I use the "Pergolizzi" method but I'm far too thrifty to use fo
ur rolls of tape. The problem is that I think Tressostar's solution
to giving the employees a raise each is o shrink the lenght of the tape.
It is now seriously short for any kind of quality taping job. Its not
you, its the tape.The Japanese tape is much better. It lays flatt
er on the bias (less wrinkles) and is much longer. I used to really lo
ve the Fujita tape (Fujita Saddles) but that is long gone. I suppose C
ateye is the best you can get now.Joe Bender-ZanoniGreat Notch, NJ--
--- Original Message -----From: Thomas Adams Date: Thursday, May 2
5, 2006 10:20 pmSubject: Re: [CR]On wrapping one's bars.
..To: devotion finesse , classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> D
ear Matthew:> > On the subject of wrapping bars, I suspect th
ere are as many > ways to wrap bars as there are bar wrappers: so l
ong as you get > em covered, you can invent semi plausible reasons w
hy they > should be the way your's turned out. Some basic startin
g points > then. Wrapping from the stem to the end or end to the st
em is a > matter of personal preference. Starting at the stem means
the > end of the tape can be tucked into the bars and secured with th
e > bar plug, ideally secure if the plug is an expanding rubber such
> as a Velox, less secure if it's a jam fit modern style. The
> down side of wrapping from the stem is that the edges of the > tap
e are exposed to the hands of the rider, and tend to curl up > over
time, perhaps leading to unsightly bare gaps in the wrap. > The l
ess overlap for each wrap, the more likely the curling will > open g
aps. But overlap is tied to too short tape syndrome, > covered be
low. > > Wrapping from the ends to the stem means the tape ove
rlap lays > away from the riders hand, like shingles on the roof,
> eliminating or at least greatly reducing edge rolling and gaps. >
The down side is now the tape must be secured at the stem with > no b
ar plug to help. The classic answer is electrician's tape; > wi
th the wide variety of colors available a pleasing result is > reasona
bly possible. Of course any use of electrical tape aint > the way M
erckx did it, so I suppose you loose style points here. > It is po
ssible to glue the tape down, and Rivendell fans use > twine wrapped
over the end of the tape in a whip finish, but I'm > content with
electrician's tape. > > The other two points to be aware of
are tape wrinkles and tape > length, or lack thereof. Finishing
one side of a bar with one > roll of tape is a chronic problem with me
: I start wrapping, > concientously keeping my overlaps minimal b
ut I still always end > up with too much bar at the end of the tape.
My prefence for > 44cm bars is no doubt part of the problem, but I
still run short > with 40cm Giros. Here's one advantage of elect
ician's tape, the > ability to cover over that last naughty bit of
bare bar while > holding the tape down. > > The Pergolizzi
solution is to use 4 rolls of tape, one from > the end you start wit
h to the brake hood, and one from the hood > to the other end of the
bar. Overlaps can now be lavish, and > you always have enough ta
pe. You secure the end of the first > roll under the first wrap of
the second roll. I always thought > the ends of the tape in the mid
dle would come loose, but the > bikes on which I tried the Omnipote
nt Despot's method seem to > hold up fine. > > Wrinkles are
the other bane of cotton bar tape. If you just > start wrappin, t
he tape will quickly develop ridges and folds > that stick up and make
lumps in your bars. The solution is to > keep stretching the tape
tighter and tighter as you wrap, to > eliminate wrinkles. I try t
o wrap away from myself, so I can > push the tape with my thumb as i
t goes over the bar to increase > tape tension. You really have to
yank hard on that stuff to get > it flat. Here's a case where mod
ern really is worse than old: > current production Velox black tape
is really stiff and > unelastic: I've found it impossible to get
a wrap that lays > flat. Older Tressoplast tape I've got is much
better. If you > get some tape that simply won't lay down and be
have, then my > last resort is to pull all the wrinkles to the botto
m of the > bar, secure them with the next wrap of tape and move on.
At > least the top portion of the bar, where your palm rests, w
ill > be smooth, even though the ridges and bumps under your> fing
er tips will nag at you, if you're like me.> > Brake hoods
are traditionally dealt with by rolling them up on > the brake lever b
ody, wrapping one 2-3 inch strip of tape over > the brake lever stra
p, then wrapping the tape up against the > brake lever body, and t
hen rolling the brake hoods back down > over the wrapped tape. This
is fine if your brake hoods are new > and supple. DON'T TRY THIS
WITH YOUR CLASSIC CAMPY BRAKE HOODS, > or any other hood that seems
a little dry. Rolling these hoods > will usually split them. Af
ter many years of trying to wrap by > sliding tape under the hood with
out lifting them, pushing tape > under the hood with screwdriver and
many other unsatisfactory > methods that resulted in poor coverage or
torn hoods, some > generous list member showed me the light. Fir
st, position the > brake levers on the unwrapped bars. Make sure
you have em > positioned right, because you can't move em later wi
thout > ruining the tape wrap. Then, duct tape the brake lever st
raps > to the bars, leaving the lever body free. Then> remove t
he brake lever body from the strap by unscrewing the > securing bolt a
nd lifting the brake lever body off the strap. Be > careful not to b
ump or disturb the strap as it sits on the bar. > Be sure to do bot
h levers at once, so you can make sure they're > level before you
wrap the bars. Then wrap the bars over the > brake lever strap, a
nd replace the brake lever body. Presto, no > torn hoods and easy
to get 100% tape coverage over the lever > strap. > > If
you come to my CR ride in Jersey, either Saturday or > Sunday, and
bring your bike or your bars and levers, I'l be glad > to show yo
u how I do it, albeit I probably do it all wrong. > Hope that hel
ps you some. > > Tom Adams, runnin' off at the keyboard in
Shrewsbury NJ> > wrote:> So now I am about to REALLY reveal my
self as a > "newbie"...Please bear with > me.> I am no
w in the process of assembling the 74 Raleigh > International that I >
have been gathering parts for (with much appreciated help from > CR >
listmembers!) and this, being my very first road bike, has > brou
ght me to an > obstacle:> I have never applied tape to a set of ro
ad drops. Sure, I have > put a little > Tressoplast cloth tape o
n the flats of many track bars. No > science there. > But multip
le bends and brake calipers present a couple of new > challenges.I a
m hoping that some of you might have some pointers > to help me get mo
ving > in the right direction.> The International is the bronze/or
ange/rust color and I intend > to use white > Velox tape, shellace
d to match.> I have looked at every road bike locked up on the stree
t. I have > scoured > the pages of classic rendezvous looking for
detail shots of > bars, etc. It > seems that wrapping methods ar
e consistently inconsistent. Is > there a > "correct" way to g
o about doing this? Do I start at the stem and > wind my > way tow
ard the bar ends? The other way entirely? Do I wind > around the b
ars > toward the front or rear? Any tricks for cleanly dealing with
> brake > calipers?> Any tips are greatly appreciated.> Than
ks,> Matthew "the twenty-something who is about to take off his >
training wheels" > Bowne> Brooklyn, New York> > > ___
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