Wrapping cotton twill bar tape.

Some people say that when cotton twill bar tape is wrapped
from the stem to the bar ends the hands on the top bend
constantly abrade against the exposed edge of the bar
tape making it fray and degenerate more rapidly than if
the wrap job is done from the bar end to the stem. Have
any of you seen this kind of fraying? I have not.
For a while I wrapped from bar end to stem, but hated the
necessary sticky tape wrap at the stem because it was
bulky and not as pretty as a tucked bar tape start, so I
went back to wrapping from the stem out. I have never had
the tape fray at the edge. The tape eventually deteriorates
but the edge remains fine. The tape typically fails where
it wraps over the underneath edge as in these photographs.

http://gallery.me.com/spress#100093

You might observe that these bars are typically ridden
without gloves.

The rupture in the tape is underneath the lateral, proximal
area of my palm when on the hoods. The area is designated
by Luna mount in palmistry and chirognomy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chirognomy

I do not know how others wrap bar tape. Differences in
technique may account for different results.

--
Michael Press

On Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:55:38 -0700, Michael Press wrote:

Some people say that when cotton twill bar tape is wrapped
from the stem to the bar ends the hands on the top bend
constantly abrade against the exposed edge of the bar
tape making it fray and degenerate more rapidly than if
the wrap job is done from the bar end to the stem. Have
any of you seen this kind of fraying? I have not.
For a while I wrapped from bar end to stem, but hated the
necessary sticky tape wrap at the stem because it was
bulky and not as pretty as a tucked bar tape start, so I
went back to wrapping from the stem out. I have never had
the tape fray at the edge. The tape eventually deteriorates
but the edge remains fine. The tape typically fails where
it wraps over the underneath edge as in these photographs.

http://gallery.me.com/spress#100093

You might observe that these bars are typically ridden
without gloves.

The rupture in the tape is underneath the lateral, proximal
area of my palm when on the hoods. The area is designated
by Luna mount in palmistry and chirognomy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chirognomy

I do not know how others wrap bar tape. Differences in
technique may account for different results.

It depends on the tape - but there is a neat, simple, cheap solution.

Put short sections of inner tube on the bars next the stem. When wrapping,
you start at the end and wrap towards the stem. At the stem, fold the tube
back towrds the stem, finish wrapping, and unfold the tube over the ends of
the wrap.

On Oct 1, 1:55 am, Michael Press wrote:
Some people say that when cotton twill bar tape is wrapped
from the stem to the bar ends the hands on the top bend
constantly abrade against the exposed edge of the bar
tape making it fray and degenerate more rapidly than if
the wrap job is done from the bar end to the stem. Have
any of you seen this kind of fraying?

I wrapped my last set of Tresso from the stem down. Looks great and
it's cheap enough that who cares if it only lasts a season, but it
will probably last much longer. I wash it with the rest of the bike
if it gets grimy with some dish soap and let it dry in the sun. The
stuff in the pictures is just nasty with hand grease. Blurgh! That
can't be good for it.

Michael Press wrote:

Some people say that when cotton twill bar tape is wrapped from the
stem to the bar ends the hands on the top bend constantly abrade
against the exposed edge of the bar tape making it fray and
degenerate more rapidly than if the wrap job is done from the bar
end to the stem. Have any of you seen this kind of fraying? I have
not.

I think you asked the wrong people, ones more interested in applying
the tape than using the bicycle. As you noticed, bar tape is like
roofing shingles, it must overlap in the direction of the deflected
medium, Because one rides drop bars on the tops and skids forward
onto the brake hods now and then, that's the way the rain falls.

Therefore, like a roof, start at the bottom (bar ends) and work up to
the top remembering that your fists grip the bar and rotate in the
direction of the grasping thumb. Therefore, that it the direction of
wrap. Lest that not be obvious, start at the bar end wrapping the
tape in the direction your thumb points when you grasp the bars.

For a while I wrapped from bar end to stem, but hated the necessary
sticky tape wrap at the stem because it was bulky and not as pretty
as a tucked bar tape start, so I went back to wrapping from the stem
out. I have never had the tape fray at the edge. The tape
eventually deteriorates but the edge remains fine. The tape
typically fails where it wraps over the underneath edge as in these
photographs.

As I said, are you taping for the guy applying the tape or the rider.
If you don't do as described and have insufficient tension while
taping, it will all unravel in time.

http://gallery.me.com/spress#100093

You might observe that these bars are typically ridden without
gloves.

I see gap-ossis that is caused by starting at the wrong end.

The rupture in the tape is underneath the lateral, proximal area of
my palm when on the hoods. The area is designated by Luna mount in
palmistry and chirognomy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chirognomy

I do not know how others wrap bar tape. Differences in technique
may account for different results.

Understatement!

Jobst Brandt

Michael Press wrote:
Some people say that when cotton twill bar tape is wrapped
from the stem to the bar ends the hands on the top bend
constantly abrade against the exposed edge of the bar
tape making it fray and degenerate more rapidly than if
the wrap job is done from the bar end to the stem. Have
any of you seen this kind of fraying?

Yes.

I have not.
For a while I wrapped from bar end to stem, but hated the
necessary sticky tape wrap at the stem because it was
bulky and not as pretty as a tucked bar tape start, so I
went back to wrapping from the stem out. I have never had
the tape fray at the edge. The tape eventually deteriorates
but the edge remains fine. The tape typically fails where
it wraps over the underneath edge as in these photographs.

It may depend on the tape itself. IIRC, the Velox or Tressostar was
pretty stiff, so the edges didn't "roll over."

