Bar tape wrap with Di2 sprint shifters, advice needed

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motorapido
Posts: 334
Joined: Fri Jul 30, 2010 7:08 pm

by motorapido

I've only used small switches before when running Sprint shifters and on my latest build have gone for the proper Shimano ones, but being quite a bit bigger. I am not happy with the bar tape wrap where the switches are, i ended up having to cut quite a big piece out compared to the 5mm hole with my previous switches and the edges of the bar tape seem to gape and don't sit well. My current solution is a 5mm wide band of electricians PVC tape wrapped around the bars above and below the edges of the switch, not the neatest solution but it holds the bar tape flat.
Any suggestions for a neater way of doing the tape around these switches, a couple of ideas i have are either a piece of heat-shrink with a hole cut in it for the switch. Or i have ordered some 25mm wide PVC electricians tape to wrap around that section of the bars, again with a hole punched in it to sit over the switch.

Any other suggestions or experiences in getting a neat finish in this area, superglue etc,

it just doesn't look right with a poor tape wrap.

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ab01ns
Posts: 73
Joined: Tue Jul 12, 2016 3:58 am

by ab01ns

A method I've seen is to fine the exact sport in the tape where the shifter will be and use a standard hole punch. Hook the tape over the switch when wrapping for good.

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11.4
Posts: 1095
Joined: Tue May 23, 2006 4:33 am

by 11.4

Yes, that's the smoothest solution I've found. A leather craft store has nice hole punches at inexpensive prices.

Another thing is to take a very sharp razor blade and shave the thickness of the tape right where it goes over the switch. That helps a lot to reduce bulk. Also, keep the switch from being nestled right against the lever or any point where a cable housing makes a transition, because those all cause the tape to bulk up more.

motorapido
Posts: 334
Joined: Fri Jul 30, 2010 7:08 pm

by motorapido

Cheers for the advice,
I'm waiting for some Navy Blue bar tape to turn up, so will redo the wrap once i've got a few more miles in and am 100% happy with the switch positions before i commit to a rewrap.

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