plant_based wrote:
allenpg wrote:
Glad you weren't hurt. I didn't realize I had cracked a set of bars on my gravel bike until I went to replace the bar tape! Thankfully, it wasn't too bad, but it was just aching for a catastrophic failure at some point (they were carbon). I think it was a result of a crash at BWR last year that ended up twisting my shifter.
If you replace the bars with alloy ones, it's hard to really screw up an install. However, if you go carbon, be sure to use a torque wrench. Plenty wrong for newer (and even experienced) mechanics to screw up. As far as replacing the bar tape, there's no reason to try it yourself (especially with what the LBS had done with packing tape). Wrapping bar tape is actually more of an art. Plus, if you don't do it right the first time, just unwrap it and try again. There is immense satisfaction in wrapping your own bar tape too!
Yeah - I can wrap my own bar tape - I've done it before, but have noticed that some bike techs cut off a piece and put it over the middle of the shifters when wrapping, so I have done the same.
Another issue on this bike is that I have shifting issues and don't know how to shift into the top fastest gears - I've been riding on the lower gears like a fixie almost on Zwift for the past 5 weeks or so. I broke an Ultegra 10spd shifter on this bike and the LBS couldn't find a replacement so put a 105 10spd shifter on the front, which I have not liked as much as the Ultegra and found an Ultegra 10spd that I might want to put on this bike. Its used, so I hope I am making the right decision to put a used part on the bike, but don't really know and miss the Ultegra feel on the front shifter. Its a mess and I hope I get everything cleaned up - but just have a really low confidence in fixing this stuff myself.
I can do bar wraps though. I used to play tennis when younger and it is very similar.
Regarding the extra piece, I do know a couple purist mechanics that think you should not put this small part of tape there; however I always end up with small gaps in that case (they don't though...) For all of you out there, the most important part of the taping process is starting in the right direction such that you end up with the tape wrapped on top of the bar in such way that you basically would tighten it when gripping the bar on top and rotating your hands towards you!
For the shifter, I would suggest installing the new/other shifter before you wrap the bar as replacing a shifter on a wrapped bike is sometimes a real struggle... I prefer to route the inner cable through the shifter first and then slide on the outer cable after that (now is also a good time to replace your outer cables and inners; for the new shifters, the inners must be replaced anyway) for cables, I try to find OEM sets as after-market kits are ridiculously expensive...
Normally I will fix my outer cables to the bar with electrical tape to ensure they are routed where I like them (either fully wrap with electrical tape or as a minimum near the shifters, in the bend and just before the end of where the bar-tape will end). I will also always fix the final part of bar-tape with electrical tape, usually these "branded" tapes are included with the bartape but in my opinion they are always *#&*( ...