Wolf Tooth Supple Lite Handle Bar Tape: Impressions

As wrapped on my PRO Discover Big Flare Handle Bars.

 Wolf Tooth Supple Lite Handle Bar Tape:\

NOTE: This handle bar tape was sent to RidingGravel.com for test and review at no charge. I am not being paid nor bribed for this post.

 RidingGravel.com got in some of this new Wolf Tooth Supple Lite bar tape and I just put it on the Noble GX5's PRO Discover Big Flare handle bars. I go through a lot of handle bar tape and so I get my mitts on many different types and brands of the stuff. The Noble GX5 was due for something new and so this was a timely delivery. I will be doing a "Quick Review" for RidingGravel.com later, but right now I wanted to pass along my impressions of this tape, because I am pretty impressed with what I have experienced so far. My thoughts may change if I see issues down the road, so make note that this is not a 'final word' on this product. It is a 'first impression', so it should be read that way. 

Now- a bit of a back story- Previous to using this tape, I tried a competitor's thick - nearly 5mm thick- handle bar tape and found that - after trying to wrap one side for 30 minutes- that it was just not a well designed product. Part of the issue was the exit path for the hydraulic hose on the Shimano GRX levers and part of the issue was also the PRO Discover bar's tight bend from the tops to the ramps of the design. The thick tape tried before wasn't able to conform or hold its position in this transition area of the handle bar, so it ended up that I had to give over and try the tape on another bike. In the meantime I took some cheap, OEM fake cork tape, and had the entire handle bar wrapped in under ten minutes.

Note the tighter wraps near the hoods. This makes the tape nearly 5mm thick there.

Keep that failure in mind as I tell this story, because the Wolf Tooth tape is 2.5mm thick, but 40mm wide. It tapers out to the edges from the center, so it depends on how you wrap the tape as to what the final thickness is. Overlapping closer makes the tape thicker, while spreading it out as you wrap makes it thinner. I purposely wrapped the Supple Lite tape in big, overlapping layers at the brake/shift lever where that tight bend is on the PRO Discover bar and it laid down and took to this difficult to wrap area quite nicely. Very impressive!

Now the thicker portion is right behind the lever's hood, which is right where you want some 'cush' in the rougher stuff. The drop section is thinner, where I spread out the overlapping so that I have a more solid grip there as that is where I will be during descents and whenever I want a secure grip for maneuvering. 

The Supple Lite tape is made of an EVA foam and is crazy tacky/grippy. I'll see how that holds up in a dusty, dirty, sweaty environment later, but right now that seems like a good thing. The give of the tape is pretty firm, but yet palpable, so I am hoping that it does give me some relief on the chunky crushed rock. 

Oh, and by the way, it has nice finishing tape and is quite long enough to wrap a wider bar. This PRO one is approximately equivalent to a 46cm bar. Now consider that the previously mentioned, really thick bar tape that didn't work out costs nearly $60.00 and the Wolf Tooth tape is $29.95. That's pretty eye-opening right there. I'm hoping to find out that this tape holds up well, because if it does, it would mark one of the better values in bicycle products out there right now. Time will tell all......