Not sure if anyone else has noticed, but a lot of pros are now using cork tape on there handle bars instead of grips. I bought a bike from a Canadian Pro ( Sheppard ) and it had Deda cork take for grips. I was a bit skeptical, however it works really well and offers some big benefits. The biggest being the fact that you never have to worrry about your grips moving around when they get wet. also this is a very light setup. The one drawback is it may not feel as cushy as your grips.......you could double up the tap I suppose.

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BH

Yeah I have tried it, cheap as a roll can do 3-4 bikes. doubling up is too thick for my hands though. What did you buy from Chris Shephard is he a Haro pro or kona?

He is a Haro pro. I bought his full XTR dual suspension bike. It was a good price. Same general design as the Santa Cruz superlight. It comes with front and rear 2004 manitiou suspension with the stable platform. Works well, however can be a fair bit lighter, Haro was using Titec stuff which is heavy. Outside of that the whole bike is XTR incl wheels, it was ridden about 2 weeks....
doubling up the cork tape would probably be too thick for my hands, padded gloves are the ticket I would say!

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BH

I use double tape on the road bike as it feels more secure than padded gloves (ie the padding has give in more than one direction and you cannot feel exactly what the bike is doing).

Double tape does not end up much thicher than an Oury grip, but a lot lighter

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Success is how far you you bounce back up after being knocked down

You see pro's doing Roubaix and Flanders doubling up on the cork tape, so it is definatly an option. I am using just a single wrap with a light pair of gloves and notice no problems. Most of the trails in Vancouver are pretty technical and I have no problems with it.

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BH

I experimented with cork tape on my MTB, using both single wrap and multiple layers.. I once tried it with 3 layers, and it was VERY comfortable, but rather thick, but i didn't mind it AT ALL. When I used the single layer, I found it quite thin and wasn't too comfortable.... When I do it again I will defanitly wrap it at least twice, or wrap one layer really close together so its a little thicker. Most pros that do itm usally do multiple layers aswell. Roland Green uses 3 layers maybe 4 if you noticed in any pictures of him!

Whichever grip/cork tape thickness you go for, I'd still wear a pair of gloves and take this into account. That way you get some protection if you fall off!!

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.....but it still has to work!

what type of tape is good in secure the cork tape?

You secure the outside just as you would with a road bar (including plug)
and the inside with several wraps of electrical tape 9colour of your choice) again ala road bike. Simple

If you looked at the top 20 finishers in the marathon races and the transalp you would notice that 7 out of 10 riders use corktape. Very comfortable and light. Approx. 18-30 grams for both grips, depending on how thick you wrap it around the handlebar.

does the grip tape still secure when wet? i wanna try too. maybe i should use double sided tape for a best secure? wat do you think guys?

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Crashman like crashing, feel the rythem and ride.

I use Extralite Neogrips. Really light (24 grams WITH end plugs) and comfortable! My choice!

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My homepage. http://www.trekoclv.webbyen.dk/