I have not found that unprotected cork tape wears quickly. I've had the same
cork tape out in rain, shine, and winter weather for 10 years and probably over
10k miles. It still has good grip, doesn't soak up water, hasn't cracked, and
is still cushy. I've cleaned it a few times with some generic general purpose
cleaners and it looks good as new, well almost anyway as it does look a bit
burnished at my favorite positions.
--- On Fri, 5/1/09, Dave Craig <dcr...@prescott.edu> wrote:
From: Dave Craig <dcr...@prescott.edu>
Subject: [RBW] Re: Shellac cork?
To: "RBW Owners Bunch" <rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com>
Date: Friday, May 1, 2009, 12:54 PM
> To bring this around to the topic at hand, I'm not a fan of shellacked
> cork tape. It's hard (for me) to get an even coat without drips, and
> it wears quickly with use.
I agree that the shellac wears quickly, especially in the places that
I grip most often. This has never bothered me since it makes the cork
look more like leather (uneven and organic). I touch up the shellac
occasionally, though not obsessively - I don't carry shellac on tours!
I'm OK with a few drips because it's my bike and I don't care.
However, I'll stand by the fact that unprotected cork wears quickly
and, unless it is black, it looks grubby pretty fast.
Shellacked cotton tape is beautiful. One can do fancy harlequin weaves
with it. It wears like iron. Why shouldn't everyone use it? I would
love to. There are two reasons for me. Sometimes I like to ride
without gloves and I have big hands. Riding with cotton tape is like
riding on bare bars - no padding and a small diameter. I just don't
find cotton taped bars all that comfortable. All this said, I am
switching my Atlantis off touring and town duty now that I have a
Bombadil. Perhaps, I'll consider committing to wearing gloves and
using cloth tape.
Dave
"The desire to have a beautiful bike is something shared by everyone.
The desire comes with childhood; some cultivate it, others repress it,
but it's always there." -- Paul Fournel - Need for the Bike
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