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A new type of bar tape! SILCA bar tape
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Re: A new type of bar tape! Silca bar tape [BryanD] [ In reply to ]
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Let me know when Benotto is back in business.

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Re: A new type of bar tape! SILCA bar tape [BryanD] [ In reply to ]
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Made of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). Same stuff as Adidas Boost. *Should* be pretty great.

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Re: A new type of bar tape! SILCA bar tape [ZenTriBrett] [ In reply to ]
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I just ordered the Nastro Piloti!


Make Inside Out Sports your next online tri shop! http://www.insideoutsports.com/
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Re: A new type of bar tape! SILCA bar tape [BryanD] [ In reply to ]
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Made me think that some great aero pads could be made from taking old pair of Adidas Boosts, cutting out the pad shapes, and then gluing them to the mounts. Would probably feel amazing. TPU is simply incredible stuff.
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Re: A new type of bar tape! SILCA bar tape [BryanD] [ In reply to ]
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I'm intrigued but the colored logo on the tape looks terrible - impossible to make it look symmetrical on the bars - that would bug the sh*t out of me. Can't they just do an all black?
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Re: A new type of bar tape! SILCA bar tape [Pathlete] [ In reply to ]
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Yes, we make both, the PILOTI is only solid colors and the FIORE comes only with contrasting print..
https://silca.cc/...oducts/nastro-piloti

http://www.SILCA.cc
Check out my podcast, inside stories from more than 20 years of product and tech innovation from inside the Pro Peloton and Pro Triathlon worlds!
http://www.marginalgainspodcast.cc
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Re: A new type of bar tape! SILCA bar tape [joshatsilca] [ In reply to ]
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How thick/heavy is it?
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Re: A new type of bar tape! SILCA bar tape [joshatsilca] [ In reply to ]
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Right but the thicknesses are different between the two: the Fiore being thicker = more appealing.
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Re: A new type of bar tape! SILCA bar tape [Pathlete] [ In reply to ]
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Pathlete wrote:
Right but the thicknesses are different between the two: the Fiore being thicker = more appealing.

Wrap some inner tube onto the bars before adding the final bar tape?
Last edited by: HTupolev: May 7, 19 11:10
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Re: A new type of bar tape! SILCA bar tape [Pathlete] [ In reply to ]
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Great opportunity to ask what is more appealing about thicker tape to you? When we started this, the conventional wisdom was that we had to do 3.2mm tape because of the 'comfort' and subsequent testing showed that it really wasn't more comfortable during riding as most tapes squish down under the weight of your hand and then don't rebound sufficiently to provide much of any cushioning.. so to the test machine the dynamic behavior of 2mm and 3.2mm are roughly the same even though the 3.2 gives you that super cush feeling when you first grab it.

Nobody in our testing pointed to girth of the bars as a desired outcome of thicker tapes, though I would imagine that if you had big hands this would be a point of preference..

We did have athletes and testers who wouldn't wrap the wings of their bars with tape for aero reasons, so seems like thinner tape is preferred for aero..

Honestly, I've been riding with the 1.85 on one side and the 2.5 on the other for 4 months and can't really tell a difference. My hypothesis is that with the high rebound foams the dynamic differences relative to thickness are much harder to discern as the rebound rate is relative to frequency more than tape thickness.

Either way, would be interested to hear and understand preferences here. We approached this category completely from the outside and as usually happens when you do that we sort of blew a lot of the conventional wisdom out of the water.. of course we also then did add a thicker version of the tape as having just one thin model was probably too much for the market to bear at one time!!

Josh

http://www.SILCA.cc
Check out my podcast, inside stories from more than 20 years of product and tech innovation from inside the Pro Peloton and Pro Triathlon worlds!
http://www.marginalgainspodcast.cc
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Re: A new type of bar tape! SILCA bar tape [joshatsilca] [ In reply to ]
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But most importantly, does it poke inside the bar well to create a neat finish?
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Re: A new type of bar tape! SILCA bar tape [lyrrad] [ In reply to ]
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Yes, we spent ~20x more money on the custom butterfly piece and the expanding aluminum end plugs because I'm super uptight about bar wrapping!
It will wrap as perfectly as you are willing to wrap it.
J

http://www.SILCA.cc
Check out my podcast, inside stories from more than 20 years of product and tech innovation from inside the Pro Peloton and Pro Triathlon worlds!
http://www.marginalgainspodcast.cc
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Re: A new type of bar tape! SILCA bar tape [joshatsilca] [ In reply to ]
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I think that’s the interesting point of your product: same cushy feeling, less fatigue with thinner tape. As I read the specs, the fiore is thicker - for longer riding and the piloti for “racing” (thinner).

More comfort and shock absorption with less tape sounds ideal. My only gripe is aesthetics:-)
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Re: A new type of bar tape! SILCA bar tape [joshatsilca] [ In reply to ]
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I’ve always gone as thin as possible and not wrapped the flat/aero part of the tops. On the rare occasion, I’ve snapped the tape while wrapping it as tight as possible.

Also I’m okay buying $10 bar tape so I’m probably not your target market anyway.
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Re: A new type of bar tape! SILCA bar tape [BryanD] [ In reply to ]
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Seems pretty similar to supacaz. Honestly I'm surprised it doesn't cost more. If not the new silca, who will be the first to push bar tape into the $60 range?
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Re: A new type of bar tape! SILCA bar tape [joshatsilca] [ In reply to ]
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joshatsilca wrote:
Yes, we make both, the PILOTI is only solid colors and the FIORE comes only with contrasting print..
https://silca.cc/...oducts/nastro-piloti

Looks like a cool and well designed bar tape, I would love to try it.

I would need the Fiore, but any chance that the Fiore will ever come in just solid colors? Black or white even would be fine. Because, with any color, that contrasting logo would not work at all for me.

Greg @ dsw

Advanced Aero TopTube Storage for Road, Gravel, & Tri...ZeroSlip & Direct-mount, made in the USA.
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Re: A new type of bar tape! SILCA bar tape [Ohio_Roadie] [ In reply to ]
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Pathlete, noted and I hear you :-)

OhioRoadie, totally get you as well, I get that this is expensive, just as not everybody is into 4% Vaporfly not everybody will be in for NASTRO. Honestly, we were shocked at the price points some of the stuff on the market is going for, there are tapes at our price point that have neither the level of foam, nor the butterfly, both huge cost drivers and yet are selling at same or higher. Unfortunately this is a category that has historically been driven far more by brand and distribution horsepower than by product.. we hope to change that ;-)

Josh

http://www.SILCA.cc
Check out my podcast, inside stories from more than 20 years of product and tech innovation from inside the Pro Peloton and Pro Triathlon worlds!
http://www.marginalgainspodcast.cc
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Re: A new type of bar tape! SILCA bar tape [BryanD] [ In reply to ]
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Everyone has their own personal taste, but I think the logo on the thicker tape looks like something that would be on a little girls bike. Will you be producing more than just white, black, & red tape?
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Re: A new type of bar tape! SILCA bar tape [BryanD] [ In reply to ]
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Drool.

The Fiore looks a lot like Supacaz (the pattern and graphics). I like the way Piloti looks, and I've always been a fan of thinner tape. If I needed new bar tape, I'd grab some.
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Re: A new type of bar tape! SILCA bar tape [rob_bell] [ In reply to ]
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The thinner tape looks great in the pics.

You will never, in your life, have a chance like this again.
If I were you, I would not pass this up. I would not let this go by...this is rare.
Come on...what harm??
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Re: A new type of bar tape! SILCA bar tape [commendatore] [ In reply to ]
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commendatore wrote:
If not the new silca, who will be the first to push bar tape into the $60 range?
$60+ bar tape already exists. It's quite common with leather wrap.
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Re: A new type of bar tape! SILCA bar tape [joshatsilca] [ In reply to ]
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joshatsilca wrote:
Great opportunity to ask what is more appealing about thicker tape to you? When we started this, the conventional wisdom was that we had to do 3.2mm tape because of the 'comfort' and subsequent testing showed that it really wasn't more comfortable during riding as most tapes squish down under the weight of your hand and then don't rebound sufficiently to provide much of any cushioning.. so to the test machine the dynamic behavior of 2mm and 3.2mm are roughly the same even though the 3.2 gives you that super cush feeling when you first grab it.

On my gravel/road/cross bike, I want the protective cushioning on the flats of the drop bar for comfort on washboard gravel and rough roads. Not squishy...protective, like MTB grips.

On my tri-bike, grip trumps all since my bullhorn is "flat" and my brake levers don't do much for safely keeping my wet hands from sliding off the front of the bars should I hit a bump (I've done that once and superman-ed my way into a ditch).
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Re: A new type of bar tape! SILCA bar tape [joshatsilca] [ In reply to ]
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joshatsilca wrote:
Great opportunity to ask what is more appealing about thicker tape to you? When we started this, the conventional wisdom was that we had to do 3.2mm tape because of the 'comfort' and subsequent testing showed that it really wasn't more comfortable during riding as most tapes squish down under the weight of your hand and then don't rebound sufficiently to provide much of any cushioning.. so to the test machine the dynamic behavior of 2mm and 3.2mm are roughly the same even though the 3.2 gives you that super cush feeling when you first grab it.

I'm thinking that the thicker it is, the more fatiguing it will be. Similar to the test done on shoe midsole material, where the runner actually planted their foot harder with the thicker midsole, maybe one would grip the bars harder in general to get the "planted" feeling with the bars with thicker tape. I know that I prefer the old Benotto stuff because it's basically just me and the bars. Nothing interfering. I've heard a lot of people say things about how slick it gets when wet, but I've never had a problem -- drop bar MTB, gravel bike, roadie.

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Some are born to move the world to live their fantasies...

https://triomultisport.com/
http://www.mjolnircycles.com/
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Re: A new type of bar tape! SILCA bar tape [joshatsilca] [ In reply to ]
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OhioRoadie, totally get you as well, I get that this is expensive, just as not everybody is into 4% Vaporfly not everybody will be in for NASTRO. Honestly, we were shocked at the price points some of the stuff on the market is going for, there are tapes at our price point that have neither the level of foam, nor the butterfly, both huge cost drivers and yet are selling at same or higher. Unfortunately this is a category that has historically been driven far more by brand and distribution horsepower than by product.. we hope to change that ;-)


Josh,

I applaud what you are doing here.

Contact points with the bike are key - saddles, shoes/pedals/cleats, and handlebars/bar-tape. These are all, more important than people realize - get 3 hours into a ride, and you'll understand!

Some of this is HIGHLY individual. I get that. What saddle works for me, can be a torture rack for someone else.

I've always been very picky about bar tape - the feel (particularly 3+ hours into a ride), the way it wraps, the texture, how it works in the wet, how long it can stay clean ( I like white tape on my bars always) etc . . .

You seem to have mailed all the key check boxes with your new tape. I'm looking forward to checking it out.


Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog
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