I was rewrapping my handlebars the other day (lest you think I was doing something rash, let me say that the reason for this was that I was replacing the handlebars -- I don't usually rewrap wantonly). As I was peeling off the old stuff, I got to thinking that handlebar tape was a lot like roof shingles. Rather than tearing off all the old ones, you just put another course on. So too with tape. I had at least two courses on these bars, if you don't count the miscellaneous fragments. There were vestiges of cloth tape, but by and large the bottom layer was this nice old leather tape. It had achieved a nice patina over many years of service. The underside was a bit moldy, but then who ever looks at the underside of your handlebar tape (besides your mother). Unfortunately, it was rather ragged in spots, those that weren't missing, so another layer was required. The outer layer was the vinyl stuff, pretty ugly but cheap. Another household analogy, sort of like the difference between vinyl siding and shingles. The right and left side were of course different colors. I decided to view this as a feature rather than a design defect, an aid for dyslexics.
As I was working, I remembered that there used to be quite a mystique associated with wrapping handlebars. Time was it was a matter of pride to be able to wrap the handlebars with only the tape provided and the plug. You started at the middle, worked your way down to the end overlapping precisely 1/3 of the tape on each turn, and then had just enough tape left over to insert in the end of the handlebar, where it was held firmly with the plug. That was the theory, anyway. I usually ended up running out of tape several inches before the end of the bar, and having to start all over again. They could have thrown in a few extra inches of tape for us mere mortals for whom wrapping handlebars is not a fine art, but Nooooo. Anyway the point was you weren't meant to use any additional aids in the wrapping process. Sort of like lighting a charcoal fire without any additional combustibles. Never could do that either, and now I have a gas grill. Similarly, I'm not proud when it comes to wrapping handlebars. A typical job will involve about 50% again as much electrical tape, occasionally the same color as the handlebar tape.
The other thing you were never meant to do was let any handlebar show around the brake levers. This was another matter of pride, like not letting any red show when you fold the American flag into a triangle. There was a magic figure eight sort of technique that accomplished this, but I noticed on this particular set someone had cheated and inserted a piece of tape around the back of the levers, unspeakable cads.
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