Make your own foam grips for drop handlebars

My new bike came with some wonderful padded handlebar tape. After nearly 5,000 miles it is time to replace the tape. Similar tape is about $30. As good as that tape was, my hands still went tingly and numb after a dozen miles, but not from needing a shorter or higher stem.

I have foam grips on another bike with drop bars and like the foam very much. Foam grips for drop bars are hard to find locally. I decided to make my own from a child's noodle flotation device used in swimming pools. A foam noodle costs less than $3.

Lime green and dayglo orange were the two choices for color. I chose orange. My tires already have blue sidewalls. Our local sports team uses blue and orange for its colors.

Step 1 Reduce the diameter of the noodle

The noodle is a bit too thick for a handlebar grip. I decided I could cut away an outer layer with a hot wire cutter I could improvise.

The photo shows the end of the noodle as it comes from the store (right side). The left side of the photo shows the noodle after it has been pressed down on the hot wire cutter and gently rotated. I pulled the core out a bit for viewing purposes. The internal hole in the noodle is just right for a handlebar.

Comments

[mtaylor22]

I am impressed by your ingenuity, but if you want, you may also buy foam handlebar slips commercially made, for $7
http://www.niagaracycle.com/product_info.php?products_id=1889
. It comes in 4 pieces (cut to fit), with bar end plugs. This is generally an item made for replacements on 1970's style road bikes, but works fine on STI equipped bikes.

It will be interesting to see how durable your pads are, and how much drag they create. I expect they will be very long lasting but somewhat rough, and may cause noticeable drag at higher speeds. Perhaps you have hit on something though if they are really comfortable.

There are lots of designer "ergonomic" sets out there that have pads which are adhered to the bars wtih double sided tape, then wrapped with conventional synthetic tape. Best of luck. If your hands or wrists are numb, it is possible your bike and tire combo does not dampen vibration enough, or that the bars are too far/low. For vibration, you might like "gel" handlebar tape.

[Phil B]

Thank you for your comment. My bike came with the gel tape, but I never really liked it. I had used commercially made foam grips on another bike with drop bars and still like them on that bike. I tried a set of foam grips on this bike, but they began to tear apart while I was putting them on. They were just a lot thinner and weaker than the others I had put on some years ago. Also, our nearest bike shop is now 30 minutes away, so I wanted to try a solution I could manage nearer to home. The grips shown here were pretty good for about a season. Then they had crushed down. They still worked, but not nearly as well. My bike has a carbon fork and carbon seat post, but an aluminum frame, so it transmits some vibration. I am not such a fast rider that I will ever need to worry about air resistance from something on my bars.

[rimar2000]

Your solutions are always clever, Phil!

[Phil B]

Thank you, Osvaldo. I really liked these. But, they did not endure well. Since, I am using old inner tubes from the tires wrapped around my handlebars. The rubber inner tubes are not as soft as the foam swimming noodles, but endure well and give a good grip, even if they do not cushion my hands as well as the foam. I was pleased, though, about how well my spur of the moment hot wire cutter worked. Still, the foam lasted well for at least a season.

[chotii]

I need a little help with putting tape on a bike's handlebars: I have some blue Roubaix foam tape, which claims to have adhesive on the underside. There is no adhesive. I wrap it around, and of course it doesn't stick. It came with 2 strips of black plastic which appear to be some sort of tape, which you peel off a piece of paper; it came with 2 short pieces of the same blue tape, which DOES have an adhesive on the back but isn't long enough to go around the entire handlebar as any sort of tape-down. There are no instructions. In fact, the 4 little extra bits aren't listed on the contents. I cannot find anything with Google to tell me how to make this $20 roll of tape STAY on my handlebars. There must be a trick I'm missing. Can somebody help me with this?

[dfsavage]

Late to the party, but can't leave a stranded cyclist out there.  There should be a narrow strip of adhesive on the back of the bar tape.  It's usually covered by some sort of backing.  If not and there's no adhesive, take it back to the shop.  Also, if you pull the backing off to aggressively, it can pull the adhesive strip right off (did it myself the first time).  If you still have adhesive on there make sure that it comes in direct contact with the handlebars and doesn't just stick to the previous loop of tape as this will fall apart quickly.  Hope this helps though it is months late.

