# White bar tape & saddle, how to keep clean??



## Joemero (Jul 19, 2008)

I love the way my white bar tape looks, and I'm thinking of switching to a white Selle Italia saddle...but I noticed that after 2 weeks, my white bar tape is starting to look pretty dirty. I even bought new gloves to no avail. How many of you ride with white tape and saddle? If you do, how do you keep it clean? I would think the saddle wouldn't get as dirty as the bar tape. It makes me also wonder how filthy our bar tape must get when we have black tape and don't see it.


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## Salsa_Lover (Jul 6, 2008)

All of them get dirty and darker

My bianchi green handlebartape is now darker than the original..

If you wish to clean it often, use PU tape and not cork, so then you can wash it.

Another idea ( would be costly though), is to have your normal bar tape and use tennis white overgrips on it, then you can dispose the overgrips when dirty and put new ones. But that would cost you probably the same as changing cork tape often.


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## AlexCad5 (Jan 2, 2005)

Use oxy clean, or soap and water, or bleach. Whatever, you can get it relatively clean with some work. I wouldn't probably wouldn't try an abrassive.


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## superdork (Nov 6, 2007)

Simple Green cleans it pretty good, but it still never looks new again.


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## Fixed (May 12, 2005)

*hard*



Joemero said:


> I love the way my white bar tape looks, and I'm thinking of switching to a white Selle Italia saddle...but I noticed that after 2 weeks, my white bar tape is starting to look pretty dirty. I even bought new gloves to no avail. How many of you ride with white tape and saddle? If you do, how do you keep it clean? I would think the saddle wouldn't get as dirty as the bar tape. It makes me also wonder how filthy our bar tape must get when we have black tape and don't see it.


I use light Celeste and bright yellow on a few bikes. Nothing beats black, of course.

Simple Green helps. Don't brush tires with your gloves. Wash your gloves often. Clean your tape before it gets too dirty. Use gloves with light colored palms -- dark ones might bleed dye onto the tape.

Saddle? Yuck!


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## Dinosaur (Jan 29, 2004)

They say the white Fizik bar tape won't get dirty. never have tried it. As for white saddles, it depends on the leather. I used a Rolls white perforated saddle and it stayed clean but it would show wear marks. I used a white S. I. Flite and I could not keep in clean to save my life. I could not even touch the thing without getting it dirty. Solution=black saddles.


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## danl1 (Jul 23, 2005)

Bikes were meant to be ridden. White tape looks better with a little 'patina' on it. Shows that the bike is living a happy, purposeful life.


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## tete de la tour (Oct 26, 2006)

danl1 said:


> Bikes were meant to be ridden. White tape looks better with a little 'patina' on it. Shows that the bike is living a happy, purposeful life.


+1........


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## Argentius (Aug 26, 2004)

*Get black bar tape.*

Or, buy a LOT of white bar tape.


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## Andrea138 (Mar 10, 2008)

:thumbsup: on the Fizik tape. Make sure you get the smooth type & not the tacky, suede type.


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## tete de la tour (Oct 26, 2006)

Argentius said:


> Or, buy a LOT of white bar tape.


I usually just go to performance and buy the cork tape. I think it's 5 Bucks. Its clean fairly easily but if am over it I just swap it out.


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## wetpaint (Oct 12, 2008)

orange cleaner. Its the spray stuff in a bottle. My dad's bars are still perfectly white after 2 years using that stuff on them


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

Use Bike Ribbon vinyl tape. Stays quite clean.


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## raymonda (Jan 31, 2007)

AlexCad5 said:


> Use oxy clean, or soap and water, or bleach. Whatever, you can get it relatively clean with some work. I wouldn't probably wouldn't try an abrassive.


Alex, We agree! Use oxyclean.


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## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

Pablo said:


> Use Bike Ribbon vinyl tape. Stays quite clean.


I have bike ribbon and you are right about it staying clean. I don't like the feel compared to cinelli cork but if you want the white to stay white, it is the way to go. White saddles are easier to keep clean but they eventually wear and show dark marks. 

