How to Install Tape/Grips
Nothing adds instant comfort and style to your bike like new bar tape or grips. Our Radia bar tape and Lytho grips come in two thicknesses for finding your comfort zone and five different colors to add your own touch. But choosing your tape or grips is only the first step. Here’s our guide to a perfect bar tape wrap or grip installation so you can get riding right away.
Bar Tape
What you’ll need:
- Teravail Radia bar tape
- Scissors
- Electrical tape
- Isopropyl alcohol
- A rag
Installation:
1. Remove old bar tape – Unless you’re starting with brand new handlebars (like these), you’ll probably need to remove your old bar tape. Fold back your brake lever hoods, unwind the finishing tape and/or electrical tape holding the bar tape together on the tops of the handlebars, then unwind all the way down to the end of the drops. Pull the bar end plug out to fully remove the old bar tape. Remove any residue from the handlebars with isopropyl alcohol and a rag.
2. Make sure any brake or shift cables to be wrapped under the bar tape are secured to the handlebar with a few wraps of electrical tape.
3. Fold up the bottoms of the brake lever hoods and apply the 3-1/2” strips of tape (supplied with your Radia bar tape) over the brake lever clamp bands.
4. Unroll new tape before starting to wrap. Starting at the bottom of the handlebar on the non-drive side, leave approximately 1/2” of tape overlapping the end of the bar, then begin wrapping the tape in a counterclockwise direction (as seen from the rider’s perspective). Keeping the tape pulled taut, wrap it in a spiral up the bar, overlapping approximately half the width of the tape for each wrap. Wrap around the dropper lever clamp if you have one installed.
5. Wrap the tape up to the bottom of the brake lever, wrap once more around the lever body, finishing the second wrap over the top of the lever body from the inside of the bar toward the outside of the bar, maintaining a counterclockwise direction around the handlebar.
6. Continue to wrap along the tops, going 1–2 wraps beyond your desired stopping point. Use a small clamp, pin spanner or other tool to temporarily keep the tape from unraveling. Using a marker, make a dot on your bar tape at top of the bar and bottom of the bar at your desired stopping point (we measured approximately 2″ from the stem). Unwrap the tape 3–4 wraps, then cut the tape in a straight line that connects your two dots. This should leave your tape with an angled end.
7. Finishing wrapping the tape, and wrap the supplied adhesive finishing strips around the ends of the trimmed tape to secure it.
8. Back at the end of the drop, fold the overhanging tape into the bar end and press the plug into the bar to secure the tape end. Fold the brake lever hoods back down over the tape.
9. Repeat steps 4–8 for the drive side, wrapping the tape around the bar in a clockwise direction from the rider’s perspective. Do your best to match the wraps on the non-drive side of the bar.
10. Go ride your way.
Grips
Before installing your Lytho grips, check with the manufacturer of your handlebar for compatibility with lock-on grips, as some handlebars are not designed for lock-on grips. All Teravail flat and riser bars are compatible with lock-on grips.
What you’ll need:
- Torque wrench that measures in newton-meters (Nm)
- 3mm hex bit for torque wrench
- Isopropyl alcohol
- A rag
Installation:
1. Remove old grips, then clean the grip area of the handlebar with isopropyl alcohol and a rag.
2. Slide the Lytho grip all the way onto the handlebar and into the desired position. The grip will contact the end of the handlebar and stop when fully inserted.
3. Using the torque wrench and 3mm hex bit, tighten the lock ring bolt to 3Nm. Do not exceed 3Nm or the handlebar manufacturer’s recommended torque specification, whichever is less.
4. Take a step back and admire your ride.
