Bar tape is one of those parts you don't think much about until you wrap a fresh set onto your bars and remember how much the right material matters under your hands. Ritchey's Comp EVA Handlebar Tape sits at the practical end of their bar tape line — an EVA foam wrap that handles road, gravel, and cyclocross duty without the price tag of premium synthetic leather or perforated options. It's the tape you reach for when you need a clean, comfortable rewrap and don't want to overthink it.

The material is ethylene-vinyl acetate, an elastomeric polymer that's lightweight, soft, and flexible enough to conform around the curves of a drop bar without fighting you during installation. At 2.5mm thick, it sits in the middle of Ritchey's range — thicker than their ultralight WCS options, thinner than gel-backed wraps like the WCS Pave. That thickness gives you real cushioning under the hoods and in the drops without bulking up the bar diameter to the point where it changes how your levers feel.

EVA has a couple of practical advantages over cork or synthetic leather for riders who put in varied conditions. It doesn't absorb water the way cork does, so it stays consistent when you sweat through a hot ride or get caught in the rain. It also resists the crumbling and flaking that older cork tapes develop after a season or two. The trade-off is appearance — EVA has a more uniform, slightly synthetic look compared to the textured finish of cork or the leather feel of premium tapes — but for a wrap you'll replace every season or so, the durability math usually works out.... Read More