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review
2022 Brooks Cambium Rubber bar tape fitted.jpeg£29.99
VERDICT:
Easy to wrap, comfortable and grippy tape
Easy to wrap
Comfortable to hold
Good grip
Looks good
Not reusable
Weight:
51g
Contact:
At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.
What the road.cc scores meanGood scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.
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The Brooks Cambium Rubber Bar Tape wraps well, offers a fair amount of protection on rough surfaces, looks good on the bars, and offers a decent amount of grip.
One of the first things you find out when testing bar tape is how easy it is to wrap. This offering from Brooks is, luckily, very simple, with the now standard sticky back protected by waxy paper.
I'm not the most proficient at taping bars, but I found I could get around my slightly awkwardly shaped handlebar pretty easily because, despite the tape having a fair amount of padding, it maintains a level of malleability, so I could get round corners and bends without causing folds and creases.
> Find your nearest dealer here
Once wrapped, the tape looks good – testament to how easy the tape is to wrap rather than my skills!
Brooks has included all the usual gubbins that modern bar tape comes, with bar ends that fit well, two additional strips for behind the levers, and a fabric finishing tape to put over the ends.
In use, I've found it comfortable over relatively long rides. It has a fair amount of padding, which takes the worst off the most jolting bumps, although you can get tapes that offer a little more.
> How to make your bike more comfortable – check out our 14 tips
It's grippy too; I used it in pretty much every condition and didn't have any issues with grip, even in torrential rain and while wearing full finger gloves.
I put the tape on my around town bike, which has meant it has been leant against walls, locked up outside, and generally thrown about a bit. After all of that there's no sign of particular wear, which suggests durability is going to be good.
It comes in a variety of colours too – you don't have to stick with black. Orange, blue and green are among the six others available.
For the quality of the tape and the decent finishing kit, the rrp of £30 seems reasonable. The Wolf Tooth Supple Lite Bar Tape that Neil looked tested in September is £1 less but doesn't have quite the same quality of bar end plug or texture for grip.
The Prime Comfort Handlebar Tape that Liam reviewed in July is £10 less and has a similar level of grip and cushioning, but not the finishing kit to match this.
Overall, I was really impressed with the Cambium Rubber tape. It's durable, grippy, and very simple to fit. It also looks good and Brooks has provided a high quality finishing kit with plugs that allow you to tuck the tape nicely, combined with finishing tape that looks great on the bar too.
Verdict
Easy to wrap, comfortable and grippy tape
road.cc test report
Make and model: Brooks Cambium Rubber Bar Tape
Size tested: Thickness 3 mm, Length 215cm, Width 30mm
Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
Brooks says, "Cambium Rubber Bar Tape is suitable for cyclocross, gravel or road and comfortable for cycle touring with extra padding to reduce road buzz and provide a more comfortable grip over rough surfaces."
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
Brooks lists:
All-surface absorption - Designed to absorb shocks and smooth out the ride.
Comfortable to the touch - The perfect material for a pleasing grip for natural comfort and complete control.
Hard-wearing - Made with wear and tear-resistant materials.
Rate the product for quality of construction:
9/10
Really well made. I had it on my everyday bike so threw it around the city without any real noticeable wear and tear.
Rate the product for performance:
8/10
Grippy, durable, and comfortable over rough ground.
Rate the product for durability:
8/10
Worth noting that it's only seen a month of use, but in that time it's been leant up against walls, left outside, and generally abused, without any issues.
Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
7/10
Comfortable, although if you're after a huge amount of padding you'd need to look elsewhere.
Rate the product for value:
5/10
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Very well – it was simple to wrap and comfortable to use. It also provided a good amount of grip in wet and cold conditions.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
The ease of wrapping – even I managed to make my bar look half decent.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Nothing major.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
The Wolf Tooth Supple Lite Bar Tape that Neil tested in September is £1 less but doesn't have quite the same quality of bar end or texture for grip. The Prime Comfort Handlebar tape that Liam tested in July is £10 less and has a similar level of grip and cushioning, but not the finishing kit to match these.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Yes
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your overall score
A good quality tape that is simple to fit, comfortable, and grippy. It also appears to be relatively durable, having survived being on my everyday bike in the winter without any sign of wear and tear. It's very good.
About the tester
Age: 33
I usually ride: CAAD13 My best bike is: Cannondale Supersix Evo
I've been riding for: 10-20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed,
George is the host of the road.cc podcast and has been writing for road.cc since 2014. He has reviewed everything from a saddle with a shark fin through to a set of glasses with a HUD and everything in between.
Although, ironically, spending more time writing and talking about cycling than on the bike nowadays, he still manages to do a couple of decent rides every week on his ever changing number of bikes.
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9 comments
Does it evoke the dry desert landscapes of Yorkshire, just like their new saddles?
"I'm not the most proficient at taping bars"
We can see that by the gap in the wrap by the brake levers.
You are not too hot with the anti-scratch frame protectors either
Really thats what you can come out of the review with? Two snide comments. Bet your mums proud.
i will go now and order some Brooks bar tape to correct the universe
To be fair, that gap isn't great. I wouldn't consider myself good (probably barely competent) at putting on tape, but there's usually a couple of sections included to cover that specific area.
I've tried the similar Prime tape and found that it developed some gaps after a while (maybe not wrapped tight enough), so I tend to prefer tapes with a bit more flex in them (using some cycology tape at the moment which is great).
Didnt you see the smily face? A tongue in cheek post but if that is lost on you i will put a little explanation just for you in the future.
I think WB might have been engaging in what is sometimes known as "gentle ribbing"
An activity that I would never, never indulge in of course.....
To be fair to George, we actually lost one of the strips in the office… He's not *that* rubbish.
Nothing was further from my mind....
I admire his honesty in using a photo of that side then.