Bar Tape. And Tyres.

[ZeroDarkBivi]

Having looked through the old threads, it would appear Lizard Skins thick (viscoelastic?) tape was the weapon of choice for drop bar comfort. Has that changed - has anybody discovered another solution that weighs less than taping a dead frog to my drops? Or does a special glove offer more comfort? Still getting used to this off-road drop-bar lark and know too many cyclists who have traded years of long rides for f****d hands!

And whilst I am here, Schwalbes range of tyres is now so extensive I am a bit confused. If, for example, I wanted a fast-rolling tubeless ready 2.1" 650b tyre for gravel / trail / backroad surfaces, should I be looking at a Thunder Burt, G-One Bite, or something else entirely...?

[danielgroves]

Massive fan of the Salsa cork tape myself.

[Bearlegged]

Zipp service course tape is fantastic, but very spendy.
LifeLine Professional Bar Tape With Perforation is a decent budget alternative to Lizard Skins.
I also use PRO (Shimano) gel pads under the tape.

[Bearbonesnorm]

I'm liking this tape https://www.evanscycles.com/fwe-shockpr ... e-EV196310

Maxxis tyres seem to have gone up too but the 2" Refuse can be had for a reasonable price and works surprisingly well.

[whitestone]

The last two handlebars I've taped I've used the 3mm Fizik tape (might be 3.5mm but the thickest they do) seems OK so far. Can't remember the exact name of the tape but was about £15 a box - following Stu's link it's this https://www.evanscycles.com/fizik-perfo ... e-EV194296

I actually double taped the bars on my singlespeed as they are pretty harsh bars and there was just a thin bar tape on there. This was/is part of some experimentation for later in the year. If you do double tape then consider the resulting increased diameter which might be a problem if you have small hands. An alternative might be gel inserts but these result in a non-round shape which you might not get on with.

[johnnystorm]

Selle Italia Smootape XL is 5mm thick and lasts for ages.

[restlessshawn]

Old school lifeline black with cork flecks here, I think it's comfy and £6 so don't care when it gets damaged, though it's lasted well.

Friends have the lizard skins stuff and think it's great, seems mighty thick to me

[Scud]

I like the LIzardskin DSP stuff if always wearing gloves, if not then it can be a bit too tacky and sweaty with bare hands.
As above Salsa cork tape is ace.

Favourite of all is Specialized Phat tape, good tape and comes with gel insert pads too.

[PaulB2]

If you want something fast rolling for gravel then there's also Road Plus tyres to consider though they might be a bit narrow (1.9"), e.g. WTB Byways or Compass Switchback Hill.

As a slight tangent since I was looking for a new set of similar but non-tubeless tyres this lunchtime, I wish tyre manufacturers could design a nice end user experience where you could enter your wheel size, intended usage, max-min width, etc and it would give you a list of tyres with some form of comparison between the options. The schwalbe site comes closest with its filters but you still end up having to do manual comparisons and then making inferences from that.

[BigdummySteve]

I wondered if you could stretch a set of ESI long silicone grips to fit ( the ones for Jones bars. If they were long enough they would be super comfy.

Currently I have the fizik 3mm stuff, nice but a bit more Cushioning would be nice, to be honest my hands have never felt better, love my woodchipers. I’ve also got a set of WTB dirt drops to try, they look nice. They have the flare but look like less of a compromise in positioning the hoods.

[Gummikuh]

Could try these:
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/handlebar-t ... ars-black/
I put them on my pashley speed 5 and they are comfy and not too spendy.