Thanks so much for this feedback.. at this point, it's hard not to see comments on this video that aren't: 'YOU did EVERYTHING wrong!!'... Sincerely, I hoped this helped with your perfectionism journey! - Josh

Not necessarily.. the reversing of direction is the alternate form of the figure 8.. it's what I use on my personal bikes as I tend to ride unhooked (thumb over the top of the bar) which puts forward force on the tape.. I'd say this is less common and for me personally, has been something I've developed after a serious elbow injury and years of bursitis which make the hooked grip on the tops almost unbearable.. but you can absolutely run figure 8 and maintain the initial wrap direction, you define this when you come out from under the hood on the figure 8, at that point, you can take the tape either side of the bar which will set the direction for wrapping the tops. - Josh

Bike shops are pulled in hundreds of directions across categories so they don't always ave all the info at hand, feel free to share our tape with yours! Since this video was published Nastro beat 22 other big tape brands in a Tour Magazine test in Germany.. which is the gold standard for lab testing of bikes and equipment, so we're pretty proud to see the hard work and research pay off! Best - J

Thanks so much!! - Josh

Awesome! Thanks!

Thanks Richard! - Josh

Love it!!

Thanks, you'll love it!

Great question! We are always look at new product ideas; however, we don't have any plans in the immediate future. Thank you!

Try using alcohol. Or hand sanitizer. Or get some of the electronics contact cleaner in a spray can -- that'll get most adhesives off pretty quickly and it pretty inexpensive. Cheers

Definitely.. you can even figure 8 with the Cuscino, you just have to pull it tight in that area and be careful with the overlaps. Or you can use the butterfly and barber pole.. these are generally personal preference.

Yes, the direction we advocate is what you will find used by 80% of pro mechanics for all types of riding. I currently only know of one ProTour mechanic who goes the opposite direction to what we show here and I do not know anybody who mixes directions for different types of riding.. these things are sort of religious for the mechanics, so this is typically viewed as being a 'right way ' and a 'wrong way' for all types of riding. Realistically, with modern adhesive backed tapes, you are really fine either way.. much of the argument and issue with wrap direction goes back to the days of cotton, cello and early foam tapes that did not have adhesive backing, so would loosen in certain areas of the bar under certain conditions. Wrapping the direction I advocate for was more about keeping the drops from unwrapping during sprinting, while wrapping the other direction is cited for being effective at keeping the tops from unwrapping during climbing when a rider's hands might be gripping more tightly when rotating backwards than forwards. With modern tapes the biggest challenge is generally keeping the tape together at the transition from the tops to the drops, as riders will rest palms on the tape in this corner and the loads are a sort of forward and outward sliding. This is why some people will advocate wrapping top down as the wrap direction is very effective at preventing sliding in this area, but then it presents an open edge of tape toward the rider which can want to curl up under these loads and can be uncomfortable with bare hands. Having said all that, in the one team we work with that has the one mechanic wrapping the other direction, I've never seen any difference in longevity, unwrapping, anything like that.

Also to add, you can change direction during the figure 8 which is something we used to see done in the old days, so you can go one way in the drops and then reverse for the tops if you are having problems with unwrapping in one area or another.

How in the world would you remove the adhesive backing from the tape? On every adhesive-backed tape I've seen the adhesive strip is stuck to the tape and not removable. It just took me an hour to remove the tape residue left from using Cinelli gel tape....it was incredible how much residue was there. It was like trying to remove old cellophane tape that tears and does not pull off in strips. I had to use 'Goo Gone' to remove all of it, along with careful use of a razor blade. Maybe Silica tape is different. I'll have to try it or only use non-adhesive bar tape.

@@michaelmahan7260 It's not difficult. Put on your fav Netflix show or movie and just patiently roll off the adhesive with your thumb while you sit and watch tv. Do it slowly and it won't tear the tape material. Worth it to avoid all the gunk on the bars. I've done with Fizik and Specialized tapes.

@@dannyloo9688 Thanks for the tip, but there is no way the residue I had was going to be removed by simply rubbing it without Goo Gone or paint remover. It was ridiculous.

@@michaelmahan7260 On the bars, no way. That's why you gotta remove it from the tape when new so it never gets a chance to gum up the bars. If I have a fresh roll in my stash I'll do up a vid of me rolling off the glue.

You can do either.. our finishing tape is super stretchy and uses a really high end 3M adhesive on the backside as I like to get the finishing tape ~80% on the tape itself, but then have it also come off the end of the tape and onto the bar to make a nice sealed off appearance.. but technically either way is fine, it's more about aesthetics.

The gauge from our friends over at Omata. Here is the link to the gauge: omata.com/products/omata-one-mph

The beauty of the figure 8 is that you can either reverse the top wrap or not when you do it.. many riders need the tape to wrap forward as they tend to load the tape down/forward when riding on the tops, other riders tend to 'moto' the tops when climbing twisting it backwards.. by doing the figure 8 you can actually swap directions to accomodate either of these styles.

@@SILCAVelo I'll play with that I have a couple rolls of your tape on hand. Cheers

On modern Shimano hoods no, but it will on 1990's era STI levers, in this case you can just cut it with scissors.

They work better than anything else I've found.. depends on the tape of course, but with our tape, you can get darn near back to white with the gear wipes, though they can't fully get everything out of the texture of the tape unless you spend some serious time wiping each bit of texture

@@SILCAVelo Thanks! Thinking about going with the white nastro piloti tape, unless there's a blue version coming out soon.

Totally depends on your style.. I wrap my tops in the forward direction as I tend to drape my hands over the top of the bars and weight them forward.. However, many people will 'moto' on the tops when climbing, giving a backwards twisting on the tape under load.. if that's you, then I'd reverse direction and wrap the tops front to back.

That's an Omata One: omata.com

No, he didn't. The arch of the handlebar makes it look like it is winded in opposite direction, but if you follow the direction (try to point it out with your finger for example) you'll see it continues the right way.

@@ritchey111 yes he did. The figure 8 means you wrap forward over the top which is opposite of what you want. I've done both methods and @8xlaax is correct.

Yes, but it looks so PRO!!

Debateable

Research the product and the company a bit more mate. Josh is employed BY the pro teams so he knows a fair bit more about most things to do with bikes than any mechanic alive. Often he'll find that what the mechanics do is just because that's the way they've always done it, not because it's the best. Bring yourself up to speed first before making ignorant comments in the public space.

@@wjs1 I am very much up to speed and Silca makes excellent products and has been since long before it's most recent acquisition, and I own several from back when Claudio Sacchi still owned it. My comments about the wrap direction is based on both conversations with pro team mechanics and just the basic physics of what happens when riders are exerting high effort on the bars. Perhaps you should do more research before making ignorant derogatory comments.

@@paradox963 LOL, so Josh Poertner got it wrong? ie he completely mixed up the wrap direction of his own product? Have you actually bought the product and tested it to see if he is correct or whether your "basic physics" trumps him? Tut tut Josh - you know so much about so many things but when it comes to something as simple as which way to wrap bartape you get it wrong...unlikely buddy, sorry.

@@wjs1 I am sure the bar wrap is quality stuff as most Silca stuff is and if you bothered to read my first comment I explained that the direction he is wrapping is fine for a leisure rider just resting their hands on the bar but is not the best way to wrap for aggressive riders who will be sprinting from the drops or pulling on the tops on a climb. At this point, I am done replying to an irrational person it's like trying to explain things to a Trump supporter they are beyond reason.

Josh is an in-depth guy, an engineer. And people admire and appreciate him for that. If you just want to slap it together without the details and background to the product then you should probably buy something else because it isn't Josh's mindset nor the Silca mentality.