Fun with handlebar tape

I saw some retro/track bike taping jobs around the net where people used two colors of cotton handlebar tape, wrapped them in a woven pattern on their handlebars, then coated them with shellac.
I thought it looked pretty darn cool, so, since I like to stand out, I decided to do an updated version on my Blue Rc7...

http://a478.ac-images.myspacecdn.com...3788028f45.jpg
http://a543.ac-images.myspacecdn.com...72f68af346.jpg
http://a711.ac-images.myspacecdn.com...d48cc42f1e.jpg

My dog got tired of watching me...
http://a733.ac-images.myspacecdn.com...28d16a3584.jpg

I used metallic blue & white Fizik microtex. It took a few tries to get it just right, and it's almost impossible to get it smooth around the shifters and across the tops, which is why I ended the weave at the shifters by cutting the white & electrical taping the ends to the shifters. I think it's pretty snazzy myself...

nice work! it's beautiful!

Snazzy! I love the look of white handlebar tape but am worried about keeping it looking white. What you've done looks like a great solution.

I did stripes in my team colors on my rain bike. It was getting pretty worn looking (the cloth tape was actually wearing through!) so I changed it recently to Cinelli Jelly tape, which is interesting in a different way - it is clear.

Neat!
I had thought about doing some pink, but thought the solid pink would be too hard to keep clean, and haven't seen any marbled/patterned tape. That gives me ideas....

Looks great, and very distinctive! I like the way it makes a kind of harlequin pattern when viewed from above.

Very cool and creative -- nice job. Love the blue/white combo!

Emily

That looks great! I've been wanting to do something cool looking like that with black and yellow.

I love that beautiful blue color, though.

Why was the first word in my head 'SEXY'? ;) Great job!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by F8th637

Why was the first word in my head 'SEXY'? ;)

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Hey! That's the same thing you said when you saw me! ;):D

Really nice job.
I'm about as good (or bad) wrapping bars as I am sewing

That is really cool! And yes, quite "sexy!" :D

Cool. And is that two tired dogs I see? :)

Thank, everyone! It's really not all that hard once you get the hang of it. I would have taken pics as I went along, but I didn't really have the extra hands :D

Trek-Yep, my Jack Russell thinks that cameras will take his soul, so almost every picture I have of the dogs only includes the back half of him!

Wow, that is absolutely beautiful. You have given me something to think about!

I apologize if I have asked you this before, but what bars do you have? Are they made to make the reach to levers a little easier? I am always on the lookout for ways I could reach my brakes more easily without changing EVERYTHING. (I know this is a hijack...feel free to PM me.)

That's really stunning. :cool: