Supacaz Super Sticky Kush Silicone Gel

One of the priciest tapes on the market, Supacaz Super Sticky Kush Silicone Gel bar tape doesn't really perform well enough to justify it, in my opinion. The grip is very good, especially in the wet, but the 'Kush' isn't as nice on the hands as others and it's difficult to wrap.

• Pros: Grippy in the wet
• Cons: Price, not easy to wrap, wears quite quickly

Supacaz certainly has a distinctive style and offers possibly the widest selection of colours and finishes, including some amazingly shiny hologram effects. This Super Sticky Kush tape is designed for high performance and elimination of all vibrations.

I'm a big fan of evenly wrapped bar tape. It finishes the bike well and ensures that the tape will grip the bar properly. Good tape makes this a five-minute job.

Annoyingly, the lack of stretch in this tape makes fitting it a bit challenging. It's certainly much easier to achieve a consistent wrap with a cork tape like Pro's Bar Tape (£10) or Lizard Skins DSP (£34), both of which I've bought a few times over the years.

The lack of stretch also leaves raised edges all the way up the bar. This is despite me putting maximum effort into stretching the tape to get it as flat as possible. It's not a tidy finish.

My bike also has Di2 sprint shifters which presented a real challenge to get right. This hasn't been an issue with previous tapes and, again, the issue is the lack of stretch.

The finishing tape is by far the best that I've come across, though electrical tape still does the job just fine. The aluminium bar end caps are well made and, thanks to the expander plug inside, they're easy to install. Once fitted the plugs are very secure, one thing that I've never found with the Lizard Skins DSP tape.

Once installed and out on the road, the feel of the tape is firm in the hands. The low-profile tape is constructed with a 'Kush foam' in the middle, which is designed to maximise damping via a nano amount of foam. This didn't feel as plush as my go-to Lizard Skins DSP 2.5mm tape and my hands were feeling a bit more of the road than usual.

I wouldn't say the tape was uncomfortable to use, but if you're looking for something to soak up road buzz there are better options out there. Elimination of all vibrations? Unfortunately not.

Grip, on the other hand, is very good and remains that way when the rain begins to fall. The 'super sticky PU' upper layer stays that way in the wet, providing confidence and requiring less effort to grip the bars.

This grip is most notable when down in the drops giving it the beans in a sprint. The tape is also pretty good at staying put under sprinting pressure. I've been using this for racing over a two-month period and the tape hasn't budged.

> Read more road.cc reviews of bar tape and grips here

That upper layer has started to show some signs of wear, though. It's most visible where the shifter hoods meet the tape, and while it's only visible when I'm on the bike, it's a faster wear rate than I'd expect of such an expensive tape.

Thankfully, you can re-wrap it as the backing won't peel and the tape comes off very cleanly.

Price is the biggest sticking point for me. There is plenty of bar tape out there for around a tenner that'll do a perfectly good job. If you want better grip in the wet then, yes, you might need to pay a bit more. But seeing as the Supacaz and my usual Lizard Skins DSP tape go for roughly the same price, I'll be sticking with the DSP.

Yes, you get fabulous wet weather grip, but the difficulty in wrapping, the harshness of the ride, wear, and untidy finish outweigh it for me.

Verdict

Grippy, but difficult to wrap and not that comfortable – and it's expensive too