denim bar tape?

Hi everyone,

I work at Levi Strauss and was just wondering how easy it would be to make some bar tape out of denim?

Is there some kind of adhesive i can buy to put on the denim first?

Or am I being ridiculous and this will never work?

Any help is appreciated...

Some bar tape isn't adhesive. But is a bugger when you rip it because it all falls apart but I think just make sure the denim is comfortable for your hands whilst riding :)

itd work much like cloth tape i guess. you might want to treat it with shellac afterwards.

How would I stop it unravelling at the end if I weren't to stick it down?

qckpckt what is shellac? Sorry I'm reasonably new to bike building.

How would I stop it unravelling at the end if I weren't to stick it down?

Oh, I usually wrap from bottom first that's why I don't have that problem. But you've got a point there lol.

I work in a place where you make shop signs and we also make awnings and canopies. The material we use to make canopies is quite tough but we found that normal double sided tape works well to fold up the ends so it looks good.

I'm pretty sure you could also use normal double sided tape in order to hold the denim to the bars.

You need no stick, just get a strip of thin denim (stretchfit would be best) and wrap from the bottom up, then just secure with a piece of tape at the top as you would with any bartape. Just make sure you wrap it very tight and tidy and you'll be fine.

You need no stick, just get a strip of thin denim (stretchfit would be best) and wrap from the bottom up, then just secure with a piece of tape at the top as you would with any bartape. Just make sure you wrap it very tight and tidy and you'll be fine.

+1. It's the easiest option.

Cool that sounds like a plan... thanks for the advice :-)

Also, original idea :) never heard of it before.

qckpckt what is shellac? Sorry I'm reasonably new to bike building.

shellac is an excretion from a 3rd world beetle i believe

3rd world...

Is it a show bike for in a store or is it just a personal build?
If it'll be in a store there is probably no need for shellac as it really just protects the cloth from weathering and rotting.

the red ruins that build

You need no stick, just get a strip of thin denim (stretchfit would be best) and wrap from the bottom up, then just secure with a piece of tape at the top as you would with any bartape. Just make sure you wrap it very tight and tidy and you'll be fine.

This is good advice.

One of the problems you'll have is that the edges aren't chamfered, so you won't have the smooth transition you have on bartape. (look at the pics of the edges on the denim posted)

Cloth tape is thin enough, and can be wound tight enough for this not to notice. Therefore the key, as Nahguavkire pointed out, is having something thin, and ideally stretchy.

Your other option is using a whole piece and stitch like this:

Yeah it was that Levi's bike given away in a competition that made me want denim grips on my build.

It is for personal use as an every day ride so will it need protection from rotting? My jeans have never rotted away!! :-)

I think i will use a long strip... getting it to the right size in one strip will be quite hard. And stopping it from stretching, even harder.

Thanks for all the advice

And yeah i agree the red does ruin it!

the everything ruins that build

ftfy

I see double sided tape and this thread https://www.lfgss.com/thread4037.html in your future.

My 2 pence would be strong double sided tape underneath the denim, otherwise it'll slip around and kind of half unravel under your hand pressure. The ends will remain good and tight but the middles will become all messy. What kind of bars are they, drops?

haven't bought them yet but will probably be bullhorns...

Dark denim or light, serious question?

It'll look cool on bulls but defo go for tape or you'll find your self pushing all the denim to the end of the bars when in an aggressive position

Is it 501 tubing?