In 1995 I purchased a Novara Randonee bicycle from REI. At that time I needed a decent bike for commuting that did not cost too much. I also wanted a bike that could be used for some touring in the future. That bike fit the bill nicely (though I never did do any touring). Over the years, however, the bike got a bit long in the tooth and the shifters ceased to function. The old Shimano RSX7 shifters do not lend themselves to easy overhauls, and my rear cog is a seven speed (which are not made anymore). I was looking at a $300 to $400 investment to get my bike working (new shifters, new back wheel, labor, etc). That was two years ago. In the mean time I found a guy that specializes in repairing Shimano RSX7 shifters for a very reasonable price. So I shipped them off, got them repaired, and re-installed them. They work great so far.

As I drank the wine I enjoyed visions of how great my bike was going to be once I taped the bars. Then I gathered my materials.

Then I taped. I have to say I did not do a great job of keeping out wrinkles. At least I will know it is hand wrapped!

The tape I chose was the super classic Velox cotton tape. It is a French tape that, I imagine, goes well with the vin ordinaire of my earlier imbibage. Then I pounded in the cork. Note: It is best to use a two-pronged style opener to get the cork out of the bottle in order to not mangle the cork.

Then I did the twine wrap. If you think this looks more like string than twine, you are correct. I bought twine but it is a sisal kind that had too many stray strands. I opted for the cleaner looking string, which is not exactly traditional, but hey.

Then I shellacked it. I used the classic Bulls Eye brand. Without really thinking it through I purchased the amber tinted kind, which turned my yellow tape to a kind of brown with a hint of orange. My goal was to have a rich yellow color, but the amber shellac made it much darker and brown.

At first I did not like the color, but then I realized that it looked a little like a honey colored leather, and similar in color to the Brooks saddle I want to purchase. The shellacked corked turned out beautiful.