Weight Weenies

I've tried adhesive felt and butyl tubes as hood replacements but nothing has lasted more than a few rides for me (I haven't been very patient cutting the make-shift hoods).

Has anyone tried dropping their rubber hoods and just taping up their shifters with something like 3m friction tape (cotton tape, hockey tape, etc)?

Hardest part seems like it would be suitably covering the odd shape of shifters and leaving room for the shifting mechanism.

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Good God. Why?

I'm afraid if I think hard enough to answer that, I'll lose my only hobby.

I've seen "alternative hoods" on here - carbon with silicone or something? You need to search for the lightest bikes on here, Fuchs' e.g.

Pretty sure Prend and weeracerweenie were looking at light weight material alternatives to hoods a couple of years back but couldn't find it on my initial search. May be worth a search...

whydobearsxplod wrote:Has anyone tried dropping their rubber hoods and just taping up their shifters with something like 3m friction tape (cotton tape, hockey tape, etc)?

Yes: DIY-carbon hoods, cloth tape.

whydobearsxplod wrote:...3m friction tape (cotton tape, hockey tape, etc)?

As luck would have it, I have an ample supply of hockey tape in my household. I've found that clear tape, like you'd use to hold up your hockey socks, makes an outstanding easy-to-remove/waterproof/durable chainstay protector. Normal stick tape (the woven stuff), in white or black, can be used to protect toe caps or heels on your road shoes quite nicely. It doesn't last long, but its designed to be disposable and is super-cheap.

On the other hand, using hockey tape anywhere on the bars, hoods, etc. has always shown poor results for me. Even using a bit of hockey tape to hold brake cables or di2 wires onto the bars is a mess -- it's too thick, compared to normal electrical tape.

Thanks klaster1, that link by xena is just what I was hoping for! I'll try it and report back.

I have a friend with a rubber allergy that uses bar tape instead of the normal rubber hoods. I know I've also seen a pro or two with this setup, although I can't remember who it was. It might of been a Novo Nordisk rider a few years back, I think?

I thought it was some Movistar rider, but quick Google search shows Mollema too:
https://www.reddit.com/r/peloton/commen ... ods_until/

I've ridden without hoods, just bare plastic, on a pair of Mach 2 Ergo... with good gloves they're fine

Caveat: I don't ride with gloves most of the time. Once in a while, maybe, but usually not unless the weather is less than 50° F.

Current hoods are shrink-wrap tubing. They're light. I like them. They last quite a long time if you get it right.
Past experiments have included a sort of 'felt' like material. Getting the shape correct then wrapping them to the body of the shifter takes some getting used to. I believe, from memory, 5g each? Maybe less?

Patiently - and I mean really patiently - working with a mfg to produce some really thin hood covers. My initial test of those was 3g for the pair (1.5g each) but they don't last very long if you tend to ride on the hoods most of the time like I do. Not even sure if it's worth producing to be honest, so it is a very low priority project.

Xena was an interesting bloke. He had a lot of interesting ideas, not often shared on the forums usually through private messages. I think the nature of this forum wasn't a fit however, there was a lot of tension and frustration from and with dealing with him in regards to many members here. He built a ridiculously light build once, posted a few small pictures without much description, got little response in 24hr and lashed out in anger.... Honestly I hope he's doing well wherever he is and whatever he is up to.

Xena had a bit of a rant at me once in a PM although rereading it now he's polite enough. It's fair to say he doesn't like Sky though!

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Prendrefeu,

Can you post a pic of the shrink wrap hoods in this thread? I can't seem to find one in the forums.