Handle bars....

berman said:

But i was wondering what would be best to finish it off with i.e. Sticky Tape?

Plain plastic electrical tape is customary. If you want to be cheeky, it's now available in colors.

If you do a good job and are careful about it, you do not even need to use electrical tape - finish off with a drop of strong glue where the tape ends and your bars/tape will look like a million bucks.

OR, if you begin the wrap near the stem and work toward the ends, you can simply tuck the end of the tape into the handlebar & hold it in place with the handlebar plug ...

alfeng said:

OR, if you begin the wrap near the stem and work toward the ends, you can simply tuck the end of the tape into the handlebar & hold it in place with the handlebar plug ...

Alfeng, that's the old way of doing it. These guys want the most modern methods and looks. I gotta admit, the old way has it's advantages, but it was also more likely to slip. Not the case anymore with the adhesive backed tapes.

kdelong said:

the old way has it's advantages, but it was also more likely to slip. Not the case anymore with the adhesive backed tapes.

I manage to make the adhesive backed tapes slip over time, whatever way I do it. Maybe I'm not pulling it tight enough as I lay it.

berman said:

Hi Everybody,

Ok so I have bought some new tape for my handle bars, some nice white tape to blend in with the front of my bike. But i was wondering what would be best to finish it off with i.e. Sticky Tape? Been looking around for ducktape but cant find anything thin enough... A few cheeky tips would be much appreciated!!!

Thanks Berman

You can cut your duct tape to any width you desire! Simple matter of using a scissors or knife. Same goes for any tape. I prefer smooth electrical tape - with your white handlebars you can go with white tape or a contrasting color depending on your bike. A wide variety of colors can be found in almost any good hardware store, or in an electrical store.

Duct tape will get nasty after some use. You don't want that sticky goo on your gloves (ask a musician). Electrical tape is easy to use and forgiving.

artemidorus said:

I manage to make the adhesive backed tapes slip over time, whatever way I do it. Maybe I'm not pulling it tight enough as I lay it.

HMMmmm. Well, first of all, not all "cork" tapes are made equal to one another NOR can they be wrapped equally well ...

Regardless, athough I have to admit that I have wrapped my bars for decades in the SAME direction as way-back-when (and, of course, starting from the "center"😉, if you think about it, there are FOUR directons the tape can be wrapped onto the bar ...

So, perhaps, you should try the next wrapping in the opposite direction OR lose the "death grip" (!?!) on the bars.

Something to look into using is non-open-cell (i.e., smooth) type of foam tape which seems less prone to lifting/rolling at the edges.

There is an "ultimate" solution beyond the sewn-on Cinelli "wrap" ... but, I can only share it on a need-to-know basis.

Paint works well if you wear gloves🙄 !

alfeng said:

OR, if you begin the wrap near the stem and work toward the ends, you can simply tuck the end of the tape into the handlebar & hold it in place with the handlebar plug ...

I do all my bikes this way. Deda padded foam wrap. Just enough adhesive to keep it from slipping, but easy to remove.