Cateye, on the other hand, is thin and soft and flexible, and the edges
"roll up" when the hands put pressure on it. That is, you grip the bars
and pressure from your arms tends to make your hands slide along the
bar, e.g. from near the bar tops toward the brake hoods. As your hands
slide, the edges roll up and or abrade away. So you want to make sure
that any likely sliding of your hands along the bar will lay the tape
back down rather than roll it up. Hence, bottom-to-top wrapping.

Is Tressostar or the like still in production? You can get old rolls on
Ebay, but I wonder if the adhesive is still functional.

Mark J.

On Oct 1, 10:28 am, wrote:
Michael Press wrote:
Some people say that when cotton twill bar tape is wrapped from the
stem to the bar ends the hands on the top bend constantly abrade
against the exposed edge of the bar tape making it fray and
degenerate more rapidly than if the wrap job is done from the bar
end to the stem. Have any of you seen this kind of fraying? I have
not.

I think you asked the wrong people, ones more interested in applying
the tape than using the bicycle. As you noticed, bar tape is like
roofing shingles, it must overlap in the direction of the deflected
medium, Because one rides drop bars on the tops and skids forward
onto the brake hods now and then, that's the way the rain falls.


More ivory tower BS. Wrapped any cloth recently? Compared to modern
closed cell and "cork" tapes, if applied tightly and deftly, its
tendency to curl, even under extreme torque is nil. It just isn't
flexible enough. I was myself advised to wrap top down for aesthetics
earlier this summer by a group member after a decade away from
Tressostar, and have suffered no ill effects. The bike which has this
treatment is a fixed gear, so its handlebars get a good amount of
testing on the rolling hills around here when I stand for ascents.
Looks clean as well.

I might even post a picture tomorrow--the fading is proof of the
mileage--but it's obvious that the chirality has had no detriment to
the function of the tape.

Foam--that's another matter--it needs to go from the ends up on drops,
and from the stem to the ends with butterfly bars to prevent curling,
with the latter I like to use a set of Ritchey True Grips on the
straight portion, so I can tuck the taped terminus of the foam neatly
under the grips.

On Oct 1, 10:36 am, Mark wrote:

Is Tressostar or the like still in production? You can get old rolls on
Ebay, but I wonder if the adhesive is still functional.


I've purchased Tressostar from both Lickbike and Jensonusa this year.
Lickbike's a real gem of a place if you haven't used 'em before--you
can just call stuff in like in the old days. Good prices, too! The
adhesive is like it always was--enough to work with--you're really
keeping the stuff on with tension. I recommend a base layer of the
cheapest OEM type foam stuff first--stretched ultra thin and tight,
then the cotton--it won't look like you have more than a layer of
cotton on there to most eyes used to thick tapes, but you get a nicer
feel if you like to ride bare handed. That's what I really like about
cotton--is the super grip, and sweat absorption with bare hands.

landotter wrote:
On Oct 1, 10:36 am, Mark wrote:

Is Tressostar or the like still in production? You can get old rolls on
Ebay, but I wonder if the adhesive is still functional.


I've purchased Tressostar from both Lickbike and Jensonusa this year.
Lickbike's a real gem of a place if you haven't used 'em before--you
can just call stuff in like in the old days. Good prices, too! The
adhesive is like it always was--enough to work with--you're really
keeping the stuff on with tension. I recommend a base layer of the
cheapest OEM type foam stuff first--stretched ultra thin and tight,
then the cotton--it won't look like you have more than a layer of
cotton on there to most eyes used to thick tapes, but you get a nicer
feel if you like to ride bare handed. That's what I really like about
cotton--is the super grip, and sweat absorption with bare hands.

Yeah, the two-layer idea is what I tried with the Cateye - but the
underlayer was old Cinelli cork - a little too ragged for use on top,
but enough for a base layer. Maybe it was the flexibility of that
underlayer that /really/ did in the Cateye tape. I'll try the
Tressostar for the top layer next time.

Mark J.

On Oct 1, 1:46 pm, Mark wrote:

Yeah, the two-layer idea is what I tried with the Cateye - but the
underlayer was old Cinelli cork - a little too ragged for use on top,
but enough for a base layer. Maybe it was the flexibility of that
underlayer that /really/ did in the Cateye tape. I'll try the
Tressostar for the top layer next time.

Bad combo--crunky Cinelli and mousy Cateye. The Tressostar is much
thicker. Good stuff--ages nicely like a good pair of jeans.

On Sep 30, 12:55*pm, Michael Press wrote:
Some people say that when cotton twill bar tape is wrapped
from the stem to the bar ends the hands on the top bend
constantly abrade against the exposed edge of the bar
tape making it fray and degenerate more rapidly than if
the wrap job is done from the bar end to the stem. Have
any of you seen this kind of fraying? I have not.
For a while I wrapped from bar end to stem, but hated the
necessary sticky tape wrap at the stem because it was
bulky and not as pretty as a tucked bar tape start, so I
went back to wrapping from the stem out. I have never had
the tape fray at the edge. The tape eventually deteriorates
but the edge remains fine. The tape typically fails where
it wraps over the underneath edge as in these photographs.

http://gallery.me.com/spress#100093

You might observe that these bars are typically ridden
without gloves.

The rupture in the tape is underneath the lateral, proximal
area of my palm when on the hoods. The area is designated
by Luna mount in palmistry and chirognomy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chirognomy

I do not know how others wrap bar tape. Differences in
technique may account for different results.

--
Michael Press

I wrap from the end of the bar up to the stem, then secure the end
with Super Glue (or some such adhesive) so as to have a clean looking
finish.

Lewis.

*****