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Handlebar tape should not cost more than the bar itself, a $42 roll made me rethink my whole tune-up pitch
I was wrapping a customer's bar in the stand at our spot in Boise two weeks ago, and he handed me a $42 roll of tape he brought in himself. I told him the stuff we keep behind the counter runs $18 and holds up fine, but he wanted the name brand. Three rides later he came back with the tape peeling at the drops because he never torqued the lever clamps, and guess who got blamed. Here is where I disagree with most of the trade: a clean wrap is about the pull and the overlap, not the price tag. I did his rewrap free, used our $18 roll, and it has been solid for a month now. If your tape job fails, check your technique and your housing before you blame the tape. Anyone else getting customers who think spending more fixes a wrap they did themselves?
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lisa_grant22d ago
That lever clamp thing gets people every time. I had a guy last season swear his tape was defective because the drops were twisting, turned out his hoods were loose enough to rock a full millimeter and he was death gripping the whole time. My question for you: when you did that free rewrap, did you pull his levers and show him the clamp torque, or just snug everything back down and hand it over? Because if he walked away still thinking the $42 roll was the problem, he is going to bring in another pricey roll next time and blame you again. Where do you draw the line between fixing it and teaching it?
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