# Period-correct bar tape for 1930s road bike



## BlackRockJohhny (Apr 28, 2018)

Hello!

I recently bought a 1930s French road bike, and I would like to find (if at all possible) period-correct bar tape for it.
I can't seem to find anything searching Google.

Thanks!


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## Duchess (Apr 28, 2018)

I've only ever heard reference to cotton cloth with shellac.


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## bulldog1935 (Apr 29, 2018)

Rivendell sells The Right Stuff
They also have a great video showing you how to finish with twine wrap (then shellac both tape and twine)
with only one coat of shellac, both tape and twin will return to a cloth-like feel


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## Gordon (Apr 29, 2018)

I think I have a couple rolls of cloth tape out in the shop somewhere. I will look and let you know.


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## Duchess (Apr 29, 2018)

You can get the cloth in any color. If you start at the stem end, you don't need to finish off with twine, either. I usually go with the twine for a little contrast and because I think it looks classy, but on my 2000 Iver Johnson (re-imagined Specialized), I thought it looked too old school, so I wrapped from the stem and the ends are held by the bar plugs. I like the cloth because, it comes in any color (though the shellac, even the clear, will darken it a little), is cheap, durable, looks good, is decently comfortable (you can stick pieces of old cork wrap underneath it in strategic places for some extra comfort), and fits pretty much any era. If you go with a light color, you can put more shellac to keep it cleaner, though that will stiffen the material more.


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## 99 bikes (Apr 29, 2018)

BlackRockJohhny said:


> Hello!
> 
> I recently bought a 1930s French road bike, and I would like to find (if at all possible) period-correct bar tape for it.
> I can't seem to find anything searching Google.
> ...




On pre-1980's bikes I usually go with cloth bar tape, starting at the end ending at the stem. This keeps the tape from peeling over when you ride and grip the bars. I've heard of others going the opposite way so the choice is yours.

Another option would be the old school rubber grips on the drops. I believe this is the usual for that era of French bikes.


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## Gordon (Apr 29, 2018)

Okay, I dug around in the shop and found 2 rolls of cloth tape, one is a dark blue and the other is black. Made in France, so should be correct for your bike, right? LOL


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## fat tire trader (Apr 29, 2018)

Do an image search for pick a year, 1936 tour de France and you will find lots of good pictures that show how guys had their bars taped.


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## bulldog1935 (Apr 30, 2018)

99 bikes said:


> ...Another option would be the old school rubber grips on the drops...



This is the other good idea, and here's a very good  vendor in Japan with long track-bike rubber grips (offered in different thickness as well as color)
https://www.tracksupermarket.com/handlesstemsgrips/champ-yoshida-keirin-long-grips.html
they also have Soyo grips in black and white
https://www.tracksupermarket.com/handlesstemsgrips/soyo-japan-long-keirin-grips-black.html


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## Duchess (Apr 30, 2018)

I think Tressostar is the brand I used on at least one of my bikes and I forget the other brand. I can't really tell the difference—both fine quality.


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## bulldog1935 (Apr 30, 2018)

If you look at the Newbaum's from Rivendell, it has the very same texture as the Tressostar.  $5 - cheep.

If you want to know what the French did, go way back on Jan Heine's blog - Off the Beaten Path - today's proponent of Technical Trials bikes and everything the French gave us.
But you'll find they shellacked cloth tape.




 


 
https://www.compasscycle.com/product-category/print/books/


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## Andrew Gorman (Apr 30, 2018)

If you really want to cheap out or have a lot of bars to wrap, get a roll of  dressmakers Twill Tape- it is available in lots of colors, just not from Amazon.  I found some in a dumpster when I was a totally broke student and it turned out well on my road bike demoted to a college town commuter.
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=Twill+tape


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## bulldog1935 (Apr 30, 2018)

and that's what they did - they didn't have a product made for bikes, they picked up available fabric. 
You start with white and shellac it, and  you end up with exactly the correct color.

When it became a bicycle product was when somebody bought bulk fabric tape, added adhesive so you didn't need shellac, and and packaged it as a bicycle product.


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## BlackRockJohhny (May 16, 2018)

Thanks, everyone!   This will be a great help!


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## sam (Jun 8, 2018)

I had a little left over too


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## MarkKBike (Jun 9, 2018)

Depending on the level of your restore, a super cheap option would be cloth hockey tape. You could find this stuff on ebay very inexpensively in a variety of colors. (the weave texture would be different, but you would have to look pretty close to notice). I would not be able to notice myself, as being far sighted I can not see any detail within 18" with out help from optical lenses.

https://www.ebay.com/bhp/hockey-tape

A while back I purchased a variety pack, and  have used it myself temporarily on various road bikes until I found the bar tape of my choice. I have since also found many other uses for it, (Archery Bows / Fishing Gaffs, Lawn Mower / etc.) You could also stain it to match whatever color you would want.


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## sam (Jun 9, 2018)

You could also stain it to match whatever color you would want.[/QUOTE]
Use SEW brand upholstery spray paint and color it any color you want


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