I kept the white cinelli cork tape on my road bike for over a year and never tried to keep it clean. It was brown and smudged and I think it showed character.


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

bigbill said:


> I have bike ribbon and you are right about it staying clean. I don't like the feel compared to cinelli cork but if you want the white to stay white, it is the way to go. White saddles are easier to keep clean but they eventually wear and show dark marks.
> 
> I kept the white cinelli cork tape on my road bike for over a year and never tried to keep it clean. It was brown and smudged and I think it showed character.




that would come cleaner with some fantasik on rag using the shoeshine method... but really, white tape is gonna get dirty. if you cannot deal with that or it bothers you, then you might want to consider another color (not you specifically, but you in general)


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## Richard (Feb 17, 2006)

Back in the '80's when we all had to look just like the pros it was Bike Ribbon. Looked good, easy to clean, but it was sort of like holding on to the wrong end of a hammer. My old Concor SL white saddle held up well also.

The worst is white cork tape - any brand. I tried Bontrager and the porosity just traps the dirt. Some dishwashing soap and a coarse sponge helps but eventually it's going to look pretty crappy.

I just switched to the Deda tape. Not as cushy as cork but the smooth surface cleans easily. Installing it I managed to get a big grease mark on it. Got a paper towel, a little water and some liquid hand cleaner and, voila, white as snow.

As to the saddle, I recently replaced a Fizik Arione with the new Bontrager Inform Race X Lite in the "middle" width (146) in white. It's a synthetic "leather" and so far it cleans quite easily. I've got about 300 miles on it and I like it as much as my beloved Flite TI (the original.) I know people rave about the Arione, but it's the first road saddle I just couldn't accept.


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## GFocker (May 12, 2003)

*Fizik tape + scotch bright pad + dishsoap = clean*

12345


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## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

_"White bar tape & saddle, how to keep clean??"_

That's easy. Don't buy them.


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## QQUIKM3 (Apr 20, 2008)

*Me too!*



raymonda said:


> Alex, We agree! Use oxyclean.


I used Oxtclean diluted with water and an old tooth brush to keep my white Selle Italia seat looking new. I also used it on another bike's white bar tape and it worked awesome.


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## king of Norway (Jan 10, 2002)

*lemon pledge*

someone rec'd this in the past and there was a youtube link with a guy giving you 2 options the pledge and some cleaner-blue in color... so look for a past post or search how to clean white bar tape/bar tape on youtube...i've tried the pledge and it works good for white cork.


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## BIGBOB (Jan 29, 2004)

Dish detergent + warm water + toothbrush = clean bar tape.

I do this about every 2-3 months.


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## zdrifter (Jul 23, 2008)

Three of my bikes have white or light bar coverings ... I found something called 'Greased Lightening' at Sam's and use it on two of the bikes .. spray on, brush with a poly brush medium stiff and rinse very well .. do this once a week or so and they look like new .. the third bike has the Eleganze black/white cover, which is leather and I clean it with saddlesoap ... but I am also very careful as others have mentioned in using clean gloves and hands on this one ... the others, doesn't matter the Grease Lightening works great!!


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## jmlapoint (Sep 4, 2008)

I've been using White Benotto Tape since 1975 and a little Simple Green and a MicroFiber Cloth and it looks like new. Never got used to the Corks, the Gels or the Tape Adhesive.
2 rolls of Benotto Tape is about $6 and it lasts and stays fairly clean from hands or gloves wiping tires. No padding, but I think like baseball players, that's why they use batting gloves; to feel the bat and get a good grip.


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## cyclust (Sep 8, 2004)

Westley's Bleach-White whitewall tire cleaner. It's really strong stuff, I'd wear gloves when you use it. It doesn't actually have any bleach in it, but it works great for a strong cleaner and de-greaser. Just spray some on and scrub with a small scrub brush. It makes really filthy whitewalls look new with just a quick cleaning, so handlebar tape should be no problem. Make sure you hose off any overspray off the rest of the bike though.


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