Handlebar cushioning

TheBlaaMan

Has anyone a more economical alternative to the rather pricey gel pads for handlebars? €20 is a bit much to have to shell out for four bits of gel https://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=71101

....though I guess you only ever need them once..

krissovo

Old inner tubes and today I seen a man using pipe lagging and masking tape. Aldi gel gloves is what I use.

RebelButtMunch

Yep. Gel gloves

Cee-Jay-Cee

Double wrap the bars. Buy cheap cork bar tape (on eBay) and wrap just the tops of the bars with it and then wrap the bars as normal with your own tape.

But like said above, Aldi gel gloves are excellent, very comfortable and very cheap.

cdaly_

When replacing mine, I kept some of the old tape to use as padding.

smacl

cdaly_ wrote: »

When replacing mine, I kept some of the old tape to use as padding.

Yep, same here. Usually wash it in dettol beforehand, to help eliminate future bar stink.

niceonetom

Bent elbows.

Scrappy600

Go get a cheap mouse mat from the pound shop and turn it upside down so you get the cushioned gel part facing up the way, cut to size and lay onto the bars as you wrap

seamus

Just remember when it comes to cushioning that softer padding or more padding does not necessarily equate to more comfort.

The purpose of padding, from a bike perspective, is to act as a shock absorber between your body and the bike. Soft materials by definition require less energy to compress them. This means they're lovely and comfortable to rest on, but awful at shock absorption, because the amount of energy they dissipate is tiny, and the rest of the energy is then transferred to your body.
The best materials are firm but compressible, as they will dissipate quite a bit of energy, resulting in less energy transferred to you.. This is why cork is so popular on bars and road bike saddles seem insanely hard for something you sit on for 3-5 hours straight.

elnino23

I bought sram cork bar tape and there was enough length in it to double wrap the top section and its really comfy now.

Raam

My bars. That's raw metal, RAWR.

ROK ON

Tom Bonen has raced and won on cobbles innumerable times.

Tomeke don't do padded bar tape.
Tomeke don't do padded gloves.
Tomeke don't even do umpadded gloves.

MTFU

Where does this sh1t end.

TheBlaaMan

ROK ON wrote: »

Tom Boonen has raced and won on cobbles innumerable times.

Tomeke don't do padded bar tape.
Tomeke don't do padded gloves.
Tomeke don't even do umpadded gloves.

MTFU

Where does this sh1t end.

Boonen, Schmoonen. Tomeke aint so tough.
http://inrng.com/2011/09/boonen-saddlesore/ :P

Maybe he should invest in a bit of gel......