Alien Pros Bar Tape Review

If you enjoy cycling as a hobby, it’s only a matter of time before you realize it’s about much more than just riding a bike. It’s about excellent coffee, making new friends, and working on your bike.

We often get asked about different products, and a common question is what bar tape do we recommend. In this article, we’ll tell you about the Alien Pros Bar tape we were lucky enough to use recently.

Why is having good bar tape important?

Bar tape on a road or gravel bike is really important. We always highly recommend investing more in parts that sit at contact points such as feet, hands, and behind.

Good bar tape goes a long way when it comes to comfort, grip, and getting the right look for your bike.

If you use crap bar tape, it will split easily, be slippery in poor conditions, won’t be very comfortable, and won’t last. It is worth getting the right bar tape the first time, which will work and last instead of having to keep changing it.

Alien Pros Bar Tape

Now let’s get to speaking about the Alien Pros bar tape. We have fitted the tape and taken it out on many test rides to ensure we know everything we need to.

The best way to tell you about this tape before giving it a final verdict is to break it down. Here’s what we will speak about;

• Cost
• Fitting
• Style
• Comfort
• Grip
• Durability

Cost

The first thing to mention is that the price coming in around $ (check latest price here) is much cheaper than many other brands out there. We don’t always worry too much about the amount it costs. What’s important for us is value for money.

We felt for the price. It was really good value and much better than other tapes we have tried, which cost more. There’s cheaper bar tape on the market that isn’t a scratch on the Alien Pros.

Fitting

If you fit your own bar tape, you will often know cheap bar tape doesn’t fit well. With the Alien Pros bar tape coming in at around $10, we were unsure of the experience we would get from fitting this.

When first getting it onto the bars, it was really simple. The sticky side held well, and if I ever needed to redo any bits, it didn’t give me any issues. The length was ideal, and I was really happy with how the process went.

It comes with two rolls, one for each side, and bar end plugs. The plugs were very basic, but they worked fine when it came to fitting them. It’s not the thickest bar tape in the world, so you must ensure you don’t wrap it too tightly.

Style

The Alien Pros bar tapes come in many different colors, even some to suit certain brands. We were really happy with the choice and felt whatever bike we had something would match nicely.

We personally went with black tape. When using white tape, it’s really easy for it to get messy, and we didn’t want that.

The design is very basic, with no fancy pattern, no two-tone design, just plain and simple bar tape. The Alien Pros tape might not be for you if you want something fancy. It is ideal for basic classic style bar tape and has a nice matt cork look.

Comfort

I was happy enough when I first rode with the Alien Pros bar tape. It’s not the thickest bar tape on the market, but it’s enough to give a smooth ride. We used this tape on a gravel bike, and even on rough terrain, it was everything we needed to keep our hands feeling ok.

If you require more comfort, we recommend using some special gel pads. When it comes to bar tape, it’s easy to go for the thickest on the market, and although it gives you comfort, it doesn’t help with grip if it’s too wide.

Grip

The main job of bar tape is to stay grippy, so when you’re out riding, there’s much less chance of your hands falling off the bars. The Alien Pros bar tape got this right, and not only does it look good but it’s also got grip.

Using tape like this on a gravel bike was ideal with or without gloves. Even on sketchy descents, I never felt like the bars would get away from me. When it came to wet conditions, it felt the same, and that’s a big bonus as many brands don’t offer both.

Durability

The only way to really test durability is by riding the bar tape lots. We have put quite a few winter miles into it and found it to be very durable. It’s not going brittle or splitting anywhere.

Good bar tape should last years, and we already feel that the Alien Pros will be very durable.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Price is amazing
• Easy to fit
• Lots of different colors
• Grippy in all conditions

Cons

• Very plain to look at
• Not as thick as other bar tapes

Overall

Overall for the budget price of around $XX, the Alien Pros bar tape offers a lot. We were really happy with the quality and it ticked all the boxes for us.

It looks great, is easy to fit, comfortable, and offers the grip I need for my gravel riding.

Alternative Products

If the Alien Pro doesn’t take your fancy, there are many other options you can choose from. Here’s some other bar tapes we recommend.

BV Eva

The BV Eva is a very cool looking tape. Not only does it come in a lovely corky mat black, but it also has modern branding. It’s a lightweight, grippy tape and comes with red bar end plugs.

It is quite a thin bar tape, but it’s ideal if you are not too worried about having a lot of shock absorption. The tape is fairly grippy, but nothing to write home about. Overall, it is great all round tape.

Marque Bar Tape

The Marque bar tape not only looks the part, but it performs too. It’s a very stylish tape that comes in all different colors.

Don’t be fooled the hexagon design is not just for show. It doubles up to also create a gripping rubber surface. This bar tape is ideal if you need maximum grip on the bars, but if you don’t, it can give a sticky feeling while riding.

Robbie Ferri

Robbie Ferri has spent years working in a bike shop, has worked with industry leading brands on product creation, has been a semi pro athlete, and is a fully qualified strength and conditioning coach. He has broken World Records, bikepacked all over the World and raced ultra distance at a top-level.