Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Prime Comfort Bar Tape

9
£19.99

VERDICT:

9
10
Grippy, thick, easy to wrap and well priced bar tape. There's a lot to love
Good at damping vibes
Easy to wrap and re-wrap
Well priced
Logos wear off end plugs easily
Weight: 
127g
road.cc Recommends

This product has been selected to feature in road.cc recommends. That means it's not just scored well, but we think it stands out as special. Go to road.cc recommends

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 mean

Good scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.

  • Exceptional
  • Excellent
  • Very Good
  • Good
  • Quite good
  • Average
  • Not so good
  • Poor
  • Bad
  • Appalling

The Prime Comfort Bar Tape is an excellent way to add a little more comfort to your road bike, while also getting a boost in grip. The tape wraps easily, is perfectly grippy in dry and wet conditions, comes with good finishing bits and seems to be lasting well. The gel back makes re-wrapping easy too.

The big hurdle with new bar tape is the wrapping. Pro mechanics do it in seconds, but I've got friends that actually pay me in beer to do theirs... mostly to stop my moaning about their shoddy, uneven work.

2021 Prime Comfort Bar Tape.jpg

Wrapping this tape is easy. There's good stretch if you like to go a bit thinner, and for my 40cm round bars, there's plenty of length for a closely-spaced wrap for extra thickness.

The gel back is great for correcting mistakes, as while it grips the bar well, it comes away easily too should you notice a gap.

There is a nice piece of finishing tape included, though I always use electrical tape for the actual job of securing the wrap, then wrap this over the top for the neatest look.

Out on the road the comfort is instantly noticeable. The thickness is very much appreciated over less than perfect surfaces, and this tape does an impressive job of smoothing out the road buzz my SL7 can send my way.

2021 Prime Comfort Bar Tape - on bike 1.jpg

Grip is now rather important to me. After having the bars smacked from my hands by a hidden pothole, I'm back to being a fan of grippy tape. Thankfully this stuff arrived for testing just when I needed it – my old tape wasn't ripped in the crash, but it was full of thorns – and I installed this in no time at all.

That grip is there whether or not you're wearing mitts, and it's even pretty good in wet or sweaty conditions too.

2021 Prime Comfort Bar Tape - on bike 3.jpg

I really like the little pile of extras. The end caps are the expanding kind and work well, though the printed logo is laughably easy to scratch off. The finishing tape is fancy-looking knurled stuff, and the little extra piece for covering the shifter clamp matches the print of the main roll of tape.

One issue that can plague these grippy tapes is rapid surface wear. I've put just over a thousand kilometres into this tape though and the surface is holding up well, even in the spots where I tend to see tape wear first.

Value

At just under £20 the price is great when compared to the likes of Lizard Skins DSP V2 at £34 or Fizik's Vento MicroTex Tacky tape at £29.99. I wouldn't say the quality of the bar ends matches Fizik or Lizard Skins, but these Prime ones still do the job.

If you're looking for an upgrade but the price of the fancy tapes puts you off, the Prime Comfort Handlebar Tape is, erm, a prime candidate. It's thick, grippy, easy to wrap and holds up well.

Verdict

Grippy, thick, easy to wrap and well priced bar tape. There's a lot to love

If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website

road.cc test report

Make and model: Prime Comfort Bar Tape

Size tested: 3mm

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?

From Wiggle: "Delivering fantastic comfort and grip, the Prime Comfort Handlebar Tape is an ideal handlebar tape for racing and training in all conditions and on any terrain."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Embossed Prime logos

Super Anti-Slippery Technology - grippy even when wet

3mm thick

Shockproof

Silicone Gel for added comfort

Anodised alloy screw in bar end plug

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
9/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
 
9/10
Rate the product for value:
 
7/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Brilliantly. Grippy and comfortable.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The grip gives an extra secure hold.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

The logos on the end plugs will scratch off.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

As we've come to expect from Prime, the price is a bit better than the competition.

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 overall score

It does what more expensive tape does at a lower price.

Overall rating: 9/10

About the tester

Age: 27  Height: 177cm  Weight: 62kg

I usually ride: Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7  My best bike is:

I've been riding for: Under 5 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo cross, commuting, club rides, general fitness riding, I specialise in the Cafe Ride!

Add new comment

10 comments

Avatar
Liam Cahill | 2 years ago
0 likes

Gosh. A lot of you didn't spot the 2nd edition Di2 Sprint Shifters which are causing the problem...

Avatar
Rapha Nadal | 2 years ago
1 like

"The big hurdle with new bar tape is the wrapping. Pro mechanics do it in seconds, but I've got friends that actually pay me in beer to do theirs... mostly to stop my moaning about their shoddy, uneven work".

The irony is strong with this one.

Avatar
Liam Cahill replied to Rapha Nadal | 2 years ago
0 likes

Yea the pics don't show the crappy version 2 Di2 Sprint shifters causing the issue

Avatar
Ryder | 2 years ago
0 likes

If the person who wrapped the tape in the photos is the same one bragging about doing his mates for beers, they must have low standards because that wrap round the lever in the side on picture is appalling!  Don't crow about how good you are and then publically display that you're not as good as you think?  

Logo wears off the bar end plugs.  Big deal and typically nit picking of online product reviews.

Avatar
Liam Cahill replied to Ryder | 2 years ago
0 likes

Hi Ryder, the pics don't show the crappy version 2 Di2 Sprint shifters causing the issue

Avatar
PpPete | 2 years ago
0 likes

£20 for a retailer's own brand ?  Bar tape has got to be the biggest rip-off in the bike industry.  This stuff must cost a few pennies to make.  There are plenty of deals on ebay and aliexpress, even Amazon, for perfectly acceptable quality bar tape, stretchy, comfortable, good grip for under a £5 - and it is shipped indivisually from China which must surely account for most of the cost.  Worth ordering a spare as it can take a few weeks to show up.  I think retailers are just taking p>>> because they know when we want it, we want it now, or in a couple days tops.

Avatar
frostorama | 2 years ago
4 likes

If the person wrapping the tape in the pictures had turned the tape around it would have allowed the 'Prime' logo to be visible and fitted as intended by Wiggle. That is some pretty poor wrapping to be honest.

I have the same tape on one of my bikes, it is really good and great value.

Avatar
David9694 replied to frostorama | 2 years ago
3 likes

Someone lost their way below that l/h lever!

Avatar
Liam Cahill replied to David9694 | 2 years ago
0 likes

Yea the pics don't show the crappy version 2 Di2 Sprint shifters causing the issue

Avatar
Liam Cahill replied to frostorama | 2 years ago
0 likes

I didn't want the Prime logo showing. It was a choice

Latest Comments