I like to use corks as bar plugs. They’re light, they’re natural, they’re free, and some of them have a personal connection. This one is from a bottle of Van Duzer I drank with my friends in Oregon when one of them was a winemaker there. I cut the corks in half, one half in each end of the bar.
The only trouble is… how to get them out? Plastic plugs pry right out, and Velox plugs have an expanding screw you undo.
For cork extraction… use a corkscrew! I’m pretty sure everyone does this, but it’s amusing and enjoyable to me every time.
The new tape (Bike Peddler has cloth tape, but you have to ask, and it’s only black) gets folded over to tuck inside, with the cork holding it cleanly.
I did some other stuff to the Gravel Roadster at the same time. And shellacked the tape! I never do that, but I bought shellac to finish some paintings, and figured “what the heck.”
Zyliss makes the best ever corkscrew ,Campy makes a corkscrew Smeagle would love but the humble Swiss A knife, never leave home without one ! A long time ago , I saw the lovely core sample scar a unplugged bar can do .
Zyliss also makes the best garlic press. I’ll check out their corkscrew. I recently lost my Swiss Army Knife of many years companionship. I need to get a new one.
I’m afraid to see the Campagnolo corkscrew, though… “my precioussss”