Protecting Your Bar Tape.

[raleighnut]

Best way of protecting it is to not ride the bike.

The @potsy method eh.

 

[raleighnut]

According to @PK99 (ref) the secretions of Lac insects may come in handy

That only works on cloth bar tape.

 

[jefmcg]

Varnish it. Clear marine varnish

If you are going to a chandlers, get anti-foul paint instead. Barnacles can ruin the look of a well wrapped bar.

 

[mjr]

[QUOTE 4872591, member: 9609"]what function does it serve ? mine wore off years ago can't say I miss it, in fact quite like the feel of the cold steel in my hands on big climbs
(yeah I know its ally)[/QUOTE]
Stops your hands freezing to the bike in winter, innit?

 

[Stripeyshirt]

Get another bike and ride that one instead, thereby preserving your bar tape on your other bike for photo opportunities.

 

[froze]

Geez some of the replies were humorous but not very accurate.

A bike should look what is acceptable for being nice to the rider, be it black tape, some color tape, or even white tape which is the worse for showing dirt, but I have a couple of bikes with white tape and no issues with dirt as long as I clean it more than black tape. I use all sorts of brands and types from synthetic to cork and have always had success with 409, a friend of mine uses Mr Clean Magic Eraser pads with great results, I've also heard that whitewall tire cleaner works very well. I would not use Simple Green because it can actually stain the likes of cork and some synthetics to take on a pale green hue which would look very odd with white tape.

If the tape is cleaned regularly there is no need to replace the tape frequently, I have an 85 bike with the ORIGINAL white vinyl bar tape and hoods in very white condition, I have another bike with white Fizik Microtex tape that is now 4 seasons old on my main bike and it too is in very white condition.

What folk don't realize is that by not cleaning your black tape because dirt doesn't show nonsense means that your gloves get filthy quicker. I've always cleaned my black tape just as frequently as my other tapes so my gloves don't have to get washed as much which makes them last longer. I wash my gloves about every 10th ride, and most of the time they don't even need it.

 

[mick1836]

Geez some of the replies were humorous but not very accurate.

A bike should look what is acceptable for being nice to the rider, be it black tape, some color tape, or even white tape which is the worse for showing dirt, but I have a couple of bikes with white tape and no issues with dirt as long as I clean it more than black tape. I use all sorts of brands and types from synthetic to cork and have always had success with 409, a friend of mine uses Mr Clean Magic Eraser pads with great results, I've also heard that whitewall tire cleaner works very well. I would not use Simple Green because it can actually stain the likes of cork and some synthetics to take on a pale green hue which would look very odd with white tape.

If the tape is cleaned regularly there is no need to replace the tape frequently, I have an 85 bike with the ORIGINAL white vinyl bar tape and hoods in very white condition, I have another bike with white Fizik Microtex tape that is now 4 seasons old on my main bike and it too is in very white condition.

What folk don't realize is that by not cleaning your black tape because dirt doesn't show nonsense means that your gloves get filthy quicker. I've always cleaned my black tape just as frequently as my other tapes so my gloves don't have to get washed as much which makes them last longer. I wash my gloves about every 10th ride, and most of the time they don't even need it.

Froze, thank you for that sensible reply, obviously so people are happy to ride a road rat, well if that floats their boat good luck to them.