Best colour for handlebar tape [closed]

Question

I am planning to change a new handlebar tape as its getting worn off. I was thinking if it is alright to get a new colour besides black (which is a default colour I would say). What colour for the handlebar tape would you suggest? My frame colour is orange if the colour of the frame is taken into consideration on which handlebar tape colour that matches.

Answer 1

As we noted, this is not a site to ask general opinion-based questions. It can sometimes be possible to have productive discussions on subjective matters, so we can try. Some rules of thumb that cyclists have used in the past include:

1. Match the color of the saddle.
2. If the bike has a two-color scheme or a multicolor one, then one could match the bar tape to the color at the head tube.

Note that while the link presents these as hard and fast rules, that is either tongue in cheek, or these were rules adhered to by more traditional road racing cyclists and you should not be obliged to adhere to them. I am genuinely not sure what the intent was, but I take it as the first one, and I argue that nobody is obliged to take the purported rules as dictates.

This may be stating the obvious, but you could just use a black saddle and bar tape no matter what. Black tends to be the default color as it does go with every frame color. If you're using, say, orange tape to match your frame, one consideration can be that the tape color may not exactly match the frame color. Minor mismatches can be visually annoying. However, they can be perceived as a pleasant variation on a theme. For example, my bike's paint scheme is white with two different pinks as accent colors.

As an aside, while you didn't ask, a possible way to add color to the bike is to use anodized aluminum components, but this also depends on availability. Possible examples include seat clamps, water bottle cage and chainring bolts, headset spacers, and actually the headsets themselves (although these will be labor intensive to replace). You can browse Wolf Tooth components for examples, but do note that they're not the only manufacturer of such parts. If you go this route, remember that anodizing aluminum for color means that you anodize the aluminum, which is a surface treatment, and apply dye during that process. Thus, as with bar tape, oranges may vary in shade across manufacturers, e.g. Wolf Tooth's orange clamp is a different shade than Phil Wood's. In fact, some colors may vary significantly within the same manufacturer if it's hard to get the color consistent. I don't know that orange is one of those colors. I do know that pink is, and if you looked closely at the pink anodized components on my bike, you would see that the Chris King headset and bottom bracket cups are slightly different shades of pink.

One objective consideration against white bar tape is that it is harder to keep white. Dish soap and water can work, but if that doesn't, products to keep in mind may include baby wipes and makeup remover wipes. In principle, I suspect this applies to other lightly colored bar tapes, but I lack personal experience.

Naturally, if there is a fashion trend, you could consider that as well. Leather saddles, e.g. Brooks, do appear to be generally on trend, and if you had one of those you could get leather bar tape - but note that leather varies in shade as well. If you have a Bianchi with their traditional celeste (bluish green, but see footnote), but in this brand's context it is greenish) paint, you could more strongly consider matching both the saddle and the tape because of considerations with the brand's heritage. Note that this will tend to restrict your range of possible saddles and bar tapes.

Footnote: the word celeste alludes to the color of the heavens, and its ultimate origin is from Latin. Not knowing Bianchi's history, I think I would have interpreted this more like blue. Italians may interpret the color to be more greenish. Bianchi has a page stating their version of their origin story, which includes the association with the color. Bicycling magazine shares a few more prosaic origin stories for the color, one of which is that Bianchi got a bunch of surplus military paint after World War II in that color, so they ran with it, and it's become associated with them. It does conclude that whatever the story and whatever color you might have brought to mind when you hear celeste, the color "has come to symbolize a romanticized combination of Italian craftsmanship and cycling lore—and that's the story we hope will forever endure." From this, I think we can say that color is subjective. I realize this is a stunningly obvious statement. However, the question did ask for a recommendation on what color to use for bar tape, with little additional context.

(The Bicycling link is semi-gated, although you can use an incognito browser and the site does allow visitors several free articles per month)

Answer 2

The answer to this question is purely opinion-based.

Just do whatever fits your taste. Try new combinations. If you won't like it — change it soon to something else, the handlebar tape is usually cheap (do not buy an extremely overpriced tape then!)

Do not forget to try thicker/thinner types of tape — sometimes it is more important for comfort than color.

Go crazy if you wish — left and right sides do not have to be the same color.

Refreshing your bar tape is cheapest and surest way to get a "new bike" feel, so do not be afraid to experiment.

I have a bike with orange frame. Over the years, I used black, white, orange bar tapes and liked all of them actually.

Answer 3

The areas of tape that you don't touch much don't get dirty very fast, so a light colour works fine there.

High touch areas, from your bare hands or from leaning the bike, tend to dirty-up quicker. On those points, darker tape might look better for longer.

For a long time I had leatherette tape, with black from the hoods up to the stem, and red from the hoods down the drops. That bike was red and black so it was a fair colour match.

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The longevity of tape against abrasion is not really related to colour - instead its the material of the bartape. Foam tape really doesn't last long at all, while leather and leather-like tapes can last for many years.

One other point, your installation skills determine whether the tape will slide on the bars over time. A good tension, double sided tape underneath, clean bars, and your technique on wrapping is important here.

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I personally wear gloves while riding in all conditions, and my bike with white bar tape looks pretty good still after 3 years. I unwrapped the tape to add some padding on just the ramps, and managed to rewrap the same length of bartape even though the bars were now thicker in one spot.

For your bike, Orange might be a good look, as would black. Slightly darker would be dark orange (you know it as brown or tan) or go the other side for an intentional clash with bright green or blue.

Consider matching your bartape with your riding kit - helmet or gloves or jersey or shoes might work well too.

And ultimately - if you're not sure, buy cheap bartape in the colours you might want, and try them out. Rewrapping bars is 15 minutes tops, and if your bartape is only a couple dollars worth, no great expense. Many chinese websites will sell you foam tape for cheap that will only last months, and simply work through your options. When you know what colour you like, buy some nice Fizik bartape for 10x, and leave it on the bike for a decade.