Hi

Ive decided to bling up my road bike with some sexy new bar tape

Now £8 is a lot of money so I want to get it right 🙂

Is there a knack to this or is it easy?
It just looks like a nightmare waiting to bite me on the backside taking it over the hoods, seating the cables just so and getting the length and coils right etc etc etc

Any tips gladly received

Park Tools Website is your friend

http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=71

Start at the bottom

I always thought you started at the bottom but my roadie mate, who is quite anal, always starts at the top….

Start at bottom.

Though it's been taken by the hipsters, treat your bike to a harlequin finish.

A few tips that I use:
Start at the bottom.
Get some electrical tape, bind the cables in place first.
Fold back the hoods of the shifters.
Cut a bit of tape to cover the inside of the shifter clamp, (sometimes the binding won't cover this bit), and stick it in place first.
When you get to the end/top, trim the end of the tape diagonally so it finishes neatly at a right-angle to the bar.
Bind the end with suitably coloured electrical tape.

Hope that helps,

Alex

There's a couple of videos on YouTube about it but the above tips are right. Start at the bottom, keep the tape fairly taut and take your time over it. It's worth looking at the old bar tape as you take it off to see how it's been done – the bit round the lever hoods can be done in any number of ways and each mechanic will have their own preferred method.

Start at the bottom leave a bit of overlap to tuck in the bars under the caps.
Tape the hood section in place firmly before starting.
Pull firmly as you wrap the bars, most tape has a bit of stretch do it too loose and it'll go saggy on a hot day.
Make sure you wrap it evenly, look for gaps you might have left underneath, and don't wrap over the slightly raised centre section.
Have the finishing tape cut cleanly and ready to hand.

There are videos on Youtube.

Cheers fellas

Particularly like the fixie but perhaps not for a beginner

I did this for the first time as my gf's bike needed new tape last year. It's nowhere near as bad as you think it will be – just look at a few guides, take your time and check and you go – if you're not happy, unwind a couple of turns and redo it.

i tried the haliquin tape look ,, it works well and is quiet easy

Oh, and I'm an advocate of inside out electrical tape on the bars first (either just on the drops, or all the way up). Makes the bar tape grip like sh*t to a blanket..! 😀