Big Block, that has come up great! have you got better pics of the end of each wrap?
An Idea:
I destroyed the crotch of a pair of black jeans due to riding in them (and dancing like an asshole)
If I were to cut 1" wide strips out of the legs do you guys think they could be a viable bartape option if I were to use 3M spray adhesive on the bars and then apply a few coats of shellac?
sustainable and hipster as FVCK
so far the only issue I can foresee is Fashion Hayley writing me off for my blue denim bars clashing with my black denim jeans.
I followed this as a guide for the brake lever wrapping
and this for the finishnear the stem
No reason why denim couldn’t be used. If you use regular orange shellac flakes then it will change colour, or you could use the clear shellac to avoid the colour change. There is no need for the spray adhesive. And make sure the shellac is really thin so it penetrates, and then each coat will amalgamate with the ones underneath.
I’m the owner of that bike on BNA linked before with the harlequin pattern. I followed the same guide for the harlequin wrap except I used cloth tape and shellacked it. I ended up doing it about 5 times because I either got it wrong or I swapped my bars/levers for something else.
The great thing about the harlequin pattern with shellacked cloth is that you get a very nice clean look because you start at the bar tops and you don’t end up with loose ends that need to be taped over or twined. You do however end up with a very durable and grippy finish which is somewhat unforgiving, I recommend wearing gloves with it as I’ve found you inevitably get ridges in the tape which can be a bit uncomfortable on longer rides. Bare cloth tends to get dirty quite quickly unless it’s a dark colour, so shellac keeps it looking clean.
Some notes:
I used 1" wide cotton ribbon from spotlight in a herringbone pattern, it’s actually a nicer pattern than most “proper” cloth tapes. I used double sided tape on the bars to make them easier to wrap.
The two colours I used were a bright yellow and a coffee brown, I used amber shellac and this turned the yellow into a warm brown and the coffee brown into a dark brown.
If you are going to attempt harlequin pattern it is very easy to miss a spot, particularly around the levers and the blind parts, best done with the bars off the bike so you can see it from all angles. I spent a lot of time wrapping and re-wrapping to get it perfect. Take your time to get it consistent so the “diamonds” are the same place left to right. If you stuff it up early on it’ll look worse when you get to the drops, one side will be predominantly one colour and the other the opposite.
-The first coat of shellac should be quite liberal, it’s important to get the tape wet - later coats should be thin to avoid getting drip marks. Add more coats as soon as it is touch dry - As you add more coats it will start to dry progressively more quickly until it starts to shine, this usually takes about 8-10. The first coat takes a while to dry so allow it to dry overnight.
-Once it’s done it is waterproof and very low maintainence. The Shellac acts as a glue and it will never slip or peel off like cork tape. I’ve had mine on there for about 8 months and it gets ridden on every day rain, hail or shine. It’s started to develop a nice patina, you can add another coat of shellac to clean it up.
