Cinelli Classic Road Cork Bar Tape

The Cinelli Classic Road Cork Bar Tape has been around since 1987 and, for me at least, feels as relevant as ever. While it lacks the outright grip and shock absorption of some contemporary polymer types, it offers a decent blend of grip, control and damping without looking bulky. It’s best suited to drops with uniform diameters, though.

It’s made from embossed cork and EVA foam. Cork is renowned for being durable, grippy and moisture wicking, while the foam backing provides vibration damping and comfort. The 2.5mm thickness is described as ‘medium’ and for me, it strikes a very nice balance, providing decent comfort without a excessive bulk. It doesn’t look out of place on contemporary builds, either.

It’s 250cm long for dressing the most buxom of gravel drops and allowing tailored overlap, while end plugs and finishing strips complete the package. Ours was black, but eight alternatives means there’s a colour to compliment or contrast beautifully with most bike schemes and tastes.

I fitted ours to my beloved, pared-to-the-essentials sunny-days plaything. Built in the mid-50s, it has plenty of personal quirks that will offend purists, but they delight me. Not least the relatively broad (44cm) carbon bars with extreme, swoopy profile.

However, their diameter is anything but uniform. Characteristics that in my experience are best served by supple, stretchy wraps – natural silicone being king, followed closely by Ciclovation Grind Touch (and, to my surprise, the Cycology 8 Days Bar Tape).

Returning to cork after a twenty-year hiatus, it took me a while to refamiliarise myself with the material’s characteristics. A firm, even pressure when winding it wins the day. I found this tape will stretch surprisingly far, and you’d need to be heavy-handed to tear it.

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However, it wasn’t compliant enough for me to take the figure of eight route around the brake hoods. Cheater strips to the rescue. The tape’s narrow adhesive backing is tacky, rather than sticky, so it’s very tolerant of corrections (and impromptu cable replacements). That’s just as well, since getting the Cinelli logo showing consistently required several attempts.

Even with liberal overlap, there was plenty leftover, giving scope for gel underlays, which is the route I’d take if dressing a touring or gravel bike. The finishing strips are similarly reliable – easy to attach and smooth down. I’ve had no issues with any of it lifting either.

Performance

While this doesn’t rival the leach-like purchase and damping of silicones, the satin texture provides reassuringly good purchase and control, regardless of glove choice, although as might be expected gloves with silicone detailing create the best union.

The medium density ensures a very direct connection with the bars, but is effective at insulating persistent low-level vibration, the stuff common to country lanes and B roads. I’ve been able to ride 20 miles bare handed without discomfort.

Corks are renowned for being hardy and thus far, the Cinelli seems every bit as dependable as those I used for many years. I’ve rested ours against a wealth of surfaces – rough sawn wood, brickwork, trees and so on, with no ill effects.

Several weeks and six hundred spring miles later, the adhesive is still tolerant of being rewound and I’ve had no issues with tape slip.

Value

£13 is very enticing – for cork or otherwise. However, there are a few contenders for similar money. Deda Mistral is £15, made from PU/Foam and offered in five colours. However, it’s shorter at 210cm and just a fraction thinner at 2.4mm.

BBB RaceRibbon Bar Tape is cheaper at £9.99. Available in eight colours, this is another Cork/EVA blend 2.5mm thick and perhaps predictably, given the road tag, shorter at 200cm. If you want a bit more thickness (if not length), the BBB GravelRibbon is great, though it’s more at £19.99 and only comes in two colours.

KranX Stretta Eco EVA Handlebar Tape is also £9.99. However, despite being grippy and easy to wrap, it’s a little short and relatively thin, our reviewer Josh found.

Overall

While the Classic Cork’s performance might lag behind the latest rubbery polymers and natural silicones, its properties, broad spectrum of colour options, durability and wallet-friendly pricing mean it remains relevant. And not just for prized 80s and early 90s road bikes – though the further your bars are from simple, consistent tubes, the more awkward you might find this to install.