[daniel!]

First result for "how to wrap handlebars" 
www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp
Park Tools website is also great for all other bicycle repairs

[raleighgranprix]

A bit late to this diy idea but there is an "athletic wrap", foam wrap for the ankles or wrists that is much like "athletic tape" but from what I've seen is wider and inexpensive as well. This kind of wrap is already cut to just wrap them on the handle bars. I'm sure they can be functional, I'm not sure if they would be "nice looking." I have in fact used them on handlebars and they worked fine. They can even be, everyone ready?, shellacked as some people do that to handlebar tapes though being foam had the tendency to act some like a sponge but it did still work.

[Calorie]

I would go with the real deal. Specialized makes foam inserts that you then tape over. I would be afraid that the foam would rotate under your hands while you were on the tops. If your hands tingle so much I would point to the gloves as the culprit. Some questions to ask yourself: *When is the last time you bought a new pair? *Has your body changed a lot (weight loss/gain)? *Do you switch your hand position often (every 10-15 minutes)? For my two cents worth, I would suggest that you look at new gloves. As I have grown older (read heavier) I've had the same problem. I've found that specialized makes a great glove for me. They are only about $25, but alas my local bike store carries them intermittently. If you have any other questions poke around here. There is a guy who gives excellent advice. Just don't mention lubricants. He really gets worked up about what to lube your chain with :-) Good luck and please be careful! You only have one set of teeth at this point.

[Bobblob]

Another outstanding reason to wear gloves is to be able to rub the front ( and rear ) tire immediately after going over glass or other potential flat causing debris. This can help remove any shards that may have been picked up but have not yet caused a flat. Back in the day I was told this was the main reason to wear gloves...

Both my bikes do not have fenders.

Not sure if you know about Bike NashBar for all things bicycle related. http://www.nashbar.com/

[Phil B]

Thank you for your comments. I was unaware of the foam from Specialized. Is it in their catalog or on their web site or both? Actually, I now weigh about 25 pounds less than I did a couple of years ago. I try to change the position of my hands regularly, but found that is not anywhere nearly as critical with foam grips as with tape. I have never worn cyclists gloves. The foam grips have shown no tendency to roll when I am on the tops, even if I grab the grips and try to roll them. I finally found a chain lubrication routine that I really like. When I spent more time and effort cleaning and lubricating my chain, it lasted the equivalent of twenty one hundred mile rides. Now that I use a much simpler procedure it lasts two thousand miles.

[leebryuk]

Hello,
I would say gloves are a neccesity. They have many uses. The first is to keep moisture off the bar. Sweaty hands can slip off a bar/hoods when you hit a minor bump (personal experience.)

Second, they have a terry clothe back that allows you to wipe the sweat off your brow, as well as clean up any mess from your nose or mouth. Sounds gross but it's true.

Third, and this is important, is for crash protection. I have gone down plenty of times, and usually the first thing to hit is your palms. The gloves really do help absorb the impact. I've had really, really ugly crashes that scared my body. The gloves were ripped up, but my hands were fine.

I had a watch on as well, and I tend to wear them with the face under the wrist. That was an accidental god send. I skidded on my left hand and down the watch. Timex took one hell of a beating. And yes, it did still keep tickin' It looked like I took a belt sander to it.

And finally, gloves are meant to absorb high frequency road vibration that transmits from the tires to the rims, to the forks and yes, to the handlebars. It will cause your hands to tingle like mad.

Get a pair. Almost all professionals and amateurs alike ride with them for a reason. I didn't use them for my first year of riding. My hands tingled during and after every ride. I eventually ponied up the cash. I was amazed by the difference gloves made to my comfort, enjoyment and relaxation on a bike.

BG SUPER PHAT BAR GEL TAPE is the product I was talking about. Call around to your local shop and see if anyone knows who is a specialized dealer. It's worth it if your hands bother you that much.

Good Luck

PS
You might want to lub your chain more often. 2,000 miles is about the lifespan of a chain. After that you can wear out the really expensive parts (like the gears.) SRAM makes great chains that cost about $8 if you shop around. Don't worry about name brand, as it most likely won't apply to your needs.

