Lizard Skins road tape review. (long)
This was mentioned over in the MTB forum, so I thought I would post a review.
Lizard Skins now makes bar tape for road bikes. It's a soft polymer with shock a absorbing feel, somewhat like those under the tape gel inserts provide. However, the tape itself provides that cush without added weight or thickness. At 35 bucks, the stuff is not cheap, but as I was feeling discomfort with my current tape every time I hit a bump, and I don't like thickly padded gloves, I thought I would try it.
It comes in a variety of colors. I chose white; I hope that being a polymer, it will be easy to keep clean. Time will tell. I wrapped the bars myself- and I must say that Lizard Skins provided enough tape to do the bars without stretching it almost-to-breaking. There was tape left over. Bravo. The end caps are ugly IMO so I used my old basic black ones.
Rode it so far only once, but I must say I am impressed. As I have carpal tunnel (thanks to my IT backround), I am sensitive to stuff that hurts my hands (you should see my bike glove selection-Terry, Etxe Ondo, Specialized, Rock Racing, Louis Garneau, Fox...). It was impossible to find thin gloves that provide enough cushion-my small fingers just can't reach the brakes in thick gloves, and the lumpy ones just make pressure points that make my hands get 'the shocks.' So finding bar tape that takes the sting and slap from my hands is a big deal to me. I had tried the gel stuff under the tape, it made the bars too thick. This stuff does a better job at dulling the road chatter without the weight or thickness.
Is it worth 35 bucks? YES if the goal is maximum comfort without thickening the bars or wearing gloves with lumpy thick pads. If you are contemplating carbon fiber bars for comfort, this tape does more to dampen the road (I have CF bars so I am speaking from experience) for far less money so it is a bargain IMO.
