Yes, THE tape has survived in small quantities. For those that don't know what it looks like, see here and in following pix:
http://www.wooljersey.com/
This is what it looks like mounted on my Bohemian:
http://www.flickr.com/
It's actually pretty interesting tape, I like it, and I'll still grab it if I find it at swap meets. I only remember this "suede" version, so I'm not sure if there was also a smooth version. It has a very similar look to suede leather, but it's plastic of course. I haven't used it extensively, but I've never torn it while installing.
Wayne BIngham Lovettsville Virginia USA
On Fri, Aug 29, 2008 at 4:33 PM, donald gillies <gillies@ece.ubc.ca> wrote:
> Another great product from Cool Gear was "The Tape" ( hmmm. I wonder
> if they considered trademarking "The Noun" as a product name ???)
> which was a thin black foam tape intended to compete with Grab-On bar
> grips, which are extremely difficult to install and remove.
>
> "The Tape" was my favorite handlebar tape in the late 1970's. Today
> we use Cork tape which is somewhat similar, but "The Tape" was a
> little bit thinner and looked more like plastic tape or cloth, as it
> did not taper down at the edges, and was washable, and very
> comfortable. I saw some of "The Tape" for sale on ebay about a year
> ago. I'm surprised that any of it had survived until today.
>
> - Don Gillies
> San Diego, CA, USA
> _______________________________________________
>
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Wayne Bingham
Lovettsville, Virginia USA