anyone know any sites that have how to's on doing fancy tape jobs for handlebars ?

If you want the diamond pattern made with cloth tape try:
http://www.wastedlife.org/bike/harlequin/index.html
Fixedgeargallery also has a how to page that explains the process.

I just went through this last month and wrote a few tips for anyone crazy enough to try it:

Here's my advice for anyone who wants to try this:

1. Be patient. If you're like me you may need to just walk away from it for a while. It took me one long evening for the first side then I didn't get back to it for a few weeks as every time I started I got frustrated.
2. Have another handlebar/stem combo to throw on if you ride the bike daily.
3. Pay attention to the shape of the diamonds as you round the front curve of the drops, that sets up where they will point as you round the tops of the bar. With a little adjustment of the angle of the tape you can manipulate where they cross over and maintain the pattern.
4. Maintain good tension at all times. If the tape gets a loose loop it'll look bad and probably feel bad in the final product.

Again, this was probably one of the most frustrating things I've tried but it paid off. You might have a much easier time, this was just my experience.

I purchased the tape from VeloOrange. They carry a good selection of colors and they're not some crusty NOS roll that's been hanging on the wall fading and drying out leaving you with crappy adhesion (which is super important for this).

Also, I've heard it can be done with cork gel tape but my attempts ended in just tearing the tape. You need lots of tension to maintain the shape as you go along and cork tape just wasn't cutting it for me so cloth it was.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/189/491982776_47d15d6907_o.jpg

Try this site: http://www.cyclofiend.com/working/

Cool site but bar wrapping links are close to the bottom. I tried a diamond pattern with cork and gave up. What I did instead was take black cork and natural cork (nashbar) and offset the 2 to give a contrast. Kinda cool and catches many cyclist eyes...

I just went through this last month and wrote a few tips for anyone crazy enough to try it:



Also, I've heard it can be done with cork gel tape but my attempts ended in just tearing the tape. You need lots of tension to maintain the shape as you go along and cork tape just wasn't cutting it for me so cloth it was.


these are great tips. i'll add one more......don't drink too much beer when attempting this. your "patience" will quickly turn to a bleary-eyed stamp of approval. my red/white diamonds do NOT look that pretty!

oh, asterisk, finish that cloth job with hemp twine, fool!!

I just went through this last month and wrote a few tips for anyone crazy enough to try it:



Also, I've heard it can be done with cork gel tape but my attempts ended in just tearing the tape. You need lots of tension to maintain the shape as you go along and cork tape just wasn't cutting it for me so cloth it was.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/189/491982776_47d15d6907_o.jpg
Wow, my harlequin wrap didn't turn out nearly that nice.

Excellent job!

oh, asterisk, finish that cloth job with hemp twine, fool!!

True... the red electrical tape was handy, twine is on the do to.

Wow, my harlequin wrap didn't turn out nearly that nice.

Excellent job!

Thanks. Like I said it took me forever. The first side just took an evening of doing a little, getting frustrated, doing something else for a little while and returning. I didn't even get back to the other side for at least two or three weeks. I'd start and get frustrated and unwrap it. Seriously the most frustrating exercise in bar wrap ever but worth it although I'm not sure I'll do it again.