Cinelli Cork Handlebar Tape

I’m a cyclist. I love this bar tape for my bike. It’s sturdy and comfortable. But I also use it for other hand grip sort of stuff. For instance I wrapped the steering wheel of my 77’ VW Westfalia. We just finished a 3500 mile road trip and this tape was a life saver when we were on back mountain roads, especially helpful on California hwy 1 north of San Francisco.Buy this tape. It’s good.

The Cinelli cork ribbon handle bar tape looks great, and rolls onto the handlebars easily. One nice thing about the foam is that there is a thin adhesive strip, with a backer on it, on the tape. Some cork tapes have more of a grip strip there, but this is actual adhesive. It makes the application process a lot less frustrating. The end caps are fine, I kind of wish they came in chrome... but...Now onto the reason for my 3 star review. They include two strips of black adhesive tape so that you can tape down the end of the wrap. The tape is thick, feels heavy duty, looks nice with the Cinelli logo (nicer than most I have used), but it doesn't stick to itself very well as you wrap it around to tape down the ends. I came back the morning after and about ~2 inches had peeled back and loosened. (bars had been prepped with alcohol and I was wearing gloves as I put on the tape to avoid transferring hand oil which can interfere with adhesion.) It is a minor thing, enough electrician's tape will fix the problem, but it is just annoying that the tape looks and feels so nice but just isn't as sticky as electricians tape...All that said, I would buy it again, and just get out the electrician's tape from the start.

If you would like the "corky" pattern, be advised that Amazon's inventory is messed up and they will ship you black tape with a "corky" sticker on it. I've had this happen multiple times, and am going back to "Sports One", who have delivered the right item at least once in the past.The corky pattern is a good match if you have gumwall tires or other natural rubber on your bike, as it contains multiple shades that could match what you have.The tape feels the way most cork-based tapes feel, if you like that then you'll be set. The Cinelli finishing tape is not first-rate, and has let go multiple times when pulled taut over the bar tape ends. Finish with 3M 33 tape, after that you may or may not have good luck with it.

I recently purchased this cork bar tape to replace mine for the first time. After watching some Youtube videos I felt ready to proceed. At first, I wrapped the tape too close together and had to rewrap one side because the tape was too short. Use the Cinelli logos as your guide. If you overlap the tape too close and cover the logos, you won't have enough (unless it's a kids bike I guess). I was ok with 1/3 overlapping, but 1/2 was too much. I used the small strips of tape behind the brake levers - I did trim them to fit.I liked that the tape has some adhesive but I could (carefully) unwrap and rewrap it with no problem. I think that would only work if you were doing it right away though, not after it had been taped a while. I did not like the look of the logos on the electrical tape they supplied, so I used plain black electrical tape. For the colored bar tape I guess you could get electrical tape to match the color, although I thought it looked fine with black.I actually was a little disappointed about the logos all over the tape. There is one with every turn around the handlebars. It's pretty extreme. But, I like the feel of the tape and I like the blue color.I did not love the bar end caps. I like that they are black, but they just stuff in. My bike came with some rather ugly metallic coated plastic ones, but they screwed in - when you tighten the screw, it moves little barbs out that grab the inside of the bars. So, those were more secure. The ones supplied I felt could come out.

Easy to work with, but if it’s your first time wrapping handlebars make sure not to pull it too tightly as it can snap. The first time I wrapped my handlebars I see a “gel cork” tape which I wrapped WAY to tightly, basically flattening out the tape and ruining the padding it provides. This went on well and looks great (I had to take my bike into the shop a couple weeks after I wrapped the handlebars to get a flat tire fixed and the mechanic was very impressed with my wrap job). It cushions really well and provides good grip even in the rain. My only complaint is that it doesn’t clean up super easily, but that’s to be expected with cork tape as it’s more porous than other kinds. The finishing tape is also kind of weird - I had issues with it coming unpeeled the first day, by now it’s on there securely. I think stretching it while you press it down helps it stick.

Really nice feel, especially compared to my last tape—my hands don't go numb on a 3+ hour ride like they used to! Who knew it would make SO much difference?Includes two pre-cut strips of handlebar tape for behind the brake hoods, two pre-cut strips of finishing tape, and the logos on the top and adhesive on the back work as guides for a perfect job even if it's your first time (like me). Everything you need and super easy to use. I was scared to do it myself, and there was no need with this complete kit.I will definitely buy this again, but maybe in black... The gray is much lighter (in my opinion) than it appears in the photo. All computer displays are different (though mine is a color-calibrated Mac display I use for design work, so...), but this photo seems almost deceptively dark: middle-gray instead of the closer-to-white gray. ...if that makes sense. Maybe they should give a Pantone equivalent on product pages! :D

this are so thick and sturdy, i thought being 'cork' they would be at risk of ripping or tearing, but they are superb. Only comment is the stick back tape is only at the start of the roll, not the whole way up. would, and will, buy again

Very nice and sticky! Long tape so your bar will be perfectly wrapped

Easy to wrap and long enough that there is some spare. Looks fab. Great cushioning.

Looks good feels good had on a few years now

Looks great! Used it to spruce up my bike and it worked a treat.