[Phil B]

leebryuk, thanks for the link on the Specialized bar gel tape. It looks better than the factory issue material I took off of my bars. Gloves may be a very good idea. I read something a few days ago about them being warm and holding perspiration. I may try a pair sometime in the future. It has been years since I crashed, though. Then it was my elbow that took the brunt of the crash. Perhaps I was unclear. I clean and lube my chain about every 100 miles. Once I used Simple Green to clean and then Super Lube after drying the chain. It was time consuming. Now I apply a fair amount of fresh motor oil to float the dirt, run the chain backwards a few turns, and crank it forward a few turns while absorbing all of the excess I can with some paper towelling. The new method is much easier and chain life is the same. It runs very quietly and shifts very smoothly after cleaning and lubricating the new way.

[Calorie]

I would say that you had the best idea when it came to cleaning your chain. The problem with the simple green/super lube method is that it took too long. However, thanks to our engineering counterparts we have:

Chain Cleaners

The device simply slips around the chain, you add your cleaner of choice, spin the chain backwards for 60 seconds or so. In that magic time, the gizmo will scrub, squeege and then sponge off extra cleaner. Take said gizmo off, run the chain through a cloth for a minute then Super Lube it (I assume that you are using the aerosol.) It'll take less than 5 minutes, and you won't have to repeat it nearly as often. The motor oil method will attract gunk as it is directly open to the road. Faster, fewer cleanings mean you'll get on your bike and do what its suppose to-ride!

[Bobblob]

Well done Phil. I made similar pads from thermal insulating foam tubing used for copper tubing coming from hot water tanks. It works well and comes in black too. This tubing can be found in any hardware or home DIY stores and comes with a slit. It really helps with my tingling too but as I age I require more frequent hand positions changes. I've done a few Century rides ( 100 mile rides) years ago without padding and never had a problem but that's not the case now, alas the savages of time.

[funk50]

Excellent idea Phil. No noodles in the junkbox, but I did have some of that pipe insulating foam. After slipping it over the bars I wrapped it in sports tape, and covered it with tubes made from a $0.75 spandex book cover. I've ridden several hundred miles and so far the foam hasn't broken down, and it's more comfortable (to me) than the spenco grips that it replaced.

[Phil B]

Thanks, Bobblob. I have seen the foam insulating material for copper tubing, but wanted something without the slit. This is just an idea, but maybe the foam you mentioned could be covered with a bit of Ace bandage. It would absorb perspiration and would keep the slit closed. This morning I consciously changed hand positions quite often. The combination of the foam and changing positions frequently left my hands quite comfortable.

[Mad Hatter]

Phil, do you live in Denver?

[Phil B]

No. I am near Boise, Idaho.

[Mad Hatter]

Oh when you said local sports team. I thought you were referring to the Broncos.

[Phil B]

That is very observant of you. Boise State University's team is also the Broncos and they also use blue and orange as the team colors. I could have mentioned the dayglo orange also seemed to me to be more visible than the lime green, although it is a close call.

[glorybe]

Most duct tape conducts electricity. Your actual wire length may not be what you think it is.

[Phil B]

I had never considered that duct (duck) tape might be conductive. I believe I did a check with my ohmmeter before and after the duct tape and the resistance was the same. I do not think I experienced conductivity because of the duct tape. All sorts of other options to keep turns of wire isolated are very much possible and easy to do.

[R4Man18]

Careful Slippery when wet.

[canida]

Nice! We always just added bits of foam under the bar tape, but this looks easier to install and replace in chunks as needed.

[Phil B]

Thanks, canida. I was wondering what to do with the waste peeled from the inner core. Using it as patching or replacement material seems like a good option. Short replacement sections could be tied in place with a piece of string wound in a loose spiral.

[Phil B]

Update: The foam contains tiny air envelopes, like bubble pack sheets. Leaning on the foam while riding on rough roads eventually pops some of these little air envelopes. At that point, the foam becomes more and more matted and has less cushioning effect. There is one spot on each side of the bars where I tend to put more pressure. I may need to tie an extra layer of scrap foam over the areas that become matted. These could be replaced as they wear out. Still, these foam grips are a better option for me than bar tape and my hands suffer less with the foam than with the tape.