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SEVEN DAY CYCLIST
CYCLING, BUT NOT USUALLY RACING
LATEST UPDATE: JANUARY 10th
HOW DO WE DECIDE OUR OVERALL RATINGS FOR PRODUCTS WE REVIEW?
Wolf Tooth Supple Lite Bar Tape
108g (uncut) £27.95
The Wolf Tooth Supple Lite Bar Tape promises to provide luxurious comfort and ample grip for long days in the saddle and on rough roads while keeping a slim bar profile. All told, I reckon they’ve aced the brief and kept the pricing similarly competitive. Rugged enough for gravel, mixed terrain touring and similar antics, density flatters more traditional road builds. It’s also gentle on the wallet, so a practical choice for winter and working bikes too.
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Pros: Grippy, damping and shock absorption surprisingly effective without bulk, easy to care for, keenly priced.
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Cons: Any colour you like so long as it’s black.
Specification
The Supple Lite Bar Tape is made from EVA foam- hardly exotic but renowned for its effective shock absorbing properties. I was surprised to discover its “only” 152cm long- 200cm, longer in some instances are increasingly the norm these days. 2.5mm thick strikes a good balance between feel, comfort and pleasing aesthetics. 40mm wide means it’ll dress bigger bars with tapered edges continues the narrative, allowing custom overlap at key points while still sitting flat (although 1.5mm is the suggested default).
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Either way, I’ve not come close to running out of tape-even on big, swoopy riser drops and forgoing the “cheater” strips (brake clamp cover tape). The texture is slightly tacky and initially more reminiscent of a silicone than an EVA based wrap. Colour is limited to a statin black, which might not be to everyone’s taste, but compliments or contrasts effortlessly while hiding oily fingerprints and other, everyday patina handsomely. Press fit end plugs and rubbery adhesive finishing strips complete the package.
Test Bike & Contexts
Ursula, my beloved drop bar mountain bike cum four seasons go anywhere build might not seem the most obvious choice. However, I’d already gone the 5mm route with Denise and recently pensioned off my fixed gear winter/trainer’s Enve Handlebar Tape after a few thousand happy miles. Indeed, Ursula would certainly test Wolf Tooth’s claims around comfort and minimal bulk. Ours arrived at November’s close and we’ve seen plenty of stormy, grotty weather during our six-week, 600plus mile test period. Ursula sports these Soma Condor 2, which are a hybrid riser drop pattern. For reference, I had ample leftover, enough to dress a set of tri-bars, or track type “pursuit” bars. That said; measure thrice and cut once.
Fitting 3.25/5
Characteristics are closer to cork than foam, polymers or silicones. It took a few goes to get into the flow but with a firm, consistent tension it’s easy to weave around the bars. Less compliant than rubbery silicones, I went for the cheater strips but trimmed them for a better fit. The 3m backing is tacky, so tolerant of correction.
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However, it also had a sneaky habit of unravelling just as I’d reached the tops, pruning the excess and was reaching for the adhesive strips. These are nicer than most OEM strips, although the adhesive backing on one wasn’t so potent - not a major point and easily tamed with a strip of high-quality electrical tape. Ursula runs bar end shifters, so end plugs are redundant. However, having used them elsewhere, I can confirm that they’re very secure, requiring a firm tap from an engineers’ mallet to drive them home.
Grip 3.75/5
Given the season hasn’t allowed for going bare handed, I’ve alternated between deep winter and middleweight designs with waterproof membranes and extensive silicone detailing. Little surprise the latter were the most tenacious pairing, requiring minimal effort to cling on and keep everything under control up hill, down dale and through unmade roads for several hours in succession.
Like for like, grip didn’t rival that of a natural silicone, such as this Acros Wrap but wheel sucking the Enve. Modest bulk also meant a very direct connection with the bike, giving an increased sense of zing.
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Mid-winter duvet type gloves muted this slightly but not to the degree I’d expected and there was no loss of control-even when I was belting along 1in7 descents, hauling twenty kilos in my low-slung trailer. Talking of which and as a side note, while I’ve deployed my parking brake when pulling over for comfort stops, the tape’s texture has also offered reliable tenure when leaning an uncoupled Ursula against various surfaces, from rendered brickwork to gates, posts and trees.
Damping 3.5/5
It’s difficult to speculate long term, although ours is faring well 600 mixed terrain miles hence. While the satin texture attracts more moss and brick dust (say when resting the bars against trees, or walls) these are very easily dismissed by a glove palm mid, or indeed, during a ride.
Muddy or oily spatter is easily dismissed with a shot of bike wash and gentle tickling from a soft bristle brush Again, resting the bars against assorted surfaces hasn’t resulted in any obvious distress.
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Despite the low temperatures and general weathering, the 3M backing is proving compliant-I've rewound ours a few times and there’s no residue left behind on the bars. However, predictably, I’ve needed to replace the OEM finishing strips with electrical tape.
Value 3.5/5
You can pay less; you can also pay a lot more. £27.99 is competitive. I was impressed with the Cyclology 8 Days, which, funky styling aside offers excellent grip, wet or dry and decent damping too, thanks to the EVA component. However, its trickier to fit and subjected to many months of harsher weather, the backing and EVA began to deteriorate.
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Ciclovation Grind Touch (now £35.99) is another grippy, shock absorbing wrap employing a rubber/polymer fusion. Two metres long and 3mm thick, I found it highly effective at isolating shock without resulting in an overly chunky effect. There are four colour options to choose from, too However, it required patience to fit and is dearer than the Wolf Tooth.
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T-One Mr Fantastic is another long-term favourite. Its long, thick, grippy, offers excellent damping and doesn’t require any backing adhesive. However, natural silicones require more care when it comes to fitting and cleaning (and will show the grime more readily). ENVE Handlebar Tape comes in at £35 and in three colours.
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Measuring a prodigious 260cm long, there’s enough to dress the biggest of bars and despite being 3mm thick, it doesn’t result in a chunky aesthetic, nor does it require “kid gloves” treatment when cleaning. However, it’s also a bit dearer than the Wolf Tooth Supple Lite, which may be a consideration on a working, or winter bike-especially if you’ve a big fleet.
Summary
There are more exotic bar tapes and possibly better choices for ultra-wide, flared drops. However, taking everything into account, the Wolf Tooth Supple Bar Lite is an understated staple, some might say “all-rounder” tape.
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One good enough for best bikes, yet rugged enough to winter, cyclo cross and other builds in similar hard service where price and modest maintenance are considerations. Grip and damping prowess have been surprisingly good, minimising hand fatigue on longer outings and the 3M backing strip is effective but forgiving of correction and so far, reapplication.
Verdict 3.5/5 Comfortable, practical and affordable tape for everyday riding.
Michael Stenning
PUBLISHED JANUARY 2025
