Words Lester Perry
Image Jakob Lester
RRP $75
Distributor FE Sports
Handlebar tape has come a long way since the days of harsh fabric wraps. These days, we see a raft of tapes on the market, made from all kinds of materials and labelled to suit every genre of drop-bar cycling. Heck, you’ll even find aero-optimised bar tape if you’re looking for a fraction of a watt saving.
GUEE’s gravel-focused Sio Dura tape is made of German silicone, which GUEE claims enhances longevity, helping it outlast comparable tapes on the market. Although I haven’t had time to truly test its longevity, the tape has held up well after a six-week stretch across multiple rides in varying conditions.
Considering our test bike turned up wrapped with white coloured tape, I expected it to rapidly slide down the colour spectrum, from “white” to “off- white” then “this used to be white”, and finishing with the “it’s too dirty to be seen using” scenario. However, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how clean the tape has remained; even after many sweaty, dusty, off- road excursions, the tape is still sufficiently clean and relatively white. It’s been simple to rejuvenate the tape. I’ve just scrubbed it while washing the rest of the bike, and it’s come up nearly new again.
The tape has no backing adhesive, so it can be removed and reinstalled as often as you like; not something easily done if fitted with adhesive backing. The downside is that it’s not stuck in place, so if the wrap tension isn’t quite right, there may be some slippage or creep of the tape over time—fortunately, the tape’s elasticity and slightly tacky backside help to minimise this.
The tape is 3mm thick and offers a good level of comfort and cushioning, although not quite as much as some other, much pricier gravel tapes of the same thickness. At 2m long, there’s ample length to wrap modern, wide gravel handlebars. The level of grip offered isn’t amazing, just reasonably regular but adequate. The surface is finished with a ‘topo’ style graphic, offering some traction, and the tape has a silky, soft feel. When wet, the tape has a good level of grip with gloves on, although I found wet hands were slightly slippery on the tape.
The bar ends are secured in place with an expanding wedge rather than beaten into the bar end with a mallet—a nice touch. Unfortunately, my initial thoughts about the slick snap-on covers that hide the fixing bolt were confirmed: I lost one after just a couple of rides, no doubt hooked out by some trailside foliage.
The GUEE Sio Dura Bar Tape is decent, affordable, and works similarly to comparably priced options but doesn’t offer the cushion of more expensive gravel-focused tape. However, it has the added bling factor of its fancy bar ends, so perhaps that pushes it up the “want-to-buy” scale a fraction.