I just have one suggestion from my rod building days is , first lay your loop the entire way across the wraps on the bottom side, and then when you go too pull your tag in through, and it has went past three or so wraps snip your tag line and you will be left with no visible cut line. I love your idea, and will try that with my next bar tape job.
I've built my own fishing rods (carp not fly) we call the wrapping on of eyes "Whipping" if you want to go super neat you can actually avoid the knot and use the loop method at both ends of the "whip", or though in this case I would just trap the start of thread under the tape and overlap the first pass. A couple of other tips: When you pull the tail through at the end just pull until the tail just butts up tightly to the wrap then cut it leaving a tail about the same length as the width of the whips the loop is under, then jank the loop out at a 45 degree angle in the same direction as the wrap and the tail will just disappear like magic. Traditional Shellack or Varnish has a tendency to crack and "craze" over time so we usually use an epoxy resin these days but a good cheap substitute is clear GEL TYPE nail polish/varnish.
Calvin Jones or Paul Brodie videos do a good job of calming me down when I need it. Enjoyable to see people who know what they’re doing calmly going about it.
When you wrap the finishing twine, you can start by tucking the starting end and wrapping over it, instead of using a knot. It will be as smooth as the finishing end using the loop.
Another great show & tell. Lots of good tips. Thanks! FWIW: I've found it helpful to start wrapping flush cut beginings with the plug either out or backed off slightly allowing the tape to strech down slightly around end of the bar and have the plug then push up against that exposed 1mm or so of tape making a cleaner looking finish as it pushes against that little bit of exposed tape. Another trick I find helpful, to hold the ends of the tape in place, until you're done finishing it in whatever manner one chooses, is to use a little bit of double sided tape. Thanks again for sharing great and creative ideas.
Not exactly a "rage antidote", but a thing I always tell my students is that walking away from a frustrating problem (and perhaps having a cup of tea) is one of the most important tools to have in your setup 😀
As others have said, watch one of your videos. Screwing up a repair leaves a feeling of incompetence. It just does. Best thing I've found to repair your self-confidence is to watch a seriously competent mechanic do it. I get inspired. And that goes for all kinds of repairs on all kinds of things. If you have a broken widget, there's probably at least one YTer who's fixed the widget the right way (and usually two or three that never should've tried). Thanks again, Calvin. Great video!
Mechanical rage - a feeling that drops by from time to time but is easily tamed by visiting this site before things spin out of control. Being a hobby mechanic I've done the lamest things (from sizing chains too short or cutting cable housings with cables inside) but they've all taught me a thing or two which is what experience is all about.
Gotta love Calvin! Brings back memories of USA Cycling Mechanic Seminar in CO Springs back-in-the-day. I use the trim method on all my tape jobs, but "shim" the bar plugs with electrical tape wound around them rather than use bits of bar tape.
@@cmmartti cheaper for the plug manufacturers to just make the one smaller size assuming all tape is tucked. Its not that big a hurdle to overcome (as demonstrated by Calvin) if you choose to trim rather than tuck... if not a scrap of the bar tape itself; but as others have said a small amount of some other common tape is fine.
I've learned in information technology and in refurbishing bikes that getting frustrated means it's time to go do something else for a bit. A solution almost always comes to my subconscious while I'm not actively thinking about the problem. Cleaning, reorganizing, or even taking a nap are the best "something else" activities for me.
Loved the video, thanks! I could watch Calvin do any sort of wrenching - ASMR for me :) On wrapping the bar tape, I've recently switched to wrapping starting at the stem and going out on the bars, finishing at the drops with a bit of excess tape tucked into the bar end, then plugged. That way there is no need for finishing tape or whipping at the stem. For the whipping technique, it is possible to skip the knot tying of the whipping thread at the start and instead make a long "snare" loop with the whipping thread with the closed end of the loop at opposite side from where you start whipping. That way you can pull the whipping thread through, all the way under the whipped portion.
But when you wrap from the tops, the edges of the tape are pointing at you instead of away. I can't stand how it feels to have the hands pushing on the edges, not to mention how it looks. It's especially bad on thick tape (like leather) If my mechanics did that to a customers bike, I'd make them do it over.
A wealth of knowledge! I broke a hub 40 years ago because I didn't know that trick. Back then, probably the only people with chain whips were track riders. I like the bar end trick. Have done a number of lopsided plugs. When double wrapping, things get really interesting!
Terrific job with that beautiful Brooks bar tape. I felt certain that when you got to cutting next to the central sleeve you would produce some magical Park Tool that would make the job easy!
