White handle bar tape

[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. (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]

Not even Babo is gonna get this out

[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?

[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 . 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! ).



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!