White handle bar tape

[Jo-n-NY]

Since I see many bikes with white handle bar tape, I was wondering how it is kept clean. As I ride most everyone that has it the tape is clean and white. I never think to ask the question on a ride.

I thought of changing it, but I don't want to do that just yet. So does anyone clean their handle bar tape and if so what do you use.

Thanks ~ JoAnn

[kfergos]

I second this question, and I actually *have* white handlebar tape. When I got it, the people at the bike shop said "Oh, just rub a little degreaser on any spots and it'll come right off."

Sure. Except the dye from my fuzzy gloves actually bleeds off the gloves and leaves red or black handprints on the white tape, and degreaser (Pedro's citrus stuff) is no good for that. Dirt also doesn't come off very well with degreaser. So I'd say degreaser = out.

My dad says just regular soap and water keeps his white bar tape nice and clean, so I may have to give that a try next. I'll let you know. :)

[VeloVT]

I highly recommend Fizik microtex bar tape. I recently switched out my bars on my new bike, necessitating a new tape job. The white cork tape that came on the bike had gotten pretty dirty very quickly (a couple of rides on the trainer plus two or three on the road). I put Fizik tape on the new bars and so far so good. It is easy to clean, but more than that, it just doesn't seem to attract and absorb dirt the way cork does. (I rode a season with light pink Fizik tape and it didn't get dirty at all).

My Bianchi has dirty celeste cork tape. I try to clean it when it gets really dirty. Soap and water works OK, but bike wash works better (I have the scary bubblegum pink kind from Finish Line -- called "Super Bike Wash"). One of these days I'm going to put microtex tape on that bike too.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

scruffy dirt doesn't bother me too much on handlebar tape. It's a badge that shows you ride your bike a lot. If it gets impossible gross you can then change it if you feel compelled to.
There's a word for such charming wear: beausage. :)
Some people pay extra for it!

[redrhodie]

I have white cork bar tape. It comes pretty clean with a damp sponge and dishwashing liquid. It comes perfectly clean with a damp sponge and octagon soap! A friend gave me a bar of octagon soap, and I don't know much about it, but I think it's been around since the dawn of time, and it works like a champ.

I found a link:
http://www.americarx.com/Products/12707.html

It's excellent stuff. Probably your great-grandma used it.

[SadieKate]

We use a paste made from powdered laundry detergent and a toothbrush.

[ehirsch83]

umm don't use white??

the SO and I realized yesterday that my bars and hoods are no longer white, they are blight!! No cleaning has helped. They are soon to be replaced with red hoods and red bar tape. Granted I have had the white for about 4 months, and I ride 5-6 days a week, but still it is not a pretty sight at the moment!(neither are my white shoes, anyone have any idea how to get them white again?? I was told windex but that didn't do anything)

[sundial]

Soft Scrub--cleans it right up.

[songlady]

I've heard that Mr.Clean Magic Erasure works well, have yet to try it.

[aicabsolut]

mild dish soap (free of all the fragrances and stuff) and water.

some people told me to use simple green, but it doesn't work that well.

[Jo-n-NY]

Thank you ladies for all the good advice. I use soft scrup on so many things I didn't think of it for this.

I will give a few of these suggestions a try.

~ JoAnn

[Crankin]

I got rid of my white tape. Who wants onemore thing to clean?

[RoadRaven]

Well... I mercilessly tease those I ride with who have white bar tape, as the ProEuro riders seemed to make it fashionable and trendy, so I go on at them as if they are Wannabe-EuroYuppies...

And seriously, as for keeping it clean? Heck, I don't even OWN any white clothes cause I can't even keep THEM clean! :p

[VeloVT]

RR--
yes, it figures that white tape would be popularized by a group of people who don't have to clean their own bikes... :D:D:D

[AnnieBikes]

I just bought a bike and it CAME with white bar tape! Definitely NOT my first choice, so now I have ridden it 500 miles and thought I would revisit this thread for any more suggestions that anyone can give me. :(

[denny]

I followed the advice of a mechanic on YouTube and use Blue Dawn liquid detergent in warm water with a wash cloth, and he was right, the dirt came off in no time and I was finished with both bars in about 6 minutes tops!

The blue dawn works well because other colors tend to leave a residue on white. Same theory for using products on grey hair, use either clear white or blue and you'll always sparkle.:D (Month 3 of the great grey experiment)

[katieliz]

I had great success with the Mr Clean Magic Eraser. There is a drawback: these "erasers" come apart pretty quickly when scrubbing handlebar tape. I couldn't use one more than once.

