Bar wrap porn

^this. Could still smell though I guess?

I think it would, especially if you didnt wear gloves

anyone tried inner tubes to pad-out benotto?
(ie: under the benotto, obvs)

^^i'm not much of a weight weenie! Any other downsides to inner tube? Cork tape sounds like a good idea too but doesn't it look a bit uneven in terms of width when wrapped?

The main downside is inner tubes aren't spongy so won't really offer much padding. They also will move under the cotton tape which then also move.

If cotton's too thin put some cheap bar tape under it. You can often find stuff in the classifieds for £3-5...

Good point. I'll probably just stick to cork tape I reckon!

Don't know what anyone else thinks but I reckon it's worth spending a bit extra for nice cork too. I've used I unbranded stuff from eBay and the cheap Deda stuff in the past but since using Cinelli gel cork, I'll never go back. It's so much nicer to apply and noticeably more comfortable.

I put an old tube under my cotton tape when I had some and it was great - it was on nice and tight, and it improved the feel without being spongy enough to move around under the tape. I'd recommend it, but that's just my opinion of course. I was riding with gloves too however.

Where is those coloured hoods from?

A company called Hudz .. Those are the Campagnolo version.

I put an old tube under my cotton tape when I had some and it was great - it was on nice and tight, and it improved the feel without being spongy enough to move around under the tape. I'd recommend it, but that's just my opinion of course. I was riding with gloves too however.

I've done that too with good enough result (although subtle) that I wouldn't be without it.

To compare I started out with just the cotton cloth on one side of the bar, and with the inner tube on the other side. And you *can *feel the difference, but don't expect miracles ;-)

The trick was to get hold of an inner tube tight enough, that you almost can't pull it on. I used plenty of Denatured alcohol or methylated spirits if you will, on the inside of the tube to help slide it on the bar. And when i got stuck because of the evaporation, I stretched out the tube opening from the bar and gave it a shot of hairspray to get it moving again. It worked like a charm, and the tube doesn't move at all under the bar tape! The scent of the natural rubber does smell through the cotton cloth though, but I'm able to ride without padded gloves except on longer rides, and that was my main goal. Another added bonus is that the cotton tape goes on easier and smoother on the inner tube.

Once the cotton tape is worn out, I'll try out some Benotto tape on the inner tube which I can only imagine will be a lot easier than on the slippery handlebar.

You can see how stretched the tube is at the end of the handlebar

http://i.imm.io/1gZBI.jpeg

stem>>>>>>>>>>>

temporary <<<<<<<<<<<<<

I put an old tube under my cotton tape when I had some and it was great - it was on nice and tight, and it improved the feel without being spongy enough to move around under the tape. I'd recommend it, but that's just my opinion of course. I was riding with gloves too however.

I've done that too with good enough result (although subtle) that I wouldn't be without it.

I tried running an inner tube under fizik. I did it by reverse wrapping electrical tape and then carefully wrapped a cut open inner tube to make sure there were no overlapping sections.

It made a noticeable difference. Not massive padding, but some road buzz was cut out. However I now still have fizik on my road bike with modern bars and a better fitting bike. I wonder how much of that original discomfort was down to bike fit. On the other hand they were on round blade steel forks and old cinelli criterium's vs carbon and modern shaped compacts.

Fwiw I found Newbalms(sp?) cloth tape perfectly comfortable with no padding. Cheap cloth tape not so much.

Fwiw I found Newbalms(sp?) cloth tape perfectly comfortable with no padding. Cheap cloth tape not so much.

I've used Zefal cotton cloth and found it to be extremely thin, so next time I'll try out some Newbaums. How about Velox Tressorex for comfort compared to other brands?

Looks sweet! How comfortable is just cotton tape?

I would says it's largely depend on your choice of tyres size and pressure.

Skinny 23c wouldn't be very comfortable, but a decent lightweight 28c would be ample.

I actually change my tape from DSP to cotton because it was too soft (was running lightweight 42c at 40psi).

This is by far the most comfortable and best tape I've used. I used to swear by fizik microtex but this Cinelli velvet tape pisses all over it. Lizardskins suck in comparison too. I used to get so much road vibe from them, but this tape eliminates it easily.

10/10 would bang.

What's it like in the wet?

cough

Fine. I use it on my daily ride too in all conditions, gloveless. Never slipped yet.

I used to swear by fizik microtex but this Cinelli velvet tape pisses all over it.

When I first got the Cinelli Mike Giant tape, I thought it felt suspiciously similar to the Fizik Microtex Soft Touch I had on my other bike so I compared off cuts I had of both pretty closely and couldn't see any difference apart from the perfarations and the print. I reckon it comes out the same factory.

Or even some gel pads

gel pads feel like melted cheese under the tape

gel pads feel like melted cheese under the shirt

ftfy.

This isn't proper snow camo either, but possibly the look you're after?

I just put the green 'camo' version on my bike. Looks like this.

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3754/9677007554_317f9f92d6_o.jpg

Does anyone have any ideas where to get this in the UK?

(?)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Road-Bike-Bicycle-Handlebar-Bar-Tape-Army-Navy-Green-Camo-/290914126673?pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item43bbd54b51

If it's not the same it's close enough! Cheers for that.