Acros Silicone Wrap Handlebar Tape

The Acros Silicone Wrap Handlebar Tape is available in a wealth of colours perfect for complementing, or indeed contrasting, your bike's. Gravel and cyclo-cross enthusiasts are the target market and justly so, given its shock absorbing, easy care qualities. Qualities likely to be appreciated by pretty much everyone else running drops – assuming, of course, you're happy to part with £35.

• Pros: Refined, grippy tape, choice of colours, surprisingly low maintenance
• Cons: Density means it requires patience to fit, first time; finishing strips seem an afterthought

It's an embossed silicone, 3mm thick and 185mm long, enough for dressing the biggest flared drops, with generous overlap. I'm told it's UV and heat resistant, can be machine washed at 30 degrees if you feel so inclined. As well as orange, it's available in black, white, yellow and pink.

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Silicone is naturally tenacious, rendering adhesive redundant. However, being 3mm thick, achieving a graceful, flowing effect requires patience. This is particularly apparent if you're doubling up at key points, for increased protection.

It tolerates a surprising amount of pressure. Unlike thinner wraps, there seems little risk of inducing unsightly fade/'stretch' marks. Speaking of marks, ensure your hands are clean and dry before you start; though no worse than several other, light coloured polymer types, oily residue transfers quite easily.

Be ready with scissors and electrical tape once you've reached the tops, and hold the tape tense once you've pruned it otherwise it'll unravel, right back to the hoods. I found tacking it 'provisionally', checking uniformity, and THEN binding the finishing strips best practice.

In keeping with most brands, the finishing strips feel like an afterthought. They do the job but are no substitute for good quality electrical tape.

Silicones are renowned for being grippy, and from the off I wasn't surprised by the tacky, tenacious feel and this proved uniformly good, wet, dry and regardless of glove type.

This reinforced the bond between rider and machine. Less concentration was needed to keep everything on track and under control, even when I was weary and flagging. This, coupled with other recent tweaks to the test bike (including shorter cranks and a narrower, stiffer bar), encouraged me to really push things a bit harder, whether hustling along the back doubles, grinding up the climbs, or snaking through the concrete jungle.

Swerving around holes, pedestrians and a cheeky slalom session round some cones all brought a big grin to my face. Even a determinedly confused rabbit and loose terrier couldn't raise a sweat, let alone white knuckles.

I've done a few 20-mile commutes bare-handed too – further than most of us would, perhaps, but performance didn't dip.

Damping

As I'd expect, the 3mm density does a brilliant job of insulating against low-level vibration. The sort associated with long sections of washboard tarmac and unmade roads. Numbness and tingling have been conspicuous by their absence. Admittedly, my winter trainer's Shock Stop Suspension Stem and bigger section tyres certainly help.

Durability/maintenance

Modern wraps, whether silicone, or polymer based have become increasingly hardy, taking the usual, everyday accidental carelessness in their stride. Ours has been leaned against rendered brickwork and other rough surfaces, with no scuff marks or similar abrasion. It's also stopped a heavily laden tourer creeping forward and falling over, when I've forgotten its parking brake.

Given a few weeks' use, wet roads, road/trailside mechanicals and oily finger marks became quite apparent. Calling Acros' bluff, I popped ours in the machine wash at 30 degrees and, true enough, it emerged pristine.

It also spruces up nicely with a medium stiff brush, such as the Oxford Tyre Scrub dipped in a warm sudsy bucket.

Value

On paper, £35 is pretty much premium territory for silicones. It's a little cheaper than Esi Grips RCT Wrap bar tape at £39.99 and Supacaz Super Sticky Kush at £37.95, but Widget Components' Premium Silicone Wrap is £29.99.

Subjectively, I think the Acros’s additional refinement and overall performance trumps the otherwise very likeable Widget Wrap.

That being said, there’s a horses-for-courses calculation too. For example, a bike’s value, the distances and nature of riding done. Gun to my head… for a bespoke touring or audax build I’d reach for the Acros. A winter trainer/daily driver it’d be Guee's Silicone (£25.99) or Genetic's Silicone (£22.99).

Bad spills allowing, the ability to rewind and reinstate means it could prove economical in the long run. I've reapplied it three times without any loss of lustre.

Conclusion

I'd expect a bar wrap commanding £35 to live up to its hype, and the Acros Silicone Bar Wrap certainly has, in every respect. However, there are a wealth of very good options commanding considerably less cash.

Verdict

Refined and seemingly rugged bar wrap, though pricey