Not all handlebar tape is made equal, as Jon is set to find out. We take a look at this cycling essential to help you choose your next roll.
In association with fizik.
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Handlebar tape, it’s not as simple as it may seem from the outset. It’s often cast aside or forgotten about, but one thing's for sure, bar tape is one of the three contact points between you and the bike. There are hundreds of different combinations to choose from including the material such as silicone, rubber, cork, leather, cotton and then, there’s the texture of the tape, the amount of padding, not to mention, arguably the all important colour choice.
So let's look at a few of the different types and exactly what they are. Oh, and there is no denying that new bar tape always makes a bike look good. And luckily our friends at fizik have sent some of their new range in for us to take a look at too!
It may not be blindingly obvious to many out there why we actually use bar tape. It’s primary function is for grip. Imagine trying to hold onto shiny alloy or carbon bars with either bare hands or a pair of gloves, it’s not going to be a really secure point of contact. The other function of bar tape is probably the one which is most obvious, to give you some extra comfort when putting the miles, or kilometers in.
Walking into a bike shop and looking at quite often a pretty large section of wall space filled with handlebar tape can be a daunting situation to find yourself in. And it’s quite common for someone to leave with added confusion along with possibly some new bar tape.
The appearance of the bar tape is for some, one of the most important aspects of selection, but for others, the last concern when making a selection.
The classic look. This style, the Tempo from fizik is one of the most traditional looking tapes you can get and the reason for this is that it stands out due to the perforated holes you find on it. So if you’ve got a bike that deserves a touch of nostalgia then this could be the stuff for you.
On the flipside, something that is perfectly smooth, the Terra from fizik is new to their range, I am this is going to clean up a bit easier than the Tempo as it doesn’t have the holes for dirt to get into and it’s also their off-road tape, so something for cyclocross and that type of riding really. So dirt won’t show up that much.
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Photos: © Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images & © Bettiniphoto / [ Ссылка ]
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