This takes me back to 1994. I taco’d the back wheel of my Bridgestone mountain bike. Not knowing any better as a kid. I cut all the spokes before taking it to the remaining bike shop in town. Remember very well the frustration that employee had in his voice. Didn’t think about them having to remove the cassette.
Calvin, that ability to know when to walk away I had to learn the hard way by losing my temper especially when I was a lot younger. I seem to remember replacing the plastic handlebar tape thirty years ago on my Schwinn Varsity. I started in the inside working out to the drop handlebar end and finished with putting the tape inside the bar and reinstalling the chrome push in cap I had removed earlier. It turned out well.
My “Calvin” at my LBS ,Open Air Ventura, takes over when I’m at an impasse. When your tired, frustrated and try to force it, that when you stop,before you or your project get hurt and damaged.
The technique you used with the polyester line I know as a wipping. An old method of stopping rope fraying at the end. I would have put the loop under all the turns and pulled the end under the whole lot.
I ❤️ to tape my bars according to my mood. It’s cathartic!😉 Thank you!! I think that tucking the tape into the bar end looks yucky as well. I always flush cut. Oh, and,, use a screw in style end cap. They come is all colors and are very secure. Excellent lesson, thanks!!!🥰
Nice job Calvin. When things start getting difficult I always step back for at least one shot of my favorite whiskey. The trick is not to have too many shots or it will really get difficult.
Nice wrap. I'd love to see any ideas for tidy taping around blip shifters under the bar tops, especially flat top bars where you can't use the profiling mounts that Shimano supply.
Rebuild rage was trickier to fix with low flange hubs! The best case I can remember was saving the freewheel while sacrificing the hub. I remember one time the spoke holes of a medium flange hub could be accessed by a complete freewheel dismantle, which gets in maybe two more millimetres. (Done to prove we could do it. At the hourly rate a new wheel was the better option.)
When I have a little frustration, I'll true a wheel. It's a Zen thing. I know I can never get to perfection, but I can try. Once I get to the point of turning spokes only 1 or 2mm, I'm both calmed down and satisfied that the wheel is true. A win-win.
Cannot support that starting wrap technique unless there was a plug that had a part that extended up and over the bar tape slightly so that the edge of the tape was under it.
Wow, that was great! That water soaking tip is for natural wraps like leather or cloth, correct? Would you do the same for the synthetic materials? Lots of little tips to fine tune my upcoming wraps. Thank you!!
Amazing demonstration of leather tape wrapping! Classic. How'd you get the freewheel off? That Selle Italia Turbo saddle was distracting, however. Are those things back? They're the ones LeMond and Hinault rode in the TDF. What goes around comes around. Flat fork crowns and down tube shifters? A return to "manual bicycles" as coined by brother Grant, the Rivendell guy.
I like to think that this glorious gangly man whose brain is stuffed with nothing but Bike Repair is literally the only man working in the massive Park Tool facility and it is only from his grace that we are given the gift of knowledge. We won't speak of the endless clones in the basement. It's JUST HIM, OKAY. That's my head-cannon and there's nothing you can do to convince me otherwise.
Would the soaking help with the Brooks microfiber tape too! It's almost just as thickness and stiff... I get that synthetic fibers won't shrink like leather though.
I'm a paramedic so when something irritates me at work, I just sedate them. LOL! Seriously, when I get frustrated, I just jump on my bike and ride. At work, I resort to my sketch pad and pencils.
What if you left the tail in the beginning and tied it off with the working end, having the fishing line snare in for most of the wrap? I’ve gotta try it!
awesome video, loved it. great lessons learnt on that bar tape session, loved the techniques borrowed from the fisher people lol on a serious note, I have a better idea now how to redo my own bar tape, im pretty sure I wont be as good, but love the lesson.
I just use double sided tape to tidy up ends. But I start at the top so I don't need tape there and only need it at the bar end if not plugging it in. The line idea is neat though.
Just over 20 minutes watching Calvin wrap some vintage bars. Thats all you need when you have mechanical rage to be back to being a zen mechanic.
My thoughts exactly!
yeah it feels like art!
Calvin is the Bob Ross of bikes.
Well, if Bob Ross were crossed with Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and the Swedish Chef… 😂
20:49 "Nice little brush strokes"
Guess I'd also watch Calvin painting for an hour 😉
Bob Ross is the Calvin Jones of painting.
When I get frustrated at the shop I work at I go and sweep the floor or wipe the counters since it's quite hard to make a mess of things by cleaning.
That is a great friggin' idea. I need to do that.
I broke the head off a push broom once from angry sweeping. Still was a cheaper fix than replacing a hub
I go cut the cardboard boxes for the dumpster. I call it "Therapy".
