I guess my concern would be water getting up under the hoods?
Dockshundswfl on
Just undo it put a length of bar tape from one side under the hood around the bar and back under the hood re wrap it like you did and use electrical tape for the finishing tape.
Kronos_76 on
Yes it’s a problem. Tape will come apart at hoods. Needs redoing. Just use electrical tape to finish it. Several different techniques to get the part under the hoods covered. About a zillion different YouTube videos you can watch. Bar tape is tricky to get right the first few times you do it. Good for you for trying though!
itsallahoaxbud on
Watch the Park Tool videos on taping.
fallingbomb on
It won’t cause the bike issues but it looks poor and it looks like you went the opposite direction of normal. If it is not tight, it will likely come lose from riding on the tops.
There are tons of youtube videos on how to wrap bars. If you want to use that little extra piece instead of figure 8-ing it, you need to the make the transition to the top much much smaller. I always just do the figure 8 now.
You can redo it without buying new bar tape.
swill59 on
This type of tape is very difficult to wrap around the hoods, so don’t beat yourself up for not getting it. I’d recommend practicing with a cheap set of cork tape if you wanna improve.
nicholt on
Half the time I have wrapped bars I cut a bit of tape and put it in that place to hide that hole. Yours looks a bit loose there though. I would think you could retry it. Might need to use electrical tape to finish it.
RepresentativeRow128 on
All in all the tape looks very loose. Should be redone just to address that
Sea_Pineapple1349 on
supacaz tape is pretty crappy anyway but use electrical tape and redo it. loose like that it can come off in a sprint and won’t age well.
noseonarug17 on
I’ve rewrapped my supacaz several times and reusing the finishing tape wasn’t a problem.
M-Alice on
I did it the same thing a couple months ago. I left it as is (it was a hot day. I had zero fucks left) and it’s been fine. Occasionally it bothers me (in a OCD kind of way. Not in a physical way) but it hasn’t unravelled yet. Figure as long as it stays and it’s not causing me any pain it’s fine.
P4TY on
Thanks everyone. It clearly needs work in a lot of ways. Will check out the Park Tools video next time.
OkChocolate-3196 on
If you have an AL bar this will allow sweat to easily get under the tape and that will corrode the bar to (literal) dust. I would rewrap for that reason alone.
littlekippyboy on
Looks like you could also use more tension when wrapping.
Pfizermyocarditis on
Rewrap. Wrap tighter.
dccyc844 on
Take it your mechanic. Honestly I gave up trying to re-learn it every time I tape my bars myself. It’s always shitty work and there’s always something wrong with it.
youngtech on
Yeah the tape is not ‘tight’ enough, I can see from this finished result there isn’t enough tension. You’ll need to re do it and pull in the tape harder next time around. It’s a stiffer taper that needs to be treated as such but it will be more forgiving to this treatment. You can re finish with plain electrical tape, there’s no magic there.
MariachiArchery on
I reuse bar tap *all* the time. As long as you are wrapping tighter than you were the first, or second, or third time, the bar tape will look fine.
[I use the ‘figure of 8’ method to wrap bars. ](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0858/4882/files/Figure_of_8_colour_grade.jpg?v=1571828424)This method will almost always offer full coverage. It can be confusing at first, but just remember, that each time you complete a wrap in these steps, the tape is *always* going *around* the bar, never just around the hood.
Just, wrap like you normally would, going over the lever, then just go back down, then back up again and keep going. Does that make sense?
tiredbrunch on
That tape is some of my least favorite to wrap, hard to stretch it and get it wrapped nice. Takes practice, you’ll get it! Check out the zipp service course tape much easier to work with and super nice texture/feel.
Rowan_River on
I use electrical tape like some people have suggested. It works great and you can buy different colors so you’re not stuck with just using the black tape. I dont use the figure 8 style wrap. Instead I cut off a little bar tape from my old tape, tape it in that very spot and continue wrapping.
3AmigosMan on
Yer missing that lil strip used to cover that exact spot. Most bar tape will come with two short strips. They go there first.
In summary – you can readily cover that little gap with a bit of extra wrapping
And yes you can unwrap and rewrap it…. You’ll loathe the finishing tape but so be it.
Another tip – use electrical tape to finish
marcove3 on
I have re used that exact brand of tape and still looked fine, just remove it carefully. The finishing tape isndone so you’d have to use electrical tape.
You can also leave it, it won’t be a problem. Just a little unsightly but if you don’t care about it leave it. Next time you can cut a small piece of tape and put it on top of that then wrap the bar.
23 Comments
I guess my concern would be water getting up under the hoods?
Just undo it put a length of bar tape from one side under the hood around the bar and back under the hood re wrap it like you did and use electrical tape for the finishing tape.
Yes it’s a problem. Tape will come apart at hoods. Needs redoing. Just use electrical tape to finish it. Several different techniques to get the part under the hoods covered. About a zillion different YouTube videos you can watch. Bar tape is tricky to get right the first few times you do it. Good for you for trying though!
Watch the Park Tool videos on taping.
It won’t cause the bike issues but it looks poor and it looks like you went the opposite direction of normal. If it is not tight, it will likely come lose from riding on the tops.
There are tons of youtube videos on how to wrap bars. If you want to use that little extra piece instead of figure 8-ing it, you need to the make the transition to the top much much smaller. I always just do the figure 8 now.
You can redo it without buying new bar tape.
This type of tape is very difficult to wrap around the hoods, so don’t beat yourself up for not getting it. I’d recommend practicing with a cheap set of cork tape if you wanna improve.
Half the time I have wrapped bars I cut a bit of tape and put it in that place to hide that hole. Yours looks a bit loose there though. I would think you could retry it. Might need to use electrical tape to finish it.
All in all the tape looks very loose. Should be redone just to address that
supacaz tape is pretty crappy anyway but use electrical tape and redo it. loose like that it can come off in a sprint and won’t age well.
I’ve rewrapped my supacaz several times and reusing the finishing tape wasn’t a problem.
I did it the same thing a couple months ago. I left it as is (it was a hot day. I had zero fucks left) and it’s been fine. Occasionally it bothers me (in a OCD kind of way. Not in a physical way) but it hasn’t unravelled yet. Figure as long as it stays and it’s not causing me any pain it’s fine.
Thanks everyone. It clearly needs work in a lot of ways. Will check out the Park Tools video next time.
If you have an AL bar this will allow sweat to easily get under the tape and that will corrode the bar to (literal) dust. I would rewrap for that reason alone.
Looks like you could also use more tension when wrapping.
Rewrap. Wrap tighter.
Take it your mechanic. Honestly I gave up trying to re-learn it every time I tape my bars myself. It’s always shitty work and there’s always something wrong with it.
Yeah the tape is not ‘tight’ enough, I can see from this finished result there isn’t enough tension. You’ll need to re do it and pull in the tape harder next time around. It’s a stiffer taper that needs to be treated as such but it will be more forgiving to this treatment. You can re finish with plain electrical tape, there’s no magic there.
I reuse bar tap *all* the time. As long as you are wrapping tighter than you were the first, or second, or third time, the bar tape will look fine.
[I use the ‘figure of 8’ method to wrap bars. ](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0858/4882/files/Figure_of_8_colour_grade.jpg?v=1571828424)This method will almost always offer full coverage. It can be confusing at first, but just remember, that each time you complete a wrap in these steps, the tape is *always* going *around* the bar, never just around the hood.
Just, wrap like you normally would, going over the lever, then just go back down, then back up again and keep going. Does that make sense?
That tape is some of my least favorite to wrap, hard to stretch it and get it wrapped nice. Takes practice, you’ll get it! Check out the zipp service course tape much easier to work with and super nice texture/feel.
I use electrical tape like some people have suggested. It works great and you can buy different colors so you’re not stuck with just using the black tape. I dont use the figure 8 style wrap. Instead I cut off a little bar tape from my old tape, tape it in that very spot and continue wrapping.
Yer missing that lil strip used to cover that exact spot. Most bar tape will come with two short strips. They go there first.
This is the video I always use and find the best: https://youtu.be/c8FyZWpUvFM?si=QX2IhDKd3kbDiMip
In summary – you can readily cover that little gap with a bit of extra wrapping
And yes you can unwrap and rewrap it…. You’ll loathe the finishing tape but so be it.
Another tip – use electrical tape to finish
I have re used that exact brand of tape and still looked fine, just remove it carefully. The finishing tape isndone so you’d have to use electrical tape.
You can also leave it, it won’t be a problem. Just a little unsightly but if you don’t care about it leave it. Next time you can cut a small piece of tape and put it on top of that then wrap the bar.
You can also do the figure 8 wrap that doesn’t require that. It is my preferred method. I learned it from this video: https://youtu.be/4iekC7HnG4o?si=-MsdYNaqfW99NDFD
Also as an additional tip, inspect your work around the hoods before taping and re do if necessary