Tessel 1.8 vs 2.5: How Much Bar Tape Do You Want Between You and the Road?
Last Sunday, standing inside the Caja Rural paddock before the final stage of the 2026 Tour de France, I understood better than ever why we decided to make Tessel in two different thicknesses.
Caja Rural invited us to the final stage, and the access was incredible. Riders were passing only a couple of metres away from us.
You normally see these people through a television screen, surrounded by motorbikes, barriers and thousands of spectators. Inside the paddock, you suddenly see the human side of the Tour: mechanics making final adjustments, riders preparing themselves, the tension before the start and the physical reality of what three weeks of racing does to a body.
And then Mathieu van der Poel walked past.
I have always been a huge Van der Poel fan. I also admire Tadej Pogačar enormously. It is impossible not to. But when one rider becomes so dominant, I naturally find myself supporting the riders who can disrupt the expected result.
Van der Poel has that quality. He races aggressively. He is spectacular. He can turn a controlled race into something completely unpredictable.
Seeing him from close range was also striking. He is lean, obviously, but incredibly powerful through his back and upper body. He looks like someone built to force a bicycle across bad surfaces, through corners and over short, brutal climbs.
And that afternoon, he delivered.
What a stage!!!
Van der Poel and Pogačar attacked while the sprinters’ teams chased behind. As the race approached the finish, the gap was disappearing. Both were clearly exhausted. Pogačar could no longer continue the move, but Van der Poel kept going.
It was one of those moments when you keep thinking: they are going to catch him now.
But he continued.
One stage, two very different bar tape demands
Watching that stage made me think about the two versions of Tessel.
During the long cobbled sections and repeated rough urban sectors, I imagine many riders would appreciate the additional support of the Tessel 2.5 mm.
On surfaces like those, comfort is not a luxury. Repeated vibration travels through the tyres, wheels, fork and handlebar before reaching the rider’s hands.
Over time, that vibration creates fatigue. Your grip becomes less relaxed, your hands can begin to hurt and maintaining control becomes harder.
But then think about the final kilometres.
Van der Poel was exhausted. Pogačar was exhausted. The sprinters were almost on top of them. Every movement mattered. Every steering correction mattered. Every sensation coming through the front of the bike mattered.
That is where I can imagine preferring the Tessel 1.8 mm, or perhaps something even thinner.
Not because thinner bar tape magically creates more power. Your power reaches the road mainly through the pedals, not through your hands.
But less material between the hand and the handlebar can provide a more immediate sensation. There is less cushioning and less deformation, so the cockpit can feel more direct and precise.
In those final moments, when you are trying to use every last bit of energy left in your heart, lungs and muscles, you want the bicycle to respond without unnecessary movement.
That is the real difference between Tessel 1.8 and Tessel 2.5.
It is not simply thin versus thick.
It is about how much of the road you want to feel, and how much of it you want the bar tape to absorb.
Tessel 1.8 mm: direct and precise
Tessel 1.8 is the most direct version.
It is designed for riders who do not want much material between their hands and the handlebar. The result is a compact cockpit feel with less bulk, less compression and clearer feedback from the front of the bike.
Each roll weighs 38 grams, tape only.
But weight is not the main reason to choose it. The important difference is the sensation.
Tessel 1.8 mm makes sense for:
- Performance road riding
- Racing and fast group rides
- Riders who prefer a narrow and compact handlebar feel
- Riders who dislike soft or heavily cushioned tape
- Smoother roads and short, intense efforts
- Anyone looking for maximum definition through the hands
Some riders simply feel more comfortable when the handlebar remains close to its original diameter. For them, adding more cushioning can make the cockpit feel vague or oversized.
The 1.8 mm version keeps things compact.
Tessel 2.5 mm: more support without a soft feeling
Tessel 2.5 uses the same visual language and structured surface, but provides more material underneath the hands.
Each roll weighs 47 grams, tape only.
That is only 9 grams more per roll than the 1.8 mm version, but the difference in feel is more significant than the difference on the scale.
The 2.5 mm version offers more support and more isolation from vibration. It is still intended to feel controlled and relatively dense, rather than excessively soft or spongy.
Tessel 2.5 mm makes sense for:
- Long road rides
- All-road riding
- Rough tarmac
- Cobbled or broken surfaces
- Riders who experience hand discomfort
- Riders who want more support without losing too much definition
- Bikes with stiff cockpits or higher tyre pressures
This is probably the version I would choose for a full day involving repeated cobbled sectors, especially after already spending several hours on the bike.
At the end of a long race or ride, reducing fatigue can be more valuable than achieving the most direct possible feel.
The difference is only 0.7 mm, until you ride it
On paper, 1.8 and 2.5 mm do not sound dramatically different.
The difference is only 0.7 mm.
But the hand is extremely sensitive. Bar tape covers one of the main contact points between the rider and the bicycle, and small changes in diameter, density and compression can be very noticeable.
The final sensation also depends on more than nominal thickness:
- Handlebar diameter and shape
- Wrapping tension
- Amount of overlap
- Gloves or bare hands
- Tyre width and pressure
- Riding position
- How much weight the rider carries through the hands
- The condition of the road
This is why there is no universal correct answer.
A rider using larger tyres at lower pressures may already receive significant cushioning from the tyres and prefer the directness of Tessel 1.8.
Another rider on a stiffer bike, narrower tyres or rougher roads may benefit much more from Tessel 2.5.
The same rider could reasonably choose one version for racing and the other for long-distance riding.
Directness or support?
When developing Tessel, we did not want to present 1.8 mm as the fast version and 2.5 mm as the comfortable version.
That would be too simplistic.
Comfort can improve performance because a rider who is less fatigued can remain relaxed and controlled for longer.
Directness can also improve confidence because the rider receives clearer information through the handlebar.
The choice is therefore not between performance and comfort.
It is between two different ways of achieving performance.
Tessel 1.8 prioritises immediacy, compactness and road feedback.
Tessel 2.5 prioritises support, vibration management and sustained control.
Neither is automatically better.
The right version depends on the rider, the bike and the surface.
What would I choose for that Tour de France stage?
For the long cobbled sections, I would probably choose Tessel 2.5.
After three weeks of racing, with tired hands and rough surfaces, the additional support would make sense.
But for those final moments, with Van der Poel trying to stay ahead of the peloton, I understand the attraction of Tessel 1.8.
At that point, you want the bike to feel immediate.
You want every steering input to be precise.
You want as little unnecessary movement as possible between your hands and the handlebar.
Van der Poel’s performance came from his strength, his positioning, his instinct and an extraordinary ability to continue when the race appeared to be coming back together.
No bar tape creates that.
But the contact points on a bicycle help determine how clearly and confidently a rider can use everything they already have.
That is why Tessel exists in two thicknesses.
Not because more choice is always better, but because different riders, roads and moments demand different things.
Tessel 1.8 or Tessel 2.5?
The real question is: how much do you want to feel, and how much do you want the tape to absorb?
