Self maintenance?

[Kitsune06]

Deb- I knew you'd have some wisdom for me Thank you. Regarding the proper tension on the allen bolt, is that something with an inherent trick to it, or should it feel self-explanatory?

any suggestions for wrapping around the brake levers?

Are you replacing the drop bars with something else? Are you putting a shorter stem on?
My suggestion is to do the replacing stem and bars thing first- but don't wrap the bars yet. Ride it for a couple of weeks, because you may well want to make adjustments in where the hoods sit, or the hood angles. It is also quite possible that you will want a different size stem than what you are putting on. These things are hard to judge after one or two rides- especially if you are new to the dropped down road posture. Once you wrap, you can't make these changes anymore until you strip the tape and buy new tape again.

If you put too short a stem, your steering will become wobbly and annoying. Your body will slowly adapt to the new position to a certain extent, and the reach will seem less long and way more comfortable after a couple of months riding.

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.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

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.

[Kitsune06]

I'm wondering if it'd be possible or advisable to wrap temporarily using the wrap that's currently on the older bars; something that, while not great looking, would still provide some 'grip' just in case it rains. (I intend to use Merqueri to commute for awhile to get the feel for her new positioning) hanging on to bare metal bar, using a semi-broken-in brooks (with a plastic bag on it if it rains...) sounds like a slippery affair, but I agree that making the leap to final taping so quickly may be hasty moving on my part.

[DebW]

I'm wondering if it'd be possible or advisable to wrap temporarily using the wrap that's currently on the older bars; something that, while not great looking, would still provide some 'grip' just in case it rains.

If the old tape is usable, go ahead and use it. But if it was well stuck to the bars you'll probably rip it getting it off. If necessary, buy some cheap not-very-sticky tape that you can undo and rewap a few times. You indeed may want to reposition the brake levers a few times until they feel perfect.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I'm wondering if it'd be possible or advisable to wrap temporarily using the wrap that's currently on the older bars; something that, while not great looking, would still provide some 'grip' just in case it rains. (I intend to use Merqueri to commute for awhile to get the feel for her new positioning) hanging on to bare metal bar, using a semi-broken-in brooks (with a plastic bag on it if it rains...) sounds like a slippery affair, but I agree that making the leap to final taping so quickly may be hasty moving on my part.

Like Deb says, when you take off the old tape it may rip or be stretched and lumpy. But if you can re-use it why not? Electrical tape may be ok for temporary tape- but I think it's way more hassle than it's worth. If you wear biking gloves (with leather palms) it won't really be like gripping bare metal anyway, and I doubt it would be slippery with the padded leather palms. When we change stems and stuff, taping comes later on when we are all settled in and happy with all the changes. Heck, you have plenty to keep you busy for now anyway!

When you do tape, you'll need to overlap more on the curves, ...but on the straight parts, try to stretch the tape and only overlap a bare 1/8" to conserve tape til the end, or you may run out 2" from the end. (and why the heck don't they just give us the lousy extra 3" leeway to begin with??? God knows they get enough money for the stuff!)