Bar tape opinions

A tape is a tape, no matter what brand... IMHO... 🙂

I've been using Cinelli cork tape for the past 2 seasons. Pretty comfy, and not bad durability for cork.

cydewaze said:

I've been using Cinelli cork tape for the past 2 seasons. Pretty comfy, and not bad durability for cork.

I'm pretty "wrapped" (pardon the pun 😄 ) with my Specialized Bar Phat - comes with a Gel pad that mounts on the bar under the tape - absorbs a mighty amount of road shock. Comes in a 2.5mm thick gel or 4.5mm thick gel -I'd avoid the 4.5, especially if you have small hands. You can have any colour you want so long as it's black.

Cinelli gel, the best I used so far.

I prefer "cork" tape and haven't seen too much differences between brands. I generally buy Profile tape simply because it is the cheapest one that's commonly available around here.
For added comfort, I put one strip of old tape (or the little section they give) on the upper side of the bottom section of the handlebars, because I ride mostly on the drops. That way I get added cushion on the load bearing side without unduely increasing bar diametre.

One trick if you have more than one bike or want to have always perfect tape: stick to the same brand. That way, if you tear the tape on one side, you can replace only that side and it won't look goofy.

Gel tape: I haven't tried it, but I touched it in the box and got the feeling it might be slippery when wet.

actually the cinelli gel isn't slippery at all in wet conditions. And what I like is that you can stretch it a lot without breaking it.