Never thought about that. Thanks for the Idea
I just have one suggestion from my rod building days is , first lay your loop the entire way across the wraps on the bottom side, and then when you go too pull your tag in through, and it has went past three or so wraps snip your tag line and you will be left with no visible cut line. I love your idea, and will try that with my next bar tape job.
I've built my own fishing rods (carp not fly) we call the wrapping on of eyes "Whipping" if you want to go super neat you can actually avoid the knot and use the loop method at both ends of the "whip", or though in this case I would just trap the start of thread under the tape and overlap the first pass.
A couple of other tips:
When you pull the tail through at the end just pull until the tail just butts up tightly to the wrap then cut it leaving a tail about the same length as the width of the whips the loop is under, then jank the loop out at a 45 degree angle in the same direction as the wrap and the tail will just disappear like magic.
Traditional Shellack or Varnish has a tendency to crack and "craze" over time so we usually use an epoxy resin these days but a good cheap substitute is clear GEL TYPE nail polish/varnish.
Beat me to it...
Calvin Jones or Paul Brodie videos do a good job of calming me down when I need it. Enjoyable to see people who know what they’re doing calmly going about it.
When you wrap the finishing twine, you can start by tucking the starting end and wrapping over it, instead of using a knot. It will be as smooth as the finishing end using the loop.
Another great show & tell. Lots of good tips. Thanks! FWIW: I've found it helpful to start wrapping flush cut beginings with the plug either out or backed off slightly allowing the tape to strech down slightly around end of the bar and have the plug then push up against that exposed 1mm or so of tape making a cleaner looking finish as it pushes against that little bit of exposed tape. Another trick I find helpful, to hold the ends of the tape in place, until you're done finishing it in whatever manner one chooses, is to use a little bit of double sided tape. Thanks again for sharing great and creative ideas.
I love bolt-in bar ends. It's such a minor pet peeve of mine when press-ins work themselves out a few mm.
Not exactly a "rage antidote", but a thing I always tell my students is that walking away from a frustrating problem (and perhaps having a cup of tea) is one of the most important tools to have in your setup 😀
As others have said, watch one of your videos. Screwing up a repair leaves a feeling of incompetence. It just does. Best thing I've found to repair your self-confidence is to watch a seriously competent mechanic do it. I get inspired.
And that goes for all kinds of repairs on all kinds of things. If you have a broken widget, there's probably at least one YTer who's fixed the widget the right way (and usually two or three that never should've tried).
Thanks again, Calvin. Great video!
Mechanical rage - a feeling that drops by from time to time but is easily tamed by visiting this site before things spin out of control. Being a hobby mechanic I've done the lamest things (from sizing chains too short or cutting cable housings with cables inside) but they've all taught me a thing or two which is what experience is all about.
it's probably a good thing to have a well rounded collection of past mistakes, as we hopefully make them just once👌
thankyou calvin for also tackling rage and your calm, wise teaching approach and lessons
A true master at his craft. Always informative and interesting.
Gotta love Calvin! Brings back memories of USA Cycling Mechanic Seminar in CO Springs back-in-the-day. I use the trim method on all my tape jobs, but "shim" the bar plugs with electrical tape wound around them rather than use bits of bar tape.
@@cmmartti cheaper for the plug manufacturers to just make the one smaller size assuming all tape is tucked.
Its not that big a hurdle to overcome (as demonstrated by Calvin) if you choose to trim rather than tuck... if not a scrap of the bar tape itself; but as others have said a small amount of some other common tape is fine.
As a cycling novice, I really love Calvin's assuring voice and experience. He's like a favorite uncle.
I've learned in information technology and in refurbishing bikes that getting frustrated means it's time to go do something else for a bit. A solution almost always comes to my subconscious while I'm not actively thinking about the problem. Cleaning, reorganizing, or even taking a nap are the best "something else" activities for me.
I still learn new stuff every day with Calvin, absolutely love this series!
the most meticulous bar tape job I've seen. Thanks Park Tool!
Loved the video, thanks! I could watch Calvin do any sort of wrenching - ASMR for me :) On wrapping the bar tape, I've recently switched to wrapping starting at the stem and going out on the bars, finishing at the drops with a bit of excess tape tucked into the bar end, then plugged. That way there is no need for finishing tape or whipping at the stem. For the whipping technique, it is possible to skip the knot tying of the whipping thread at the start and instead make a long "snare" loop with the whipping thread with the closed end of the loop at opposite side from where you start whipping. That way you can pull the whipping thread through, all the way under the whipped portion.
