White the new Black?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

That's precisely what my husband Lee does with his bikes ! Feel free to PM me if you need any hints.

(Personally, I use plain black cork tape on my bikes, but Lee likes the shellac look)

- Jo.

Cool!
Underneath the shellac, does he use white cloth tape, yellow cloth tape, or natural cork tape?

P.S. I like using gloves, especially since I figure I will have my share of falls.

[VW Beetle]

Every time I see white bar tape, I think Pat Boone..

[Kathi]

Every time I see white bar tape, I think Pat Boone..

One of Pat Boone's hit songs

April Love

(Words by Paul Francis Webster, music by Sammy Fain)

April love is for the very young
Every star's a wishing star that shines for you
April love is all the seven wonders
One little kiss can tell you this is true

Sometimes an April day will suddenly bring showers
Rain to grow the flowers for her first bouquet
But April love can slip right through your fingers
So if she's the one don't let her run away

[Instrumental Interlude]

Sometimes an April day will suddenly bring showers
Rain to grow the flowers for her first bouquet
But April love can slip right through your fingers
So if she's the one don't let her run away

Seriously, thanks for the discussion, I decided to go with black on my new bike. I looked at the roayal blue on my current bike and its already showing dirt, so black it is.

[emily_in_nc]

My Terry Isis came with white bar tape, which looked grubby almost immediately. Changed it out for black, and what an improvement!

I really like colored bar tape, though, if there's a good one that matches the bike. I spec'd out the prettiest matching "Bordeaux" tape for my raspberry-colored Aegis Swift, and bright blue for my white Bike Friday (with matching blue Candy SL pedals).

So now that I am doing the mountain biking thing, I'm wondering about replacing the boring black grips on my new bike with colored ones, like these. The blue ones would look good with my front fork, which is also blue, and I am going to put the blue Candy SL pedals on too. I just like color! I don't even mind being just a little bit over the top.

Back to the original comment, though, I have noticed the white bar tape on the tour riders' bikes (so clean, so sparkling fresh, so pretty), and last night the photographer did a close up of one of their immaculate white bikes. I commented to my husband that you could sure tell that someone (not the riders!) was spit-cleaning their bikes every night after the stage!

Emily

[velogirl]

You forgot about the white saddles and white shoes. If you recall, we first saw an abundance of these (along with white bar tape) at the tour last year.

I've been using white bar tape since I got my ti bike in 2003. My newer road bike is white (and pink and silver), so white works great. I keep it clean with a little simple green -- it never looks too grungy.

I also wear white shoes.

And, I had a white saddle for a while -- just didn't like it as much as my favorite black one.

I would never, however, wear white shorts!

My motto is "if you can't be fast, you can be flash!" White is totally flash (and you don't need a mechanic to keep it looking fresh).

[emily_in_nc]

And, I had a white saddle for a while -- just didn't like it as much as my favorite black one.

Just interested...does a white saddle discolor at all if you wear black shorts and they get wet (or sweaty, which mine always do)?

Emily

[velogirl]

Just interested...does a white saddle discolor at all if you wear black shorts and they get wet (or sweaty, which mine always do)?

Emily

I've actually had three different white saddles over the years (see, I really like white). One of them discolored a bit (but I don't think it was the shorts). I think the white color was super-whatever -- a layer on the outside -- and when it wore down it wasn't as white on the inside.

Now, my pink shorts got discolored from my black saddle.