The tape is buggered on my cross bike and the cork-based tape I’ve tried replacing it with is a bit too big and chunky and not long enough to reach the secondary brakes and therefore leaving a couple of inches of bare bar.
Can anyone recommend a decent tape with sufficient padding for offroad cross riding? Or any tips for fashioning your own padding?

I just put some cinelli gel on my pompino. Plenty of length, nicely padded but not too thick if you dont overlap too much.

you sure youre not overlapping too much to come up so short and fat.

EDIT: In fact had enough spare to Jr’s stoker bars:

http://www.specialized.com/zz/en/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=56846

Bar tape with gel padding underneath for damping. Keep the tape stretched taut when you’re wrapping it.

Stoner – looks perfect – thanks.
That is one crazy/wicked looking bike BTW.

this is the stuff I got

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_t5w43Q6t-Qs/TaKwTw3Yt_I/AAAAAAAAMrg/QyhPV7Z0NiU/s640/IMAG0217.jpg

crazy-legs – thanks, might that try instead as wiggle are sold out of the one stoner suggested (in black anyway). Like the idea of extra padding.

if it is for a cross bike and going to get dirty, i find the fizik tape quite thin and very easy to keep clean.

Cinelli do great gel inserts. Like Pamela Anderson sausages.
That go under the tape – great off road and only a fiver a pair.