But when you wrap from the tops, the edges of the tape are pointing at you instead of away. I can't stand how it feels to have the hands pushing on the edges, not to mention how it looks. It's especially bad on thick tape (like leather) If my mechanics did that to a customers bike, I'd make them do it over.
Wow, that's a very artistic wrap. Never thought of doing it like that. Thanks for the idea.
Calvin is the OG. Great video!
A wealth of knowledge! I broke a hub 40 years ago because I didn't know that trick. Back then, probably the only people with chain whips were track riders. I like the bar end trick. Have done a number of lopsided plugs. When double wrapping, things get really interesting!
Beautiful wrap technique! I can't wait to try it on a classic refurb!
That's a lot of work, but the workmanship detail is stunning!
A great conversation piece!
I guess I come here to watch you wrap some bars! Thanks for the video
Terrific job with that beautiful Brooks bar tape. I felt certain that when you got to cutting next to the central sleeve you would produce some magical Park Tool that would make the job easy!
Just a thankyou for doing all these. They ARE APPRECIATED!!!!
This takes me back to 1994. I taco’d the back wheel of my Bridgestone mountain bike. Not knowing any better as a kid. I cut all the spokes before taking it to the remaining bike shop in town. Remember very well the frustration that employee had in his voice. Didn’t think about them having to remove the cassette.
Calvin, that ability to know when to walk away I had to learn the hard way by losing my temper especially when I was a lot younger. I seem to remember replacing the plastic handlebar tape thirty years ago on my Schwinn Varsity. I started in the inside working out to the drop handlebar end and finished with putting the tape inside the bar and reinstalling the chrome push in cap I had removed earlier. It turned out well.
we need more like this.
Wow, I can apply this wisdom to all sorts of projects! Thank you!
Wrong tools and poorly workplaces is cause mechanical rage and definitely ruins somethings but Calvin's bartape sessions is for relaxing.
My “Calvin” at my LBS ,Open Air Ventura, takes over when I’m at an impasse. When your tired, frustrated and try to force it, that when you stop,before you or your project get hurt and damaged.
Very nicely done. Unfortunately I’d have to charge around $300 in labor to be profitable on a 3 day bar tape wrap.
Nice! Thank you for this. I may not wrap my bars but you have provide excellent advice.
The technique you used with the polyester line I know as a wipping. An old method of stopping rope fraying at the end. I would have put the loop under all the turns and pulled the end under the whole lot.
Search common whipping
Wonderful presentation complete with comedy and tunes😊Thanks a pile.
I ❤️ to tape my bars according to my mood. It’s cathartic!😉
Thank you!! I think that tucking the tape into the bar end looks yucky as well. I always flush cut.
Oh, and,, use a screw in style end cap. They come is all colors and are very secure.
Excellent lesson, thanks!!!🥰
nice job on the bar tape! I find a good way to chill out is a nice walk around the local park, helps clear the mind
Gotta love Calvin!
WOW! I was going to replace the bar tape on my 1983 Motobecane but after seeing this, I really like the leather. Thanks!!!
Love the idea of the thread. I would have used a blue to match the frame, but it's fantastic. Will definitely consider that for future wraps.
Champagne corks are the only way to go for bar plugs.
After the music at 12:12, I was kinda expecting the cutest voice on TH-cam saying "Good Evening, and welcome to tinkering with Atkelar".
Pure class. Well done.
Another fantastic video Calvin!! Love it.
love this *learn something from an old bike* series
I watch you to calm down... then, I get excited again.
This is so therapeutic.
Must have missed something. How do you secure the tape at the end of the bar if not under the plug?
Glue?
Tension, simply getting it pulled tight keeps it secure.
Nice job Calvin. When things start getting difficult I always step back for at least one shot of my favorite whiskey. The trick is not to have too many shots or it will really get difficult.
when making the cut at the stem end i find long scissors allow for one smooth cut. i got so frustrated with those short ones.
Yeah, the Park scissor is maybe my least favorite tool they make. I use the Wiss W812S scissors which are great for any kind of bar tape.
@@mattgiesnot a big fan of the park cable/housing cutters either. Jagwire makes a great one, maybe they can take some notes from it
@@isaactrockman4417 I have Felco (C7) and Knipex (95 61 190) cutters for that. Jagwire's is a knockoff of the Felco anyway.
Nice wrap. I'd love to see any ideas for tidy taping around blip shifters under the bar tops, especially flat top bars where you can't use the profiling mounts that Shimano supply.
Rebuild rage was trickier to fix with low flange hubs! The best case I can remember was saving the freewheel while sacrificing the hub.
