Bought some beautiful new bar tape but its way thinner than I was expecting/hoping for – Can I double up on bar tape ? Is there ever too much bar tape? thanks
by Powerful_Piccolo3355
Bought some beautiful new bar tape but its way thinner than I was expecting/hoping for – Can I double up on bar tape ? Is there ever too much bar tape? thanks
by Powerful_Piccolo3355
9 Comments
Yes, people double up all the time. Give it a shot.
You can double wrap bar tape. Used to be pretty common for rough races on country roads when bikes had narrow tyres and no compliance. It was mainly something pros and semi pros did for these rough races and then removed it for normal racing and training.
While more comfortable, it also just feels weird and spongy. Also it’ll have a much larger diameter than single wrapped tape, even if it’s two thin tapes. My recommendation would be to just get thicker bar tape if you want thicker bar tape. Supacaz is my go to recommendation. Some lizardskins models are super thick and comfy. It cops a lot of hate for being spongy but honestly it’s not too bad if it’s wrapped well. Otherwise, standard thick foam bar tape is comfy and will feel better than double wrapped tape.
Edit – just to add, if they’re the shimano carbon wrapped RS80 ultegra or whatever the dura ace version was, then check for the wear markers on the rim. Shimano made those wheels super light by taking most of the metal away and wrapping the bottom half of the rim in carbon, and having the brake track be super thin. Your wheels look worn and if they look worn they are worn with those models
You can even use old tube as an inner layer under a thin bar tape
Great job on the wrap, but what’s up with that finishing tape? Gotta clean that up bro! lol
Yes you can double wrap. Or add some padding under the tape on the top surfaces of the bar. Or just get some padded gloves.
Clean tape job BTW.
[https://www.planetbike.com/century-gel-pads/](https://www.planetbike.com/century-gel-pads/) gel pads under bar tape puts the squish where you need it
You can use the old tape parallel to the bar on the top for comfort. You can also use a trick with electrical tape to hold it all in place and make the new tape more secure.
Using electrical tape, start sticky side into at the bar ends, then flip it reverse (sticky out) and spiral your way around the bar as you would wrap bar tape. Run it over your parallel laid old bar tape to hold it in place, until you reach just an inch from where your regular bar tape would end. Now when you apply your new bar tape it will stay put even if it gets a rip from a fall.
You can definitely double up, but you can also buy specific gel pads that will put padding on top without making the tape feel to squishy or loose. I have nerve damage in my hands and I swear by padded bars.
You can make your bar tape as thick as a [Watusi bull](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankole-Watusi#/media/File:African_AnKole_-_Watusi.jpg) horn if you want. Just do what is comfortable.