Supercork Bicycle Bar Tape

Recently I picked up an old red Schwinn touring bike for almost nothing at a pawn shop. It was basically intact, only needing a lot of cleaning, but it had cheap hot pink foam bar tape that really needed to go. The local bike shop wanted more than what I paid for the bike to install their average quality cork tape, so I decided to do it myself. First, I studied several YouTube videos and learned how bike mechanics install the tape. FYI, not all mechanics agree on a "best" way, so you'll have to watch and decide what works best for you. Also, there are several "tricks" to know in order to a good installation, but they are simple to learn. Next, I studied reviews for at least twenty brands of bar tape on Amazon. The SRAM Supercork Bicycle Bar Tape got good reviews on price, quality and ease of installation, so I ordered a package of the black tape through Amazon Prime. After cleaning the old adhesive gunk from the previous tape off the handlebars using solvent and #0000 steel wool, I wrapped the tape as instructed in the YouTube videos. Fortunately, I got bot sides right on the first try. Several times I had to unwrap and re-wrap a few sections, but the SRAM tape is very forgiving and will allow multiple attempts of re-wrapping. The black electrical-type type included for sealing the final wrap is not any good and should be discarded. Instead, you should use quality electrical tape in its place. As far as functionality is concerned, I think this is hands-down the best bar tape I have ever encountered. It has a really positive, engaging feel to it. The extra thickness in the center line of the tape forms ridges (when properly wrapped) that make the handlebars really easy to grip. Unless there is some major unexpected failure with this product, I see no reason to use anything but SRAM tape on my bikes from now on. If there IS a failure, I will report it in an updated review. One unexpected surprise: The end plugs shipped with the tape are no longer ordinary-looking black plastic. Now they are highly-reflective, red and white caps that feature the "S" logo. Unlike many handlebar plugs I have owned (and lost), these plugs will NOT fall out.

My experience with this product comes from wrapping a 44cm road handlebar that was padded on the top section with some Fi'zi:k gel pads. I had just enough tape to complete the wrap. Before installing I measured the tape and it was 79" or 200.66cm long. I tried to maintain an overlap of about half of the width of the tape. As others have commented this tape is very forgiving so rewraps are easy if you're not happy with your first attempt. I wrapped my bars with a fair amount of tension and the tape was strong enough not to break as others have done. Tensioning the tape is important because the adhesive on the back of the tape is not intended for holding its place on the bar permanently. It just makes installation easier. I finish off the wrap with several revolutions of electrical tape. I throw the finishing tape away because it's not flexible and the tape is not flat. Some have complained that this tape gets dirty easily. This is true because the tape has a porous surface but the problem is manageable. First, I've learned to ride with clean gloves. After every ride, I rinse the gloves off and if they look really grungy, I put the gloves on and wash my hands with hand soap (the foaming kind usually). The first time I did this with some gloves I been using for a couple of years, the water was a dark brown and it took several washings before the water looked reasonably clean. Second, at least every 2-3 rides (during the summer, every other ride), I spray the handlebars with a solution of laundry soap I then wrap a clean rag around the handlebar and pull the ends of the rag back and forth to scrub the bar. A spray bottle with water or a wet rag finishes the job. I just let the tape air dry. Another benefit of keeping your handlebars and gloves clean is that if you're eating during a ride, you're less likely to ingest some really nasty germs. All in all, this tape is a real bargain. It's reasonably priced and very comfortable for long rides. Because it's so forgiving even those new to wrapping handlebars can do a proper job as many reviews of this product attest. I can see no reason why I shouldn't standardize on this tape for all my rides.

Disclaimer: I'm a new cyclist and this was my first time wrapping my handlebars I really like the look and feel of the SRAM Supercork bar tape. The only issue I had was getting it onto the dang handlebars. This was my first time wrapping my bars and so with that said here are my takeaways: 1. Depending on how long/thick your handlebars are, there may not be enough tape on each roll to do the figure-8 wrapping technique around the breaks/shifters. I tried about 16 times (wrapping, unwrapping, repeat) between the two sides and I was never able to get the tape all the way into where I felt it should cover on the inside of the handlebars using the figure-8 method that I learned on YouTube (again, I'm new to this). The figure-8 just added too many wraps to get the tape to reach all the way. 2. I would say that this tape is actually pretty good for beginners as it seems to be pretty forgiving if you need to unwrap and rewrap several times to get it right (as mentioned, I did this about 8 times per side and in the end it is still sticking quite well). 3. Feels good; lots of cushion and bump dampening, and good grip as well. Over all I would recommend this tape; certainly I can give my endorsement as a beginner that it was forgiving and allowed me to get plenty of practice before finally getting it right. I would give it 5 stars if each roll were long enough to do the figure-8 wrap around the break/shifters; but, as SRAM does provide the extra strips to forgo that technique I only dock 1 star.

Habe statt der mitgelieferten Klebestreifen Isolierband benutzt und weiß deshalb leider nicht ob die Klebestreifen gut sind oder nicht. Sind alles sehr gut! Klebt gut, sieht gut aus, Länge ist super ( 20-30cm mehr als ich bräuchte) und fasst sich gut an. Würde sagen die Farbe ist ein kleines bisschen heller als auf dem Bild.

This is a great product, as far as I can tell. I haven't had it for long, so I can't say much about longevity, and I bought "black", so I can't say anything about how dirty it gets. This was the first time I've used bar tape, so I can't compare it to any other brand. I can say that it seemed to be a generous amount, as I have touring (or "butterfly") handlebars and there was enough for the entire grippable surface (i.e. I didn't need to use separate handlebars on the flat parts of the bar). I didn't wrap it tight enough or evenly enough the first time, but it was VERY easy to take off and re-wrap, because the adhesive is only slightly tacky. I still would recommend being very careful un-wrapping, but it seemed to be pretty tough and I'd be very surprised if it tore at all. It's very comfortable. If you want something really cushy, I'd go with a thicker bar tape or maybe put gel packs underneath. I wear padded gloves, and I find it comfortable enough. Also, for short rides, this tape is perfectly comfortable without gloves. As is probably true for most bar tapes, the "finishing" tape they give you didn't seem long enough, so I just used electrical tape for the ends.

Muy contento con el resultado de la cinta. Cometí algún error al ponerla, ya que no calculé bien para que quedarán las dos iguales. La cinta tiene un tacto muy bueno, muy acolchada. Genial para salir a rutas largas sin molestias en las manos.

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