Discussion
As the title really, I have a Boardman Sport roadie, and it was white wrapped bars on the front. I wear gloves when riding, but even so, they're greying / black and a nightmare to keep clean.
Any tips or hints? I like to keep it looking clean and tidy, and the bars just look plain grubby. It's starting to get to the time of year when there's plenty of other cyclists about, many with shiny white handlebars, what's the secret that I'm missing?
Any tips or hints? I like to keep it looking clean and tidy, and the bars just look plain grubby. It's starting to get to the time of year when there's plenty of other cyclists about, many with shiny white handlebars, what's the secret that I'm missing?
I have the same thing with the white tape on my Trek road-bike, but I'm not too bothered about doing anything about it. After all, you can't see half of the bars when you've got your hands on them... and when I'm riding around at warp factor 3, I'll just be a blur anyway!!!
Replace the tape when it gets too bad and keep your gloves clean I guess is the sensible answer if you really need white tape.
Replace the tape when it gets too bad and keep your gloves clean I guess is the sensible answer if you really need white tape.
Smartboy said:
I have the same thing with the white tape on my Trek road-bike, but I'm not too bothered about doing anything about it. After all, you can't see half of the bars when you've got your hands on them... and when I'm riding around at warp factor 3, I'll just be a blur anyway!!!
Replace the tape when it gets too bad and keep your gloves clean I guess is the sensible answer if you really need white tape.
There was me holding for some of wizardry in a bottle I could wipe across them to reveal a lovely clean shine!Replace the tape when it gets too bad and keep your gloves clean I guess is the sensible answer if you really need white tape.
Mine are usually a bit more on display, less of the warp 3, more of the standing by the side of the road trying to get my breath back and not cry.
D4MJT said:
As the title really, I have a Boardman Sport roadie, and it was white wrapped bars on the front. I wear gloves when riding, but even so, they're greying / black and a nightmare to keep clean.
Any tips or hints? I like to keep it looking clean and tidy, and the bars just look plain grubby. It's starting to get to the time of year when there's plenty of other cyclists about, many with shiny white handlebars, what's the secret that I'm missing?
Go for a bar tape that's leather-y/plastic (Fizik Microtex maybe?) and give it the occasional going over with hand/alcohol wipes. Works a treat.Any tips or hints? I like to keep it looking clean and tidy, and the bars just look plain grubby. It's starting to get to the time of year when there's plenty of other cyclists about, many with shiny white handlebars, what's the secret that I'm missing?
Birdthom said:
White bar tape is just a bad idea! I have had it on two bikes, replaced with black tape at the first opportunity.
WRONG!Gizmoish said:
Jif works, flash bleach spray too. But grey bar tape is good: it shows your bike has been used and isn't some mamil's Sunday sunny-ride toy.
CORRECT!On the right bike, matched with the right saddle, white bar take ROCKS! Yes, it shows the dirt, and starts to look 'used' far sooner than a darker colour might, but so what? Bikes are for using, not admiring outside Cafés whilst smuggly sipping strong coffee from silly little cups. It is NOT "all about the bike" - it is very much "all about riding bikes".
If the white tape is too dirty to revive with some judicious cleaning, just buy some more (White!) tape, and re-wrap. Problem (temporarily) solved
Confession: I have been considering changing my bar tape (and hoods/cables) to orange. Why? Because I have some tyres with orange stripes. I wanted to match them, and also just felt like 'being different'. Red was also considered, as the bike already has a small amount of red 'coach lining' in the painted finish. Does this make me a bad person?
There are two types of white bar tape. One that gets grubby and one that doesn't. I have owned both.
The one that gets grubby is made from foam. Its a b
h to keep clean.
The one that doesn't has little holes in it, but does not offer much in the way of padding.
I would always choose the one with holes.
The one that gets grubby is made from foam. Its a b
h to keep clean.The one that doesn't has little holes in it, but does not offer much in the way of padding.
I would always choose the one with holes.
S10GTA said:
There are two types of white bar tape. One that gets grubby and one that doesn't. I have owned both.
The one that gets grubby is made from foam. Its a bh to keep clean.
The one that doesn't has little holes in it, but does not offer much in the way of padding.
I would always choose the one with holes.
OOoooooh.The one that gets grubby is made from foam. Its a b
h to keep clean.The one that doesn't has little holes in it, but does not offer much in the way of padding.
I would always choose the one with holes.
How hard is it to rewrap your bars then?
In my head, I imagine pulling all the current neat wrapping off, then ending up with something that looks like it's been assembled on a Blue Peter open day by a 5 year old, probably with cable ties on the ends, or some sort of primitive knot?
D4MJT said:
OOoooooh.
How hard is it to rewrap your bars then?
In my head, I imagine pulling all the current neat wrapping off, then ending up with something that looks like it's been assembled on a Blue Peter open day by a 5 year old, probably with cable ties on the ends, or some sort of primitive knot?
It's a piece of piss really. The trickiest bit is getting the tape around the brake levers and not leaving anything loose, but even that's simple once you've seen how to do it (unwrapping your current tape will show you how its done). I can't be arsed to google it, but there must be some demonstration videos or pics out there on the web.How hard is it to rewrap your bars then?
In my head, I imagine pulling all the current neat wrapping off, then ending up with something that looks like it's been assembled on a Blue Peter open day by a 5 year old, probably with cable ties on the ends, or some sort of primitive knot?
Edited by outnumbered on Wednesday 15th May 15:10
outnumbered said:
It's a piece of piss really. The trickiest bit is getting the tape around the brake levers and not leaving anything loose, but even that's simple once you've seen how to do it (unwrapping your current tape will show you how its done). I can't be arsed to google it, but there must be some demonstration videos or pics out there on the web.
Correct. This one is good.Edited by outnumbered on Wednesday 15th May 15:10
http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/handlebar...
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