Planet BikeCentury Gel Pads for Bike Handlebar Tape

Bought these months ago after I broke my hand. Wanting to get on the bike right after the cast came off and knew I would need some cush for the rough road buzz, even with 28mm tubeless tires at 70psi the California roads are rough. I wrapped these under some Service Corse SRAM tape and absolutely love the feel. The gel pads are better than 'padded' tape in that the extra girth is only where your hands rest. comfy on top, smaller total diameter. I was worried that they would break down and goo around under the tape, but even thru the hot months of August and Sept and many many long hot rides, the tape has not smooshed off the gel pads and the pads have not turned to goo and migrated ( at least it appears that way as I have not un wrapped the bar to see. Highly recommended.More time and hundreds of miles have passed with these gel pads under my bar tape. still holding up great, no break down of padding. Now that my hand has healed I wish I could get a 'race' version with reduced thickness. I have grown to love the feel of the padded bar, but with smaller hands and gloves a 'slim' would be nice.

These gel pads work as advertised. They definitely add some cushion to your handlebars, and are easy to install when you rewrap your bar.Here are the caveats: They add a little weight to your bike. It’s only a couple ounces, but they are heavier than bar tape alone. If you care about weight more than comfort, stay away. Also, hand numbness (which I occasionally get on longer rides) is often a function of improper bike fitment, as opposed to the softness of your handlebars.That being said, I really like the cushy feel of my handlebar now. If I change my attitude, they are easy to remove with the next bar retaping. There’s no adhesive ( they’re just naturally tacky) and will not leave a residue upon removal.Great product!

These pads make for really good addition to road bike handlebars, helping to further diminish road chatter and vibration, beyond having thicker bar tape. I added these to Coefficient's AR carbon ergo handlebars when I bought the latter for my road bike and they are a great addition for more comfortable long distance riding. Can't speak to long-term durability of the pads, but I'm guessing that they'll probably last as long as my standard lifespan for my two road bikes' bar tape, about 4,000 miles or so.Definitely a worthwhile investment, particularly if you ride a lot, do long distances and/or suffer from hand issues like I did - being a tall guy that no matter how many fixes I tried, including conscious techniques like posture, good core strength and light gripping to ameliorate my numbness, dozens of different gloves, I still fought, numbness, tingling and pain.The only drawbacks to these pads are relatively small. The first is the glue isn't great, so the pads will peel off quickly of their own accord, which is moderately annoying when you're trying to rewrap the bars, and they also make it a bit hard to start the wrap process on the dropbar sections. On the plus side though, this lack of heavy-duty adhesive means you can reposition them with ease if you don't get them aligned on the first shot, like you might be aiming for. The second issue is the the 90-degree portions of these pads are a touch too long for the top part of road bars, so you will need to trim them back a good inch or more.

I've used gel inserts for years, I do not like wearing gloves and these work well to prevent numbness

I had my local bike shop remove the factory grade bar tape. I picked a new tape that they had in stock, and then had them put this under the new tape. They did say the grips were tricky to install. I was fine paying them for the job bc the chances of me screwing up putting on new bar tape was pretty high already. So, so much better!!! I really don’t like wearing gloves and now the base of my palms don’t hurt after long rides. Another quality product from planet bike.

I needed to get something quick and purchased these gel pads. Overall they do provide an added level of comfort to my thin old fashioned handlebars. I would have liked them to be a bit thicker and longer to provide more coverage and comfort.

I've tried every trick in the book, and then some, in the search for hand comfort on my drop bars. These are definitely on the top of the list for effective and easy to use. From now on every drop bar I own will get a set.

The pads are relatively easy to install. You can just unwrap your current bar tape, install them, and rewrap. I recommend that you use some electrical tape to fix them into place before you rewrap. You will probably want to trim and cut to your needs. I have used these for several years and they add significantly to comfort and ease of riding.