On a rainy Sunday afternoon in Fall, one has but few options to spend one’s time… watch football, romance the Mrs., or re-tape the handlebars. Since Mrs. Pez was out with friends, the obvious choice for me was re-taping the bars – especially since I’d just received the new BAR:GEL from Fi’zi:k.
The Bar:Gel Kit comes with everything you see here – 4 pads, tape, plugs, and handy carrying case/ packaging. Batteries not included.
As a long time veteran of off-road riding – (I pre-date suspension by several years…), I’m no stranger to the jarring forces transmitted from gnarly ground through wheels, forks and handlebars into your hands, shoulders, neck, head, teeth, eyeballs… And after my battle with the sinister pave of Roubaix last Spring, I’m also more keenly aware of the increased sensitivity with which my aging 41 year old carcass responds to such beatings, so anything that helps smooth the ride is okay in my books.
The gel pads are fatter in the center, and have a good amount of give, that returns to its’ original shape with the eagerness of a St. Bernard chasing a ball. The gel absorbs compression, and does not move to another part of the pad. Another cool feature is that it’s solid gel- no liquid center like some bar pads – so you’ll never have a bursting, oozing goo emerge from beneath your bar tape.
ITS ABOUT TIME
So when I saw the new Fi’zi:k BAR:GEL at Interbike, I couldn’t wait to try it – once again it seemed like a case of how come no one thought of this before? The saddle company has taken it’s gel technology and transferred the application from your butt to your hands.
The BAR:GEL kit comes complete with everything you need to add the 4 cushy gel pads to your handlebars, and re-tape ‘em with Fizik’s own Microtex bar tape. I’ve long been a fan of fat tape on the bars, but have found it a hassle to customize my own bars with an extra layer of tape.
Start by peeling off the old tape, and then lay the BAR:GEL onto your bars to find a position. The gel is also easy to cut, although I chose max comfort and padded everything right up to my levers.
WHAT’S IN A GEL?
The BARGEL is made of a special “gel” manufactured by Technogel who are “the world’s leading gel producer” according to Fizik. Technogel makes gels for all kinds of applications, like hospital pads, padding in wheel chairs, shoe inserts for Dr. Scholls, and ergonomic chairs, to name a few.
The 4 pieces of gel in the pack are enough to cover the tops and drops of your bars.
They promise that this gel molds to the user’s hands and curves and shifts shape vertically, horizontally and diagonally, while other gels do not. Now, I don’t know gel from shinola, but that sounds good to me, and when you squish the gels between your fingers, you get a good idea of how it will perform.
The back of the Bar:Gel is a tacky enough to hold the gels in place on your bars, but still allows for easy repositioning as you set them up. Once you’re close, just peel off the backing and press the Gels into place. It’s got a natural tackiness in the gel, so there’s no “glue” to speak of, and you can re-use it as it gets sticky when you add a little moisture.
Technically, the gel is said to have a few other important traits in that it will “never harden, migrate, or breakdown”, and that it will “maintain it’s elasticity and shape characteristics infinitely”. That sound pretty good, so I guess you’ll only need to buy it once…
I added some extra taping of my own to hold the Gels in place, although Fizik claims the pads will stay put when wrapped correctly.
Wrapping the bars is a whole story unto itself, but suffice to say I spent most of yesterday afternoon on this one project. Bar wrapping is an art form that requires just the right amount of patience, skill, creative free-thinking, and length of tape. Sadly, I’m still a student with no hope of graduation in sight.
The extra thickness of the Bar:Gels increases the diameter of your bars slightly, so your tape does not wrap as far as you may be used to. Good thing Fizik packs in tape that is 6 inches longer than other brands like Deda. Unfortunately I still mangled the Fizik tape with my ill-fated attempts to negotiate the lever mounts in a smooth and uniform manner on both the right and left sides, and then finish off at the same place along the bar tops. If you‘re not as hard-headed as me, you may want to pay a pro to take on this job…
So we’ll be taking a closer look at the Fi’zi:k MicroTex bar tape later, but I’ve heard that the “Team HealthNet presented by Maxxis” guys used it this year and love it.
Once on, the bars feel good – nice a fat in the right places, and with the amount of squishiness that yells “BRING ON THE COBBLES!!” It goes on easier than using more bar tape, and provides way better coverage – so I’m looking forward to happier hands and less fatigue from those big epics I’m planning for next year.
Voila! After only 2-1/2 hours of fiddle-farting around with wrapping the bars, (including ruining the Fizik tape – we are … how-you-say… finis!
Next up – do some riding – as soon as the sun shines again. But knowing that Magnus Backstedt ran this stuff all the way to the podium at Roubaix is a pretty good endorsement.
Where To Get It
Pick some up at WISE CYCLE BUYS for $29.95 – and tell ‘em you saw it on PEZCycling!
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