Re-taping racing drop bars..



MountainPro

New Member
Aug 11, 2004
3,071
2
38
Hey,

my Team LiquiGas-Bianchi has quite narrow bars, ITM Race - sumthin'

i want to replace them with wider ones but the tape and everything on my existing ones are so nicely made with little Bianchi logos and stuff, bright yellow, there is no way i could rip it apart and re-tape it..

so, when you take the tape off the bars do you use the same tape on new bars of will i have to try and buy new tape?

will the LBS re-tape the bars for me for a price?
 
Yes, sometimes you can re-use the tape. If it's cork tape and it's glued on in any way, not likely. If it's synthetic, you can try. I managed to use the same synthetic tape on three different handlebars, over the course of about 5000 miles. It was a crash that finally destroyed the stuff. And yes, your LBS will tape your bars for you for (should be) a small charge. Learn to do it yourself though.
 
You probably are due for new bar tape anyway. It's a simple job, takes all of 5 minutes.
 
capwater said:
You probably are due for new bar tape anyway. It's a simple job, takes all of 5 minutes.
cheers guys, now if i can only source the tape i already have, its a hard bugger to track down.

most Bianchi tape is in the traditional Celeste colour, mine is yellow...
 
MountainPro said:
cheers guys, now if i can only source the tape i already have, its a hard bugger to track down.

most Bianchi tape is in the traditional Celeste colour, mine is yellow...
You might have to switch to Cinelli. Even if you can save the tape, it's going to be all stretched and lumpy from being used. It won't sit well on the new bars, and is probably too short anyway.
 
Tape it yourself. Start at the ends of the bars. Wrap clockwise on the left side and counterclockwise on the right. Here's a good article.
 
You'll probably get down to the last inch and rip it...it's not worth it, new tape is really nice anyway...

New Bar tape from Bianchi

I didnt see yellow but there are some choices. Here a link to the Cinelli Yellow bar tape I think the Bianchi stuff is really Cinelli stuff with a Bianchi imprint so you should be getting the same stuff.

Wraping is easy... just stuff the end of the tape in the tube, make a turn with about a half inch hanging over the end then stuff the plug in and wrap away. when you get to the brake levers put a 3 inch peice behind the lever then just wrap around it... read the park tools article mentioned above