How to Braid Bicycle Handlebar Tape
New bicycle handlebar tape, also known as "grip tape," can make even the oldest ride look new again. It is an inexpensive fix that gives some people fits. Taking your time is really the key. Grip tape comes in more colors than you could possibly want to count. Some popular brands include Cinelli cork tape from Italy, Specialized's S-Wrap and Lizard Skins products. Whatever you go with, it all gets installed on your bike the same way.
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Things You'll Need
- Razor blade (optional)
- Rubbing alcohol (optional)
- Cloth or cotton balls (optional)
- Electrical tape (optional)
- Scissors
Instructions
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1
Remove your old grip tape. Depending on how long it has been on your bike, the adhesive might have made quite a mess of your handlebars. In some cases, you can carefully scrape the leftover adhesive off with your fingernail or a razor blade. If it is really sticky, use rubbing alcohol alongside a cloth or cotton balls to take it off. You could leave the adhesive on, but it might interfere with how your new tape sticks.
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2
Secure loose brake housing to your handlebars with electrical tape, as advised by Brian Fiske, a writer for "Bicycling" magazine. Roll up the rubber hoods that cover your brake levers. As the late bicycle expert Sheldon Brown notes, handlebar tape always goes underneath the hoods.
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3
Pick a side of your bike and begin at the end of your handlebars. Leave about one-third to one-half of the new tape hanging off the end of your bars. The excess will be tucked into the bars later.
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4
Begin rolling your tape around the bars. Direction does not matter. The key, as Brown stresses, is to "never release the tension" as you tape the bar. Peel the protective back off to expose the adhesive in sections as you go. Fiske advises wrapping "a third to half of the tape's width as you go." He also suggests pulling the tape tight, but not to the point where you risk ripping it.
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5
Take care when you reach your brake levers. Fiske recommends overlapping the part of the lever that clamps to your handlebars by about half of the width of the tape. Once the tape is secured around the brake levers, finish wrapping your bars as close to the middle of the handlebar as you desire.
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6
Cut excess tape with a pair of scissors. Use the tape supplied by the manufacturer to secure the end of the tape to the middle portion of your handlebar. Use the bar end caps that came with your new handlebar tape to secure the excess tape at the bar end. Fold the tape you left hanging in step 3 inside the handlebar. Push the bar end caps into the bar ends until they're snug.
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Repeat this process for the other side of your handlebars.
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Tips & Warnings
You might want to use additional electrical tape to secure the tape to the middle of your handlebars. Often, what is supplied by the manufacturer is simply not enough.
References
- Photo Credit woman on a bicycle image by Wimbledon from Fotolia.com
