To answer Tony's question, I have several bikes from the 80s that had a rather thick, shiny plastic covered perforated bar tape. I've only seen it in white and maybe because of the age it's lost it's padding effect.
I like the Fi'zi:k bar tape too. It has the look and feel of a leather wrapped steering wheel. A LBS owner suggested that I put it over cloth tape. I recently tried his suggestion on some bars with yellow tape that got really dirty from ridding. It works!
I can't stand the cork tape or fake cork bar tapes. It has a dry feel that drives me nuts, like chalk on a black board. I guess my dislike comes from the feel of cork handled fishing rod grips before they wear smooth.
In the 70s the first thing we used to do was change from cheap plastic bar tape to cloth tape on our own bikes and any better quality bikes in our showroom that had plastic tape. Cloth tape was "classy".
I never liked the Benotto style cellophane looking tape. It may have been glitzy and all the racers wanted it because the pros used it but I always thought it looked cheap! It was also slippery, especially when wet.
We used to double or triple wrap our bars with cloth tape as the tape got dirty. It added a little vibration dampening.
There was some soft, stretchy rubber like bar tape that came out in the mid 70s. This tape came in a yellow box with red graphics and was available in a number of colors. It had a thicker center section and was thinner on the edges so it wrapped smoothly. It was originally made for use on golf clubs and tennis rackets and did a nice job of absorbing shock and road vibration.
Last year I changed out a set of bars that I had wrapped with that rubber tape in 1975 and it was still soft and probably reusable.
Chas. Colerich Oakland, CA USA
Kevin Kruger wrote:
> I personally find the newly made FIZIK tape looks and feels great on vintage machines, and is available in a wide variety of colors. Not nearly the padding of cork-style tapes, but wraps nicely and looks great in my opinion (although Dale scolded me when he saw it on my 1976 Pogliaghi at last year's Cirque show).
> Here's how it looks on a couple of my bikes (1963 Bianchi Specialissima and 1976 Pogliaghi):
>
> http://www.wooljersey.com/
>
> http://www.wooljersey.com/
>
> Plastic tape was original equipment of my 1963 Bianchi, so I don't feel bad about having it installed now. Plus if you actually ride your bikes like I do, comfort/durability is a consideration. Now if you are hanging it on a wall, that's another story!
>
> Taking advantage of the warm weather spell in PA.
>
> Kevin Kruger - Grantville, PA
>
> From: Anthony Taylor
> Subject: [CR] Vintage Handlebar Tape
>
> All,
>
> I frequently see pictures of "on topic" bikes on ebay that are using a
> type of handlebar tape that appears to be plastic (it looks shiny in the
> pictures), but also looks to be cushioned, and is perforated. Can anyone
> advise what brand this is, and more importantly, is it still available?
>
> Many thanks
>
> Tony Taylor
> Manchester NH