Wrapping Flat Top Bars

sansabar said:

Just put on a Cinelli flat top, traditional drop bar. Got my hoods where I'm comfortable (the trainer REALLY saved time here!) and I'm ready to wrap. Where do most of you stop the wrap on flats? I'm considering leaving the flats bare and stopping just beyond the hoods (where I seem to live).

Any thoughts or suggestions?

I usually leave about 50mm on each side of the stem unwrapped. This is enough for my computer clamp. Wrapping is mostly a matter of personal taste, but there is also the issue of securing your brake cables to the handlebar that you need to be concerned about. If you only wrap just past the hoods, how do you intend to secure the brake cable housing to the handlebars closer to the stem?

kdelong said:

I usually leave about 50mm on each side of the stem unwrapped. This is enough for my computer clamp. Wrapping is mostly a matter of personal taste, but there is also the issue of securing your brake cables to the handlebar that you need to be concerned about. If you only wrap just past the hoods, how do you intend to secure the brake cable housing to the handlebars closer to the stem?

I had considered using tape or shrink tubing to secure them separately. This is my first experience with flat tops and was looking for some different considerations.

I wrap until I run out of tape....

sansabar said:

I had considered using tape or shrink tubing to secure them separately. This is my first experience with flat tops and was looking for some different considerations.

IMHO, from a purely aesthetic point of view, it would look better if you wrapped it at least to the point where you were going to place the last peice of tape to secure the cable. You can use the whole roll of tape and adjust where it is going to end by either increasing or decreasing the tape overlap.

It really is individual taste. My last bike (Easton EC 70s) I wrapped right accross the tops.
My new bars (Kuota Katch) I have left unwrapped on the tops. I stopped just proximal to the bend.
I prefer what I've got now because I don't ride that long in the flats.