I finally got around to changing the bar tape on my Rivendell Quickbeam today. The yellow tape, which looked great, had finally given up the ghost during the winter rains and was shredding and ugly. Time for a change.
Now I’ll admit that I hadn’t wrapped handlebars in…um…I don’t know that I’ve ever done it. I think I did once back in the 80’s, but that would have been it. So it was a new experience for all practical purposes.
I’d ordered some Newbaum’s Bar Tape from Rivendell and when it arrived I immediately went to work.
I did watch Riv’s video on bar tape first:
But frankly I’m an idiot so I goofed up by about 1/4″ on one side leaving just a bit of the end of piece of tape exposed at the hoods. It wasn’t perfect. The yellow tape looked great otherwise, but still…
So I decided I’d see if I could find more tape and give it another go. It turns out that McCully Bikes carries Newbaum’s so off I went. They didn’t have yellow.
NO YELLOW!
I decided, finally, on blue as my QB does, afterall, have a deep blue lettering. Good to go.
This time I didn’t leave a quarter-inch-of-hell.
I’m in the process putting on shellac as I write this, so I’ve got no photos yet, but they’ll be coming soon.
As for the shellac, I mixed my own and it seems to be working fine. I got the shellac from shellac.net. My personal choice this time, as it worked out so well, was Dewaxed SUPER BLONDE (VERY Light Pale).
Anyway, it’s almost time for another coat of shellac, so it back to business.
Aloha!
Slower, cheaper, less useful…