Yes, I know it's a small detail

   BAR TAPE…yes, bar tape. You would think that after building up a classy looking bicycle, such a little thing wouldn’t make much of a difference, but are you familiar with “splash” bar tape? If you have it, you need to go out right now and remove it. Nothing spoils a decent bicycle more than that shabby crap - I’ve seen color combinations that actually look like vomit! The guy who invented this tape (shown below) should be dragged out into the street and beaten senseless.

   Selle Italia’s SmooTape (a dumb attempt at a clever name, if you ask me) appears to be a good idea gone tragically bad. The product shape has a beveled cross section, with the intent that when you overlap the tape during the wrapping process, you don’t have that bulge that usually occurs from the layering. Now, that condition has been around long enough that I don’t even think about it, and I considered that the "bulging" might actually provide better grip. Anyhow, I was willing to give the product a try (see the box cover’s interesting graphics below).

   Despite what the Selle Italia staff's professional bar wrapper was able to achieve for the box photo, the problem appeared immediately when I went to start wrapping the bar. The “directions” seem to be the traditional method of starting at the end on the underside of the bar and going over the top away from the bicycle. The process is supposed to continue all the way up the bars in the same direction, so that the (over the top) grip of the rider has the natural tendency to tighten the tape. Usually, the first loop of tape should come around to hold the first “row” of tape in place, and then you start to angle outward and overlap from that point on, maybe about 1/3 of the tape width.

   Now if this SmooTape is supposed to lie flat, haven’t I just ruined this whole idea by starting in the traditional manner? The odd tapered shape of the product has added to the problem by creating an unusually big knob at the end of the bar!

   I thought if I angled the tape as I started the wrap and left the excess to trim off afterward, I might have better luck. And anyone out there who has gotten into the habit of tucking tape into the open bar end with the plug just needs to stop – I’ve NEVER see someone do an attractive job with that technique! With anything but the thinnest bar tape material, this method also makes putting in the plug impossible.

   As I continued with the wrapping, I discovered that the adhesive was a bit too strong – any time I attempted to adjust the spacing as I moved towards the tricky brake levers, the adhesive would start to tear the tape that it was overlapping underneath. I struggled along carefully and did a fairly decent job of it, but my efforts to trim near the ends did not look very good. Cutting a straight, squared-off edge on a cylindrical object is not a skill the average human masters on the first try!

   I was not happy with the overall look either, as the tape was just too puffy, kinda like I had pushed marshmallows onto the bar. It also reminded me of that cheap, puffy sponge bar wrap (photo below) that used to appear on late-1980s/early-‘90s ten-speed bikes. If you didn’t have a bike with it, I know that you had a friend who did!

   My frustration had grown to a point that I didn’t even bother to take a picture of it before ripping it off. If anyone needs a spare roll for one side, let me know, and you can have it for free! I’m calling it a $10 product experiment and letting the experience just roll off my back, like it never happened. I purchased some of the company’s regular flat gel tape, which looks and performs perfectly fine! 

   Below is a collection of photos of the completed Bottecchia ZG-Mobili Team bicycle, which I recently listed for sale. The bike is equipped with components from suppliers for the team at that time, according to the logo decals on the bicycle chainstays: Shimano Dura-Ace component group, including derailleurs, shift/brake levers, brakes and crankset; ITM stem, bars and seatpost; Miche headset; Selle Italia saddle, and (of course) bar tape. The wheels are Mavic SUP rims with Dura-Ace hubs and Michelin tires.

   Believe it or not, I listed this bike on Saturday evening, and Monday morning a very nice gentleman from the Trenton area dropped by and took ‘er away. I wish I had such a turnaround on every bicycle I’ve built – I barely had time to put it on my blog’s “FOR SALE” page! 

   In an attempt to smooth over any bad feelings that I may have caused with my stance on splash bar tape (you still need to get rid of it!), I will admit that there has been ONE attractive application of this product. I’m proud to say that I came up with a proper use of the splash tape to compliment the marble-like paint job on my brother Mark’s 1991 Diamondback Centurion Expert TG: