ODI High Performance Road Bar Tape

Wrapping your handlebar with shiny new tape is worth taking your time over, and with the ODI High Performance tape that's exactly what you have to do. It's not the easiest to put on – but your patience will be rewarded.

The tape is 2.5mm thick and comprises an elastomeric outer layer backed with foam to take out any road buzz heading for your wrists. It's pretty comfortable too, even without any form of padded gloves, having a decent level of squish while maintaining a solid grip.

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The outer layer has a degree of tackiness to it which is brilliant in the wet or when your hands are sweaty, plus it's very hard wearing. The shiny finish has stayed bright and if it does get dirty you can just use a damp cloth to clean it.

The outer holds its shape well, which is great on the bike but can make fitting a little more time consuming, especially on tighter bends around the brake levers. It's worth really taking your time here as the finished result looks very professional.

Extra depth

There is another option if you want a bit more padding: ODI's Road/CX Bar Tape (£21.99). This has a similar construction to the High Performance but with both medium and high density backing for more shock absorbing while only increasing the thickness by 1mm. That extra depth is beneficial if you spend a lot of time in the rough back lanes or ride an extremely harsh frame.

I prefer a thin tape so the 2.5mm High Performance was ideal for me, though riding the two back to back I was amazed at the Road/CX's extra shock absorption without a massive increase in bar diameter.

Pick a colour

Colour coordination is an important factor when it comes to changing your bar tape and you get more options with the High Performance, eight in fact. Blue, Lime, Black, Celeste, Pink, Red, White, and Yellow. You only get half of those with the Road/CX – Blue, Black, Lime and Red – but with a cut out pattern in the outer the white backing shows through.

Both come with decent quality end plugs and a decent length of finishing tape – one of the first I've used that didn't require help from electrical tape.

Overall I really like the ODI bar tapes, although for ease of fitting they lose out to the likes of Fabric and Lizard Skins. But where they excel is comfort and longevity.

The 2.5mm version is perfect for the majority of road riding with or without gloves, though if you take in a bit of gravel tracks or pothole strewn lanes the 3.5mm offers a lot more comfort for little bulk.

Verdict

Can be a faff to fit but worth it. Well padded tape with grip that's perfect for wet or sweaty hands