[tzvia]

Well, I admit that I haven't read all this thread, so this may have already been covered.

I like the look of white bar tape on my white/red bike (also have a white saddle) so I put up with the extra cleaning. For now, I'm using Deda tape, which seems rather easy to keep clean. First off, wash your gloves often. Dirt on gloves, rubbed on white tape equals dirty tape that will be hard to clean, as the dirt is ground-in. When I wash the tape, I use mild dish soap and water on a paper towel. I rub in the direction the tape is wrapped, then let it sit for a few minutes. I do the same with the saddle. I wipe the rest of the bike off, then wipe the soapy water again, giving extra time to the dirty spots, and let it sit again for a minute. I then use a paper towel with water, and then a clean towel to dry. My current tape is almost 4 months old, the longest I've managed to keep the tape white. If I did not take the extra time, the tape would be gray by now and really ugly. Even so, I always keep another set handy for when it gets ugly.

If I have to work on the bike, I wrap the handlebar with seran rap because getting dirty oil/grease off of the tape is impossible.

Sometimes, i think I should use red or grey (bike has grey pinstripes) tape but white just looks soo good...

[AnnieBikes]

Thanks SO MUCH for all the tips for my white bar tape. I have it and will learn to deal with it, but all the suggestions are great. I appreciate all of you who took time to answer. :)

[Zen]

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/zencentury/DSCN1766.jpg
Not even Babo is gonna get this out :rolleyes:

[sundial]

Who would use white bar tape on a mountain bike??

[Zen]

It was a cross race, but still...it matches the team kit!

[yetigooch]

A clean white bar tape is an unused bar tape.....a dirty one means your bike is being ridden........Only thing that needs to be clean is your chain (and cables).

[ZenSojourner]

My new Terry bike came with white bar tape and it didn't stay white very long.

It's the one thing about the bike I DIDN'T like, and I actually did say something to Georgena Terry about it.

Obviously it didn't make any difference, since Terry bikes STILL come with white bar tape, LOL!

I'll be getting it replaced as soon as I get my bike out for it's spring tune up. It makes the whole bike look ratty, and I'm danged if I'm going to be spending time with a toothbrush and a basin of soapy water trying to get the stains off every time I ride!

[AnnieBikes]

My new Felt FW3 came with the white and I would NEVER choose it. I will try to clean it up (though it is not too bad yet, even with 500 miles) I think that I will do what most sane people would do ;) ...use it until it is worn out and then replace. I am all for a greener environment and would not think of replacing it just to get rid of the white. I will "use it up" before I replace it!

Thanks for all the help.

[elc11]

My Ruby came with white BarPhat tape--that comfy grippy white tape that is also a dirt magnet. So far the best cleaning method has been to apply a paste of Oxy-Clean and water, let it sit for a few minutes, then gently scrub with one of those kitchen scrubber sponges. It takes several rinses to remove the soapy residue and the grainy mixture gets all over the place, but the tape really sparkles afterwards. Until the first ride.

It helps to wash my gloves weekly, and I carry a couple of those wet-wipe towelettes (in the foil packet from fast food restaurants) to clean my hands if I have to work on the bike while on the road. And I just put up with it kind of dirty most of the time; its too hard to keep clean all of the time so I wait until its really filthy.

I'm going to try SoftScrub next time. I like the idea about the Saran Wrap...I wonder what the guys in the shop would say if I did that before taking it in for a tune up? :D

[kfergos]

Update:

I never found a good, relatively low-labor method for keeping white bar tape clean, so I'm not really adding a lot to this thread :rolleyes:. But I thought I'd toss this out there: A picture of me and my (now ex-)bike to show what happens if you just let white bar tape go without ever cleaning it (and if you don't suffer some horrific hand injury as shown in Zen's picture! :eek:).

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3278/2746886819_ce2eb6b662.jpg

You can decide: Is it worth hours of scrubbing and care to keep that bar tape clean? Or will I just live with black handprint spots where I put my hands most often? I decided on the latter, and went with black bar tape when I got my new Seven.

[Bluetree]

This thread confuses me.

White Fizik Microtek + Simple Green = perpetually white handlebars.

