I don’t have a dedicated trainer bike per se, but I am thinking on testing out a few short reach compact bars.
Even if I settle on one, my thought was to not use tape since I use a sweat cover and towels on the bars anyway and I have several fans.
Thoughts?
I dont use handlebar tape on my TT bike which is what I use on the trainer. I use a few small portions of skateboard grip tape. On the trainer, I throw a towel over and don’t have any issues with discomfort. bare bar and towel might slip on each other a bit though.
I have an old bike as a dedicated trainer bike and I use bare handlebars. To towels or anything. Haven’t had a problem yet, and its easier to clean.
I generally do this all winter. It’s a lot easier to clean up if you sweat a lot, like me. It’s a little annoying when you get a random nice day and have to do a tape-less outside ride, but if I had a dedicated trainer bike I would personally keep it untaped.
I agree with the above, no bar tape on my dedicated trainer bike. I used to run bar tape and no gloves, but the bar tape started to stink and when I removed it the corrosion underneath was worrying. Better to run without tape to avoid these issues.