Yeah the white tape came with the bars, I’ll maybe change it to brown or pale blue when I get a Brooks swift…
Based in Yorkshire, sorry al!
Changed because the ‘rat’s not a tourer – rack doesn’t fit neatly, and it’s a pita to change the rear wheel when mudguards are fitted. Right tool for the job etc – the wheel drops out very neatly on this, the caliper is in the ‘correct’ position, and there are tons of braze-ons, including the underneath-downtube bottle mount for a fuel bottle.
I’ve not really ridden that many bikes to compare it to (expect the roadrat). I’ve only done about 50 miles on it so far – it’s obviously heavy-ish with the rack on, but quite comfortable and has a very upright position, mostly due to the long headtube.