Easton Microfibre Bar Tape

Easton Microfibre Bar Tape is a reasonably comfortable option that is easy to apply and available in a range of colours, but while it performs well when dry, it isn't as good as some in typical wet British weather.

The Microfibre tape on test is plain black, but Easton makes it in five other colours – blue, green, white, red and yellow. Lots of choice if you want it to match your bike.

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As the name suggests, the tape is made from microfibre cloth, backed with a non-sticky gel adhesive to secure it. It's quite a slim tape, though it does include a layer of what Easton claims is anti-shock foam, to increase comfort.

It is easy to wrap, with the ability to stretch and adjust it around the drop bend nicely. A big plus is the gel adhesive: it doesn't stick so firmly that you can't re-do sections as you go, but it still sticks well enough to hold in place.

The strip of finishing tape isn't great, not as tacky as some and lacking any ability to stretch, which makes finishing on the bends – as I did when wrapping the Easton EC90 Aero bar I was testing – more difficult than it should be. I ended up having to remove it and using basic electrical tape instead.

The tape should be long enough to wrap most standard bars, although for those over 44cm or if you want to tape very close to the stem, it might be tight.

In use and on a road bike, the comfort is reasonable and good for the thickness. In dry weather, feel and grip are very good: it is soft enough and tactile without feeling sticky. When the weather turns, though, and the tape gets wet, things change a little – it's by no means slippery, but does lose some of the grip and isn't as good as others I've used.

Value

This Microfibre option is the more expensive of the two styles of tape Easton currently produces, with the Foam Bar tape considerably cheaper at just £9.99. It's similar to others of this style, though, such as the Fabric Hex Duo which is just a quid more. If you're looking for something that gives better wet weather grip and additional comfort, Specialized Bar Phat is a good alternative and a few quid less at £22 rrp. I also prefer the Kinesis Anti-slip Jo Burt Signature tape, which is 99p cheaper.

Conclusion

If you're looking for bar tape that isn't too thick but still manages to be comfortable this is a decent option, but for year-round use the wet weather performance could be better.

Verdict

Reasonable comfort and easy to wrap, but not as good as some when wet