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review
FSA Power Touch Bar Tape£24.95
VERDICT:
An easy to apply tape that won't break the bank and well worth considering for longer rides
Weight:
39g
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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FSA Power Touch Bar Tape is comfortable to the touch and easy to apply. The tape is a decent thickness, which really adds to the overall feel, and the price is fairly reasonable considering you can pay anything from around a tenner up to £40.
Having only ever used the bar tape that comes with the bike, this was a learning curve. If you've never changed bar tape before, this video can really help. If you have done it, you'll probably have your own method, but I found the guide practical and useful when doing this for the first time.
Find your nearest dealer here
Buy this online here
The package comes with two rolls of tape, one for each side of the bar, adhesive tape for securing it, and two caps. Basically, everything you need to make the swap.
The first thing you notice about the tape is the texture. It is very grippy, fairly stretchy and non slippy, which helps with the installation.
Once it is on your bar, comfort and grip are the things to think about, and how it performs. Made from a synthetic and natural cork mix with 2.8mm of padding and gel on the inner side, it is very comfortable and easy on the hands. I noticed the grip immediately without gloves on, and felt that even in wet conditions it would work extremely well.
In practice over the last couple of weeks, I have quickly become a fan of this tape. It comes in a variety of colours (green clashed with my bike): black, blue, red, yellow and white too, so it will match most bikes well.
I usually ride with gloves, but went without just to give it a fair chance to shine. The grip was beyond excellent, even in damper weather – and now that we are into autumn, this is an important feature. The gel underlay seemed to absorb any bumps I may have felt otherwise, and if coupled with gloves your hands would barely suffer.
The diamond effect design helps with the grip. It isn't dissimilar looking to the Brand X bar tape we tested recently, though there is a difference in the price.
Speaking of which... £24.95 might seem a little steep, but I have seen it online as cheap as £14.95, meaning you can get a higher end bar tape at a very reasonable price.
Verdict
An easy to apply tape that won't break the bank and well worth considering for longer rides
road.cc test report
Make and model: FSA Power Touch Bar Tape
Size tested: Green
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?
FSA says: "Cork tape for comfort and feel, in mutiple colour options to coordinate with all bikes."
It is very comfortable, and the colour options mean it will go with any bike.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
Synthetic /natural cork hybrid
With gel on the inner side
Colours - black, yellow, red, blue, green
One size fits all
74 grams
Rate the product for quality of construction:
9/10
Rate the product for performance:
9/10
Rate the product for durability:
8/10
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
9/10
Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
9/10
Rate the product for value:
8/10
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
The tape went on easily enough and I had no problems with it. It felt grippy under my hands and non-slip in the wet.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
I liked the comfort and the ability to mute the buzz from the road.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Nothing.
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 score
The tape was easy to install and very comfortable. If you shop around, the price can be really reasonable, making it a very good buy.
About the tester
Age: 35 Height: 158cm Weight: 61kg
I usually ride: Scott Contessa My best bike is:
I've been riding for: Under 5 years I ride: A few times a week I would class myself as: Experienced
I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, commuting, sportives, general fitness riding, mountain biking
Latest Comments
- Hirsute 2 hours 41 min ago
Radar tells me their closing speed, if they are slowing and how far away. Then I decide to say a prayer. The change of light pattern is incidental.
- lonpfrb 3 hours 1 min ago
Quite so, which is why our village 20mph zone covers the whole residential extent. Of course, enforcement is another thing..
- lonpfrb 3 hours 27 min ago
No, that's very doubtful while proper testing would be fully destructive.
- TheBillder 4 hours 13 min ago
In that £1000 exactly scenario, beginners should probably be made aware that pedals will be extra.
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What's wrong with dropping down on to the Millenium Bridge, or the swing bridge, then the brief, but satisfying climb back up the hill? #training....
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The relatives might of course disagree, but in general I'd countenance a relatively light sentence* if only we could fix it so that those who...
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Id forgotten that I got a second hand set of project two's for my getting to work bike over twenty years back.
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My bet is that all these tires popping off are from people with bad pressure gauges or they're simply just putting too much air in on purpose. ...
- chrisonabike 8 hours 14 min ago
David9694 - you were right! These new autonomous vehicles really are conspiring to run out of control!...
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3 comments
I was going to make a similar comment. But having read the whole article, the fact that the reviewer has found it online for £15 meant there was no point.
That's the thing though, people look at the price, don't read the review and just bang on about how much they bought this & that for!
Won't break the bank? I usually pay around £10 for bar tape.