Thanks, Aldo. Every forum is not lucky enough to have the benefits provided by a man with the heart of a poet.
John Dunn in Boise, still stuck with worn out Lawrence Ferlinghetti lines
> Cloth tape should show some wear, some dirt, some use. Even black cloth
> fades in the sun, and red turns a lighter shade when ridden regularly. In
> this way cloth tape shows evidence of use, of miles, of the passage of
time.
> Like worn leather, it reveals the points of human contact, the place where
> our hands meet our bikes, whether in a casual grasp, or in a desperate
grip.
>
> Shellaced cloth will wear with time, sweat and rain. The places where
hands
> rest become lighter, the texture of the weave begins to show through.
>
> It's like a baseball glove
>
> A leather-covered steering wheel
>
> An antique tennis racquet
>
> A comfortable pair of shoes
>
> The pros didn't always get new tape every race. Look at photos from the
> 1940s through the 1970s, especially during stage races, especially if the
> rider wasn't a team captain. The tape is dirty and worn.
>
> Look at the rider on the right side of "The Smokers". The tape is ragged
> and torn.
>
> And beautiful.
>
> There's something warm and comfortable about cloth tape. The colors
aren't
> always as bright as plastic. There aren't any showy patterns as synthetic
> cork. It isn't shiny.
>
> But you can dye it - you can give it a unique color all your own, any
color
> you can imagine.
>
> You can tint shellac, sand between layers, and create a depth of
> transluscent color which cannot be duplicated in any other way. And when
> you ride, your hands will change it again, wearing away small areas,
slowly,
> over the years.
>
> I want the thin white Gaslo cloth on the '49 Bianchi to get dingy and worn
.
> I want it to show that, yes, this bike is being ridden. I want it to show
a
> dropped chain and a dirty street and the greasy sweat of a hot summer's
day.
> Visible evidence that I'm enjoying the bike.
>
> I dyed the cloth on my light olive Girardengo to match the paint, then
> shellaced with red tint. As it wears, various shades of color show
through,
> giving it a lovely patina of reds and greens.
>
> Aldo Ross
> Middletown, Ohio