Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

Is it my imagination but is bar tape extremely expensive for what it is? I bought a nice set of bars at at the Brisbane swap meet (thanks Gav) and it got me thinking. The bar tape will cost me more than the bars! If I bought $300 carbon bars the $20 cost of tape would be in proportion but way out of proportion for vintage bars. Am I looking at this all wrong?

Probably looking in the wrong place:

http://www.this link is broken/Mode ... elID=46593

or cloth tape if it is an older bike

Leather baby, nothing beats the feel. Re-usable too.

TCO taken into consideration, it's pretty cheap.

Bearing in mind that the tape is brand new and the bars are 20 or 30 (or more) yrs old. I got some Velo brand leather look stuff from the LBS for $15 each, not bad stuff.

My Fizik bar tape cost around $20-30, has been on my bike for 3months and 4200km's and looks like the day i bought it. Cant really complain about the cost.

Or, if you are a bit of a tight____ like me, $2.66 for cork tape delivered from Hong Kong. Will tell you what the quality is like when it arrives. It's been three weeks now.
Tony

redrover3 wrote:Or, if you are a bit of a tight____ like me, $2.66 for cork tape delivered from Hong Kong. Will tell you what the quality is like when it arrives. It's been three weeks now.
Tony

Will be keen to hear how it is. You couldn't get much cheaper than that.

I just got some of that $2.66 bar tape from Honkers, and its not bad, no sticky on the back but does the job fine. I'll be buying it again for my resto's.

redrover3 wrote:Or, if you are a bit of a tight____ like me, $2.66 for cork tape delivered from Hong Kong. Will tell you what the quality is like when it arrives. It's been three weeks now.
Tony

No adhesive backing, no brake lever patches, and the thickness of a sanitary pad. I use it on bikes I build to flip. Fubar is good and cheapish on ebay lO

redrover3 wrote:Or, if you are a bit of a tight____ like me, $2.66 for cork tape delivered from Hong Kong. Will tell you what the quality is like when it arrives. It's been three weeks now.
Tony

I like to use long strips of chux finished off with electrical tape. Keeps your hands clean, too.

diggerdantheman wrote:

redrover3 wrote:Or, if you are a bit of a tight____ like me, $2.66 for cork tape delivered from Hong Kong. Will tell you what the quality is like when it arrives. It's been three weeks now.
Tony

I like to use long strips of chux finished off with electrical tape. Keeps your hands clean, too.

Chux? Ooooooer you fancy brand name hipster. I use paper towels stolen from public bathrooms and adhere it with used chewing gum found on the bottom of park benches.

BurtO wrote:I just got some of that $2.66 bar tape from Honkers, and its not bad, no sticky on the back but does the job fine. I'll be buying it again for my resto's.

I used some double sided tape that I had in the shed about a half inch wide, one piece on the top of the drop tubing going from the end of the bar up to the start of the hood, and another from where the bar tape will finish in the centre back across the top almost to the side of the hood. And of course same the other side. It seemed to give a bit of extra cushioning. Definitely enough to keep it in place for a couple of thousand km so far.

It seems pretty cheap and nasty when you first work out it's got no built in sticky, but it lasts reasonably well.

cray- wrote:

diggerdantheman wrote:

redrover3 wrote:Or, if you are a bit of a tight____ like me, $2.66 for cork tape delivered from Hong Kong. Will tell you what the quality is like when it arrives. It's been three weeks now.
Tony

I like to use long strips of chux finished off with electrical tape. Keeps your hands clean, too.

Chux? Ooooooer you fancy brand name hipster. I use paper towels stolen from public bathrooms and adhere it with used chewing gum found on the bottom of park benches.

I'd do same, but thrifted chewing gum comes in handy when refining the pencil moustache...

Not sure where you guys are looking?

I have a roll of genuine Benotto bar tape coming from Europe & it's only costing just over $20, don't know why you lot think it's so dear?

Wal42 wrote:Not sure where you guys are looking?

I have a roll of genuine Benotto bar tape coming from Europe & it's only costing just over $20, don't know why you lot think it's so dear?

Proportionally dear. And I'm tight!

Just looking through eblag-

Cinelli cork tape $22 delivered

Sram Supercork tape $17.50 delivered

Colnago padded cork tape $32 delivered

Deda deluxe vented cork tape $32 delivered

Prologo plain touch tape $20 delivered

BBB bar tape $12 delivered

No-name from Hong Kong or China (there's lot's of them) under $3 delivered


Fark, you guys must be tighter than a fishes rectum.

Just FYI, 'Clarks' branded cork bar tape is rubbish, got some from the LBS a few months back for $15 or thereabouts, it's thin and very hard.

ldrcycles wrote:Just FYI, 'Clarks' branded cork bar tape is rubbish, got some from the LBS a few months back for $15 or thereabouts, it's thin and very hard.

try the chux Lochie - I was only half joking...

Got fizik white tape on mine but its lasted 9 months for $27 outlay. Worth it in the end if you ask me. Easy to clean too. Still looks brand new.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

Just ordered 5 different types for less than $20. Should be here by Christmas.