got tape?

If you know me, you know I love alternatives. On my last build, the CD split tube fixie I forgot to get bar tape . . . so what do you do on a Sunday night?

Get a: Lighter (to sear the ends of the string, so it doesn't unravel), Scissors (to cut the string and tape), String (to wrap the bars), and electrical tape (to wrap the string).

This idea came to me about 2 months ago, and for the last 2 months I've been riding my fixie with this bar tape setup. So far so good.

The thing you need to know is I used to ride Benotto Celo tube for years . . . and without gloves. So the idea of riding a bicycle with electrical tape as bar tape doesn't frighten me so much, as I'm already familiar with the texture to a degree.

While electrical tape would be fine with me. I did want to change it up a bit . . . add a little texture to it, since electrical tape is intrinsically slick.

I just posted these pictures because it's pretty obvious what I did. You can also make patterns with your string since you are taping over the string. I just went straight forward because I'm just not feeling imaginative I guess.

Hey it works in a pinch. It does suck to do whole bars. Not only do you have to cover more space, you also have to negatiate the bends in the bar since the inside radius is smaller than the outside, making it impossible to cover the whole bar. I've come up with a few patterns to remedy this, but I don't really think it's worth it. although if you do have a cool design peopl will think your string & E-Tape bar wrap is out of the need to express creativity, rather then desperation.