I remember one time the spoke holes of a medium flange hub could be accessed by a complete freewheel dismantle, which gets in maybe two more millimetres. (Done to prove we could do it. At the hourly rate a new wheel was the better option.)
When I have a little frustration, I'll true a wheel. It's a Zen thing. I know I can never get to perfection, but I can try. Once I get to the point of turning spokes only 1 or 2mm, I'm both calmed down and satisfied that the wheel is true. A win-win.
neat trick with the snare
Beautiful work
Great tips! I always wondered about those tricky wraps. And the cog trick was totally unexpected. Thank you.....
I watch an old man create teapots out of clay. It's free stress reduction.
Hello, I use a rotary cutter to bevel the beginning of the handlebar tape.
Cannot support that starting wrap technique unless there was a plug that had a part that extended up and over the bar tape slightly so that the edge of the tape was under it.
What an Artist! 👏👏👏👏
I play with my dog or I take him out for a walk! ❤🐶❤️
beautifully done
Very nicely done.
Such patience!
Watching that bar wrapping was strangely satisfying. (My 40-year-old Univega has Grab On grips.)
Wow, that was great! That water soaking tip is for natural wraps like leather or cloth, correct? Would you do the same for the synthetic materials? Lots of little tips to fine tune my upcoming wraps. Thank you!!
Pro tip: Do NOT drink the water after the soak.
Wheel building is the most Zen bike work :-)
Bloody brilliant !
Amazing demonstration of leather tape wrapping! Classic. How'd you get the freewheel off? That Selle Italia Turbo saddle was distracting, however. Are those things back? They're the ones LeMond and Hinault rode in the TDF. What goes around comes around. Flat fork crowns and down tube shifters? A return to "manual bicycles" as coined by brother Grant, the Rivendell guy.
You have some amazing nubuck brown leather versions of the turbo saddles. This bike could do with one of those.
Frustration relief music, coffee , maybe even a 30 minute walk relaxing the body hopefully cleansing the mindset towards a better outcome.
I like to think that this glorious gangly man whose brain is stuffed with nothing but Bike Repair is literally the only man working in the massive Park Tool facility and it is only from his grace that we are given the gift of knowledge. We won't speak of the endless clones in the basement. It's JUST HIM, OKAY.
That's my head-cannon and there's nothing you can do to convince me otherwise.
Would the soaking help with the Brooks microfiber tape too! It's almost just as thickness and stiff... I get that synthetic fibers won't shrink like leather though.
man i love your work....its fantastic....
Lol calm down by going on a bike ride....oh wait😂
That would not have been the first ride I've ever done with unwrapped bars. But I DO insist on having the brakes installed.
N+1
"Every bartape needs a friends..." - Bob 'Calvin' Ross
11:32 - 'Second verse, same as the first.' Nice Ramones reference!😀
Herman and the Hermits before Joey and the boys.
@@parktool 👍
I'm Henry the 8th
I'm a paramedic so when something irritates me at work, I just sedate them. LOL! Seriously, when I get frustrated, I just jump on my bike and ride. At work, I resort to my sketch pad and pencils.
Excellent video
I had no idea that individual cogs could be spun off the freewheel body! I was expecting to see disassembly of the ratchet to achieve those ends.
No all are that way. My recollection is pre 1985 expect removable cogs. 85 to around 89, probably not, then we are into the cassette era.
You can shim that bung with a piece of old inner tube, works well.
Or shim it with a wrap or two of electrical tape
A tie knot for the handlebar tape! ❤
What if you left the tail in the beginning and tied it off with the working end, having the fishing line snare in for most of the wrap? I’ve gotta try it!
Hello Calvin , Nice video ( Tribute to JFK )😊
End rage by watching Park Tool videos
State of The Art bar taping!
This guy is awesome
When I get that rage Calvin I sit down with my guitar and enjoy some strumming therapy...
Hola amigo tendrás algún vídeo de mantenimiento de suspención RockShox y fox doble platina
Calvin, could you do something about wrapping aerohandlebars, I never seem to able to get it right!
awesome video, loved it. great lessons learnt on that bar tape session, loved the techniques borrowed from the fisher people lol on a serious note, I have a better idea now how to redo my own bar tape, im pretty sure I wont be as good, but love the lesson.
I just use double sided tape to tidy up ends. But I start at the top so I don't need tape there and only need it at the bar end if not plugging it in. The line idea is neat though.
“That’s a wrap!” 😂
I saw a 21 minute video on bartape and I put off watching it for two days. I should have known better!
4:08 man.... theres no coffee in there.
:)
How much would that cost to have done?
very nice work!!!