Quote Originally Posted by Kitsune06 View Post
any suggestions for wrapping around the brake levers?

You suggest I ride unwrapped?
I'm switching the drops that came on it with a slightly different bar. Like the Salsa Short 'n Shallow... and narrower, too. 36cm, fitted to my shoulder width, which fit *inside* the bars the former owner had.
The stem on it currently is pretty long for me. With the seat moved to a place where I get the proper KOP, my torso is stretched way out, with straight elbows to even reach the hoods, so there's a lot of weight on my hands, rather uncomfortably.
But yes, I feel like I'm venturing into very foreign territory. I believe in going what 'feels right'... but the whole concept of riding in that road position, with drop handlebars, is still strange, to the point that I don't know what 'right' is yet.
That's how I felt at first too when I switched from hybrid to road bike. I went through the whole weight on hands thing too, and I didn't really know how it all was "supposed" to feel. It's all new stuff and doesn't always feel right at first. It'll all work well in the end for you. It takes time to recognize what feels right and what works for you. Those sound like a very good choice of bars you are putting on, and good to put a slightly shorter stem. Keep in mind that your body and muscles will also be adjusting with time to the new position, making it slowly become more comfortable as well.
I only meant that before putting your tape on you should ride and make adjustments for a while. Some adjustments, like where the hoods go or how they are slanted, can't be changed after taping up. It won't hurt anything to ride without bar tape for a week or two- just put some electrical tape here and there to hold the cables in place until you tape.

As to tips for taping around the brake levers- you can cut a 3" piece of tape before you start, and wrap it around the bar right at the hood area, with the ends pointing up where they will be covered by the hood gums when you fold it back down. This will cover the little triangular bar "gap" for you and make it easier to just skip and angle around the gap under hoods as you tape along with the long piece. The long tape will cover the edges of the 3" piece as you go.