It can be hard to justify the cost of premium grade handlebar tape, and to each their own, but your hands are one of three points of contact while riding and protecting them and the joints as you move up the arm from the hand is crucial, especially on gravel or other rougher surfaces. While the thickness of plush bar tapes can be a challenge, the benefits are substantial, so a 3.7mm bar tape that protects perhaps even better than a 5mm option may well be the best investment you can make. Silca has made a name with their incredible bar tape options and the Nastro Cuscino matches the needs of many gravel cyclists.

Nastro Cuscino is a Tri-Laminate 3.75 mm thick tape that provides cushioning and comfort equivalent to 5 mm of traditional bar tape foam. Cuscino has a strong texture, medium-high tackiness, and printed silicone graphics which add comfort and grip in both wet and dusty conditions. This is the tape for the cyclist looking for the most comfortable bar tape to help conquer cobbles, gravel, CX, rain and indoor conditions. Cuscino is optimal for cyclists experiencing sore or numb hands or are frustrated with slippery bar tapes in rainy or sweaty conditions. It's not just cushy or soft, but pretty high tech to achieve the desired characteristics.

Using a laminate of SILCAthane, SILCAlon and 3M Visco-elastic adhesive instead of a single foam extrusion, the combination an be optimized across a range of desired features. The resulting tape has a softer, more comfortable feel, higher wet and dry grip, better vibration isolation, and 3-5x the durability of existing tape materials. Every aspect has been carefully considered to ensure every detail is perfect. You get plenty of length for the widest, flared gravel bars. Since the actual wrap of the tape can be as important as the tape itself, Silca has also developed a full adhesive-backed ‘butterfly’ to better cover the back of the lever clamp area without adding bulk, a high grip finishing tape and expanding aluminum/composite end plugs.