Changing Bar Tape can be a pain, particularly if you’re a fan of the Euro Look White bar tape. It gets dirty, covered in sweat and goes bad after 3-4 rides. Even black bar tape can be coloured drained and look old, adding an unattractive air to even the prettiest of bikes. Luckily, we’ve compiled a comprehensive How To on bar tape application. This is perfect if you’ve bough our Deda, Cube or other range of Bar Tapes. The item’s you’ll need are as follows;

Scissors/Snippers
New Bar Tape
Bar Ends (Should be included with new Bar Tape or use custom ones of your choosing
Black/White Electrical Conductor Tape (Shiny or Matt masking tape)
20 minutes (and a helper depending on experience

Open your new bar tape package and separate from cardboard packaging. Pull out your old bar ends from your bar (this might take a bit of force and wriggling with your finger nail). Once removed, you should see sponge type bar tape stuck to the inner of the tube. Either discard these bar ends or keep for the next job.

Go to the top of the bar and cut the existing tape near the middle of your bar with the scissors. Be careful not to snip your brake cables or scratch your bar, particularly if it is Carbon. Once snipped, remove the masking tape and start to unstick the tape from the bar, gently unravelling it. Push your rubber brake hoods forward to expose the Allen Key system underneath.

Eventually you will have ripped the majority off the bar, exposing brake hoods and the last bits which are tucked inside the bar. You will have a piece of left over tape sticking over an exposed part near the brake hood. If you do not have this piece, you can cut a section off and stick on later so that when completed there is no bald bar exposed.

Now you will want to get your new bar tape. Unravel as much as you need for the first task which is pushing the tape inside the bar and sticking to wrap around. This is potentially the most difficult part because the tape can bulge in places and, if not done correctly, can look really messy.

Now you will want to get your new bar tape. Unravel as much as you need for the first task which is pushing the tape inside the bar and sticking to wrap around. This is potentially the most difficult part because the tape can bulge in places and, if not done correctly, can look really messy.

Try and get a tight of a wrap as possible at this stage. As you can see, you may need to wrap over the first inch once or twice to get a snug fit without overlapping edges. It’s hard to describe this bit so trial and error is key, good value tape will have extra length and will not loose it’s stick should you have to reapply.

Continue wrapping in even centimetre or half centimetre increments depending on your design and preference. For the Fizik tape, I kept a Centimetre increment to the best of my ability. Once up to the Shifters and Brake Pads, you will want to get as close as possible to them without overlapping.

Now take your electrical or black masking tape and finish off the join to an inch between the handlebar screws and the Bar Tape. Wrap a couple of times and snip at the bottle to finish the job. Do not give too much tension as you will obstruct proper braking functionality or shifting from the nearby cable.
Repeat for the other side of the bar.
Once both sides are complete, give a quick feel and weight to check all segments are properly stuck down and joined.
Congratulations! Clean up the last bits of rubbish on the floor and you have finished the job! Here’s what our ride looked like:

It is a tedious job but once done pays dividends. Enjoy the comfort and I hope this helped! Stay tuned and please comment your requests for Maintenance Tips!