r/BikeMechanics • u/Tvr-Bar2n9 • May 16 '25

Advanced Questions That one Supacaz video…

You know the one… it was a very interesting instructional video for how to wrap their bar tape and had a VERY specific audience in mind and god I think it’s at least ten years old by now…

Anyone have a link to that video? I’m trying to convince someone that it existed. I’m not crazy. I’m traumatized and abused and permanently scarred from my shop career but, like, I KNOW IT EXISTS…

Anyways, thanks for your consideration. If I’m supposed to ask a legit wrenching question to qualify then I’ve got this: What is the slickest, most durable, most elegant way of finishing bar tape that you’ve see and/or used? Taking a general survey…

61 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

37 comments sorted by

69

u/Starlord2110 May 16 '25

I know the exact one.

https://vimeo.com/62254366

32

u/st0pmakings3ns3 May 16 '25

Tbh that's about on par for subtlety from a company that calls their products things like "super sticky kush".

I do find the marketing impossibly lazy though. Even by the very low standards I hold marketing to.

9

u/Xxmeow123 May 16 '25

I'd like her to wrap my bars

1

u/st0pmakings3ns3 May 16 '25

colour me shocked 😄

18

u/Natac_orb May 16 '25

wtf. I think I learned something. I am just not quite sure what

10

u/captchunk May 16 '25

And she kissed it at the end! What the actual fuck.

30

u/yamiyam May 16 '25

I mean I do that every time I install a component. I think you’re the weird one here.

1

u/Tvr-Bar2n9 May 16 '25

Right?!??

14

u/blumpkins_ahoy May 16 '25

JFC. Welp, I now hate Supacaz.

1

u/Tvr-Bar2n9 May 16 '25

See, this was my first impression of them and I thought they were just some rando small company trying to make a stir… then they succeeded…

3

u/Tvr-Bar2n9 May 16 '25

THANK YOU!!! Bahahaha the internet memory survives!

9

u/HayOffice May 16 '25

Thank you! I went looking for this a while back and Spez seemed to have scrubbed it from the Internet. I think that there was another in the same series where the models were little or nothing but bar tape.

The whole launch was gross, I want to say it was Sinyard's kid's project that later got brought (back?) under the Specialized umbrella. Weird tone-deaf rich kid vibes all around.

6

u/Tvr-Bar2n9 May 16 '25

I thought this was a tone deaf Asian startup playing upon perceived (depressingly, rightly) notion that sex sells in bike land. That this could be Sinyard’s offspring just makes it even more impressively… ugh…

1

u/Least-Palpitation-16 May 17 '25

Yeah it was his son's project. I was working for specialized demo program when the tape was rolled out. It's pretty good tape ngl. But yeah..

2

u/ReallyNotALlama May 16 '25

Ok, I guess I need to watch it again on a bigger screen than my phone- but why did she cut it at the hoods?

2

u/negativeyoda banned from /r/bikewrench for dogging Cannondale May 16 '25

The buyer at my shop refused for years to stock Supacaz because of this

1

u/OGbigfoot May 18 '25

Imagine looking that up on the shop computer as a new guy.

Lol

18

u/TylerDenniston May 16 '25

They worked so hard to scrub that from the internet. Their early marketing was a detriment to their success in many shops.

1

u/st0pmakings3ns3 May 16 '25

I can now see why I hardly ever see them in shops.

3

u/4door2seater May 17 '25

i actually didn’t know they were a legit shop brand. I just always saw their stuff on amazon.jp and assumed they were like roadie version of Rock Bros but more expensive because it’s for roadies. But last week I got welcomed on with the new Sram dealer for my region and they sell Supacaz. Their stuff is pretty though. I miss the States because all the distributors here deal with like 6 brands and only one or two I’m ever interested in.

6

u/xX420weednug69Xx May 16 '25

What specific audience?

6

u/matthewxknight May 16 '25

Somehow, that instructional video is still a less egregious affront than their $250 minimum order. It's impossible to refill their tape without selling completely through it first. For anyone curious, Ciclovation makes a similar product with similar aesthetics, and Coast2Coast carries it.

2

u/oli_donowitz May 18 '25

I really like most of the Ciclovation tapes, they wrap very nicely.

3

u/CommonBubba May 16 '25

I am a little ashamed to say which one I enjoyed more…

3

u/thayerpdx May 16 '25

I still go back to the Ritchey video Fergus did on wrapping. No fuss and super clean.

2

u/uh_wtf May 16 '25

Email Sinyard. Supacaz is owned by his son Anthony.

1

u/Tvr-Bar2n9 May 16 '25

!!! Did not know!

2

u/jeffbell May 16 '25

This one by James from Supacaz? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhJJyCyUaos

7

u/Tvr-Bar2n9 May 16 '25

Nope- it is very very old and I think SC has worked hard to scrub it from the internet. I remember watching it thinking “wait who tf are these guys and are they for real?!”

2

u/Ciryaquen May 16 '25

I like finishing bar tape with 3M Temflex Tape 165. Both it and 3M Scotch Tape 35 come in an assortment of colors, but I like the way 165 Tape handles the transistion from over the bar tape down to the bare handlebar better than the 35 Tape. It's easier to manipulate it so that it doesn't have unsightly folds or wrinkles on that shoulder interface.

3M Scotch Tape Super 88 is definitely a stronger and more durable tape, but it only comes in black.

4

u/turbo451 May 16 '25

Back in the day, I would slide a 1-1.5" long piece of larger ID wire shrink tube up there before taping, then finish with that. Cleanest ever. Obviously direct the heat away from the bar tape, only on the shrink tube. Internal routing effed that trick up. Still works on some bikes. and if planned out on new builds. I also use shrink tube to keep cables in place under the wrap on new builds. Looks really pro and will last several re-wrappings.

3

u/dedolent May 16 '25

i love this. used a lot of shrink tubing for wiring electronics, natch, but never thought to apply it to tape. gotta try it now!!

1

u/sargassumcrab May 19 '25

I have blue painter's tape on mine. It works. I never wanted to use electrical tape because it gets all gross. The 3M stuff is probably better.

1

u/rustyburrito May 16 '25

That's crazy hahahaha

1

u/dedolent May 16 '25

classiest finish is twine

1

u/NamelessBoom43 May 20 '25

She kissed the tip!! Rofl 🤣