Author: Tucker

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.

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I have to say I really like this video. There’s a great sense of the nature of the event, including the time of year, the set up, and the competition itself.

>Here are a couple of videos I found showing bicycling in the snow. The first shows how one European city keeps their bike lanes clear of snow. The second makes me want to go buy some Miller High Life. I am posting them because, deep down, I want it to snow here.