You should wipe down/check your bike after every ride anyway... what's a few seconds more to wipe down your HBs? (For the record, my team kit is 80% white, so most of my teammates have white bar tape. Everyone shows up each week with pristine handlebars.... it's really not that difficult)


EDIT: Oh, and not bleeding on it keeps it cleaner, too. ;)

[ZenSojourner]

Maybe you have magic teflon bar tape, but I don't. It takes more than a few seconds to try to get that stuff clean.

I'm replacing it, then no more worries.

[RoadRaven]

The first thing we have done upone addition of a new bike to the stable with white bar tape is to replace the bar taps.

Sorry all white bar tape fans who are part of the recent euro-yuppiness. Its fasionable and trendy and completely impractical.

Besides, I am waaaaay tooooo lazy to have white bar tape - I just couldn't be ar5ed cleaning it. I don't even own white clothes!

[ZenSojourner]

Why I will never again put up with white bar tape:

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee318/ZenSojourner/Bike%20Stuff/MyBike-3.jpg

That was after just a couple of months of riding, too. She are going away lickety-splits as soon as I can get the thing in for it's spring cleaning.

[redrhodie]

I've had the same white bar tape on my bike since I got it, and I've cleaned it once or twice. I wash the bike all the time--I just like the graying tape. It looks good to me.

[ZenSojourner]

I've had the same white bar tape on my bike since I got it, and I've cleaned it once or twice. I wash the bike all the time--I just like the graying tape. It looks good to me.

To each their (*SHUDDER*) own.

:cool:

[Bluetree]

The "magic" bar tape.
Going on a year now, with tire changes and even a crash.

It's like a kitchen: If you take a moment to wipe up every time you use it, cleaning is never a big chore.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3587/3468749740_b6564c1578.jpg

[Jo-n-NY]

Bluetree...that is beautiful. Exactly what I would have like to achieve.

Since I began this post last year my dh changed my white tape to black and didn't tell me. I clean my bike after each ride and was not sure if any detergent would have ruined the tape. He did not know that I ordered silver tape, the color that was on my Specialized Dolce. I just loved that tape. When Specialized brought our the Ruby (the bike I know have) in 2008 they did without the silver tape and used the white. Needless to say, I hate the black. If I saw your pick last year Bluetree I would have kept the white remembering that I didn't know it was being switched. However, it was with good intentions :)

Anyway, I have two silver tapes, fizik and another brand, both pretty close to the specialized one. I am sure it will go on within the next month. My Ruby is the Pro of 2008 which they made in the red color with silver accents so the silver tape is the best choice imho anyway.

~ JoAnn

[Bluetree]

Joann, the red '08 Ruby Pro is a beautiful color. I wish my bike came that way, although black pretty much "goes with anything."

I used to use the Spesh barphat tape but didn't like it. It was cushy on the hands but it just sucks up liquid like anything. Even after a hard rain my bar tape felt spongy.

The Fizik Microtex not only seems to repel rain water, but anything that lands on it (sports drink, grease, etc.) seems to lie on the surface, and becomes easy to wipe away. The trick is never to let things lie on it long enough to stain or become ground into the "holes." I scuffed it pretty good in a crash as well. There's a few tiny pieces sticking out but the rest sanded away nicely with some fine grit sandpaper.I use the bar gel underneath as a cushion.

It's called Fizik Microtex and the color is Chalk White. It's not quite a paper-white but close enough. I will never use a cork tape again.

[ZenSojourner]

The "magic" bar tape.
Going on a year now, with tire changes and even a crash.

It's like a kitchen: If you take a moment to wipe up every time you use it, cleaning is never a big chore.

:eek:

Thank god nobody can see my kitchen!

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

[Jo-n-NY]

Thanks Bluetree. My Dolce was a red also, I think I am partial to the metalic reds in bikes. However, you S-works is very sharp looking in black :)

I will check if the silver fizik is the microtex. If it is, I will have dh use that one instead of the other one that I got upon you recommendation.

~ JoAnn

[PinkBike]

DH has white fizik bar tape and i have the PERFECT and EASY way to keep it clean. We have buckets of wyp-all waterless hand cleaner at work (those green cloths with like citrus cleaner impregnated). Pull one out, use it like a shoeshine cloth (one end in each hand back and forth over the bar) and PRESTO! clean! seriously, it's that easy.

[redrhodie]

To each their (*SHUDDER*) own.

:cool:

Well, I guess that does sound gross, but the cleaning my cork tape removes the "Eddy Merckx" logos, which I want to keep. I wash my gloves all the time.