Ostro Vam Tour de France version or Specialized S works Cream Gold frame build with a LBS?

Yeah this is the way to do it. Nice work. Leave the black tape to the electricians.

Yes, you are a genius, in decades of cycling no one came up with this. Then you see the comments and why this does not work. Of course the pro cyclist and their mechanics are not up to par in this regard you are the genius. 2 rules, from bottom to top and to the outside of each bar.

This is the way it was done when bar tape was invented, for 38 years this is how I've always had it done and NEVER once had an issue except wearing out the tape.... "This is the way"

Nice

I’ve done this however as you ride with your hands on the tape, it has a tendency to row the tape off, if you know what I mean.

Bar end shifters and secondary brake placing extra cables with external routing complicate things.

I think I will try this on my next wrap. Does wrapping clockwise or counter clockwise makes any difference ? (maybe we should wrap in the direction we tend to squeeze the bar when we ride ?)

It's the only way to wrap bar tape, being doing it for 25 years !! Wrap as tight as you can and no issues !!

I personally wrap my bar following your vid. Great video as always 👍 keep it up☝️

I’ve watched a good dozen wraps with good info, including this one. I found maybe 2 that account for hand positions and natural wrist rotation. I just started to do my own bars as I noticed the wrap starting to lose it’s tightness. Granted the amount I was riding I should’ve changed the wrap once or twice a year. My hands tend to roll outward on the drop and backwards on the tops. Many examples have the tape rotation in the other direction. Has anyone come across this? Many years of riding a Fixie and single speeds have changed my geared bike riding bar position. I am going to try this only have the tape roll out on the drops.

This goes directly to my Favourites folder for further perusal, examination and application in practice :):) A question tho-what do I do if the bar tape I use is quite a bit thicker than this one? I like silicon padded tapes and making a figure of 8 creates a bulbous monstrosity.

Question.. i used supacaz tape last week to wrap my bars,, but it didn’t come out that great after looking at it closely… is it too late to retry with same tape? I did not do reverse wrap and I didn’t cut the tape (taper cut) when I got to the end.. i just wrapped a few rounds of electrical tape and called it a day lol. It doesn’t look great up close. :(

that is how I do it since you last taught me. It works great and the electrical tape is ugly.

Finally you did something right! OMG! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

can you do a review on that green Shwin bike?

Everything old is new again. This was the way to wrap bars until all of a sudden there was a new better way.😂

20 some years ago, I bought something called "Handlebar Tape Locks" for my bikes, that were plastic, and covered up any electrical tape that secured the ends of the bar tape. They came in multiple colors that could match your bar tape. I'm still using them on all my bikes, 20 years later. Looks like they are only available from China. PS. They only work on round bars.

Best part of wrapping from the top is when the tape comes undone at the bar end you can just rewrap it.

I'm wrapping this method for years, hate electrical tape on tops, but you run drops in wrong way, better is to run from inside to outside, no issues at all with this direction.

Nice but wrong way around. This way it comes loose faster, dirt can enter faster and when moving hands downwards along handlebar it doesnt feel as smooth

On dropbar section, left side should be counter clockwise rotation bar tape..

Well shit 🔥 that's clean

How would you finish this wrap method with Di2 plugs? Thanks

Dude I tried your reverse wrap with the Aerofly2 but they managed to unravel after a couple hundred miles. Any pointers? Pull tighter?

What's the name of the tape you are using please. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

Good job. Never liked electrical tape on my bike.

I’ve been doing my bikes like this for years since 1986, because I hate the black electrical tape on top of the bars, it’s just a clean look……

My exprience with reverse wrapping not good... Because it's in reverse so the overalpping is in opposit direction and when I shift from top to hood the lip of the tape kept on catching and when doing offroad the dirt will trap underneath the tape.

I notice the way you wrapped it on the drops the tape is going inward not out away from the bike. I've always heard to tape outward on the drops. Is this not a thing to worry about anymore? How long does this method for you?

What if you have a Di2 bar end junction box?

Looks good but not after 2-3 rides. Those ridges will start to stretch and flip under hand friction and wear

I like the idea of no tape, but isn’t the tape wrapped backwards to the way the seams show. When your hand is on the bar you tend to push away and you might see a “rolling” of the edge???? Thoughts?

Is that the oil slick bar tape?

Have taped thousands of bikes, always started at the top, when I see people start at the bar ends I wonder why, I prefer colored tape, on grey days a bit of color in the edges of my vision helps

Three fingers in? Got it.

Always do this not sure why anybody would do it any other way

Does it undone itself often

I tried the reverse wrap once, but when I rode aggressively, my hands would splay out and go against the seam of the tape and ended up making the ends curl up. I have that Supacaz on my all-road rig. At first, I hated it. The shop put it on without letting me know instead of the Fizik I normally use. It felt too sticky (in a bad way). Now that it's worn in a bit, it feels absolutely great.

Do you always wind it in this direction? The Parks Tools guy recommended winding in the other direction.

You are Michelangelo, that bar is the Sistine Chapel.

This feels like we are trying to fix something that isn't broken

It may look good but if you use the top of the handlebar alot it will become undone eventually especially if you live in a hot humid climate where glues just melt away.

V neat. Won't last as long like this though.

Or in other words, how to wrap handlebars like they were wrapped for the first 70 years of drop bar existence.