PRO Sport Comfort Tape, Black

Product Information

Whether you're battling storms all year round or do your best to avoid the rain, grip is an important consideration when choosing the best bar tape for you. I love adding some silicone padding to my bars. If you have a Campagnolo Ekar bike, or any Campy bike for that matter, it’s perfect for smoothing the transition between the hoods and the actual bars. It’s also great to just add wherever you tend to rest your hands the most. To do its job well, handlebar tape has to be comfortable, hard-wearing and grippy, and it doesn't hurt if it looks good. We've wrapped scores of handlebars and ridden thousands of miles or Tarmac and gravel to bring you the best bar tapes you can buy.

La Spirale still makes Bike Ribbon in their small factory in Carate Brianza, north of Milan where Ermanno and Rosita's son Stefano is now at the helm. The guys at CyclingTips did a nice interview with him a few years ago. No bar tape guide is complete without a traditional cork offering. If you’re of a certain age there’s a good chance that cork tape is all you knew for many years, after it superseded cotton and vinyl in both performance and comfort after its invention in 1983. In this instance we’ve gone for SRAM’s Supercork.If you prioritise style over everything, then the best bar tape for you might be cotton or leather, since it offers a retro aesthetic. If you're new to wrapping drop bars we'd suggest watching this how to wrap handlebar tape video , which gives plenty of visual help and advice. It’s grippy regardless of whether you have gloves or not, or whether it’s raining or not. That embossed ENVE logo on the tape really does provide superb grip and a very secure connection between you and the bars, which gives plenty of confidence when moving around the bars descending nasty trails, even in the wet. The vibration-damping silicone strip works like a charm and helps to reduce trail buzz better than any other tape I’ve used.”

There's plenty of stretch too so you can get round the corners on a set of drops without a problem, and it isn't one of those tapes that feels like it might snap if you pull too hard. Once installed the silicone does a great job of keeping it in place - I never noticed any movement. Kinesis’s 4 Seasons tape may look pretty ordinary but there’s plenty of detail here that make it worthy of this best handlebar tape guide.

LifeLine Professional Anti-Slip Bar Tape

Handlebar tape is primarily designed to enhance comfort and grip. This is particularly useful in wet weather or long rides. It can also reduce the risk of blisters. While this is bar tape’s main purpose, the bright colours available can be used to increase visibility and personalise the look of your bike. Fabric Bar Tape This is an easy to apply tape that won't break the bank and well worth considering for longer rides. If you’re inordinately fond of cleaning your bike, you can get Power Touch tape in white for just 12 quid from Chain Reaction.

Tester Steph writes: “Made from a synthetic and natural cork mix with 2.8mm of padding and gel on the inner side, it is very comfortable and easy on the hands. I noticed the grip immediately without gloves on, and felt that even in wet conditions it would work extremely well. I usually ride with gloves, but went without just to give it a fair chance to shine. The grip was beyond excellent, even in damper weather. The gel underlay seemed to absorb any bumps I may have felt otherwise, and if coupled with gloves your hands would barely suffer. Always start from the bottom: It might seem obvious but you always wrap tape from the bottom of the drops, finishing on the tops. Your handlebar tape is the essential interface between your bike and part of your body that's full of nerve endings, sensitive tendons and small bones: your hands. It needs to provide both cushioning to reduce the road buzz a bit, and a grippy surface for your hands to hang on to in all weathers.If you're old school, you can still buy Velox cloth rim tape for just two quid per side and there's still some uncushioned Benotto tape out there too.