Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => The Knowledge => Topic started by: Ham on 25 March, 2024, 02:10:36 pm
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Changing the bar tape on my Metrea bar turns out to be somewhat different. The lizard skins I had on have disintegrated, so I've gone for a gel tape, turns out not to be as good idea as I thought - the extra thickness creates particular issues, due to the unique features.
To start with, there's no bar end plug, so you have to start square and put on an angle immediately. Then, the hydraulic pipes form a lump at the bottom, making a smooth transition still more difficult. The bar profile changes along the length, from circular through oval to flat. Still, I think I've got it good enough, but then again you look at bar tape a lot, don't you? Good enough, or try again?
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4fiAZP2dr8yWqL-kJYWVz6q639WISX5wrKitVh6OLHEunDcYspulvWJ6XaeyNzsbuDXaQ5nLNKsMi1jL-29PksarmfxwLnjsyBo085uDYZVLYurvnFfroX3slaPXsGYRJexzvLrbNvpbr7CvgRFj1uYdA2NJTV8rtsBic1uDOJyxx3ezkp-hmQ7snY-c/s2040/PXL_20240325_124239883.jp)
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If a shop did that for me, I'd not be happy. But if I'd done it myself – well, it looks very like what I have done myself (on bog standard, non-problematic drops)!
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I think at least part of the reason for the extra thickness you mention is that you have used much more overlap than necessary so a rewrap might help from that point of view. The glue strip (if present) or the gel strip in the middle should mostly be in contact with the bar rather than contacting the tape beneath.
I'm surprised you even had enough left to overlap that much on the tops!
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The bar tape, to my eyes, looks well enough done that I would just redo or reinforce the finishing tape to ensure it does not come undone too soon.
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I think at least part of the reason for the extra thickness you mention is that you have used much more overlap than necessary so a rewrap might help from that point of view. The glue strip (if present) or the gel strip in the middle should mostly be in contact with the bar rather than contacting the tape beneath.
I'm surprised you even had enough left to overlap that much on the tops!
GPWM ;)
The reason I went with that overlap was because of the issue of starting - moving from a 90o wrap and because I could, the impact on the thickness is obvious when you consider it for more than 0.5 nanosecond.
So, try 2. To accommodate the first turn, I started the wrap at the top rather than the bottom, then wrap a turn and a half before starting to angle. I now have two different wraps on each side. The left I used a sharper angle to start and the result possibly feels better than the right, which starts of shallower and looks more even.
One side is going to have to be re-wrapped, I suspect the left. As to how I could get away with the overlap, WYSIWYW(rap), there's remarkably little to wrap, but they are brilliant bars for a commuter with three positions - hoods, corner and flats
(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiimrCRTGt9y6hhyphenhyphenRmQvovxwYnziIBjr2YWVSHcJcGMixVhhLgvKqDZ_OZI0kQu0nSGAC45Wd6QWx2Yv65lXlCJ1fTbdal1xb01aoIxJDP0UdSuobJ5FePTu-oevAAd8ef5BcTrKeZXAzK3ud_ZrtEOQxG1n5hAEON097vTbdB8iS73h5-jBHBuFvEVPgY/s2040/PXL_20240325_185316587.jpg)
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That looks better.
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You need to cut a taper on the tape at the end so that the bulk diminishes where you wrap the black tape - and put about 4 or 5 turns of that on at tension - rolling away from you as you sit in the saddle, and cut below the bar.
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I contemplated a taper at the start, but realised I needed a complete turn before angling out to meet the brifter hood (which is hard plastic rather than rubber)
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I contemplated a taper at the start, but realised I needed a complete turn before angling out to meet the brifter hood (which is hard plastic rather than rubber)
err . . . I meant at the stem end of the tape?
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I contemplated a taper at the start, but realised I needed a complete turn before angling out to meet the brifter hood (which is hard plastic rather than rubber)
err . . . I meant at the stem end of the tape?
The words "as well" were missing from my post. These should be conveniently placed before the first comma to achieve the intended meaning ;)
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Looks to me like you went the wrong way around. I've always understood that the wrapping should be in the direction that the twisting forces of hands holding the bars should effectively tighten the bar tape not untighten it. i.e. when you get to the stem, the ends on top of the bar should be pointing forwards not backwards.
I've always found that the method I use to get a neat finish around the hoods reverses the direction of the wrapping after the hoods.
You might also try chamfering the ends of the tape so that you don't have a square end to deal with.
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You need to cut a taper on the tape at the end so that the bulk diminishes where you wrap the black tape - and put about 4 or 5 turns of that on at tension - rolling away from you as you sit in the saddle, and cut below the bar.
Just checked frantically back through my files for a pic of mine. Yes, it's done like that but TBH I have to think hard about it every time.
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Looks to me like you went the wrong way around. I've always understood that the wrapping should be in the direction that the twisting forces of hands holding the bars should effectively tighten the bar tape not untighten it. i.e. when you get to the stem, the ends on top of the bar should be pointing forwards not backwards.
I've always found that the method I use to get a neat finish around the hoods reverses the direction of the wrapping after the hoods.
You might also try chamfering the ends of the tape so that you don't have a square end to deal with.
There's a good question and one that I had to debate with myself and experiment both ways. Remember that there is only the area that you can see to wrap, so the wrapping by the hoods and the corners IS the right way, with pressure on the outside tending to tighten the wrap. By the time you get to the flats it will be the wrong way, these bars are very different to drops, here's the shimano pic
(https://dassets.shimano.com/content/dam/global/cg1SHICCycling/final/products/cg2SHICComponent/cg3SHICShiftLever/cg4SHICShiftLever/P-ST-U5060_BC17Nd0539.jpg/jcr:content/renditions/P-ST-U5060_BC17Nd0539_750_750.jpeg)
Bar itself is here https://www.stmatthewscycling.com/product/pro-metrea-handlebar-362904-1.htm