Leather Handlebar Wrap

I had my doubts about this.  Leather bar wrap goes for upwards of US$45 (Walnut) and €55 for Brooks, and that is just the leather.  It seems a ripoff to me and I don't like supporting ripoffs, so I decided to have a go at making my own.

I found an old leather jacket made from tan 1.1mm leather and cut a few strips 500mm long.

The handlebars measure 78mm circumference so a bit of testing suggested that the leather would stretch about 5mm when soaked in warm water, so I went with 73mm.

 Next I used two small clamps and held a metal ruler securely 4mm in from the edge of the leather. I used an awl to make a hole every 5mm.  Well, it wasn't a real awl, just an old screwdriver from the junk tools box that I sharpened up on the bench grinder.  I was not about to buy an awl when I could make one!

Making the holes was a bit tedious - 100 each side x 4 sides = 400 little holes.

For thread I 'borrowed' a bit of kite string and waxed it by pulling it across a candle.  If you ever want to cut a candle I recommend this method :)

Lacing the leather was slow, made worse by the frequent mistakes and tangles.  There are a few places on the net that explain how to to this bit so I won't bother going into it, suffice to say it took about 3 hours per side.  The result looked ok ...

But there were a few things I didn't like.

- The colour looked dull with my NOS Campagnolo Nuovo/Super record gum hoods that I bought from Italy
- As I was tensioning the thread I pulled a little too hard and made a small tear in wet leather.  I also don't like the cross stitch at the start.

So I removed the brown leather and started looking around for some white, or off-white leather that would give the clean, classic look that I want.

My dear friend Maryjane from Rose and Heather furniture had a few metres that she wouldn't use, so I started the process all over, this time with heavier, white leather.

It was never going to be straight forward, despite the assurance I gave myself that I knew what I was doing and I'd kick it in about 3 hours.  I cut the new leather to 73mm, as I had done with the brown but it is 1.25mm and a lot stronger, so even with an hour in the warm water I couldn't manage to stretch it satisfactorily around the handlebar.  I didn't work this out until I was halfway through the first side and got to the break lever clamp, so I had to cut 2 new strips and make another 400 little holes at 5mm spacing (that is now 1200 little holes). Grrrr!

Sew it up and step back to admire the job.

Beautiful!!!  Was it worth the 15 hours?  You bet.

Next blog the finished (almost) bike.