Greetings all --
Finally moving from a lurker into a participant. A brief intro -- I've been out of the bicycle business for about 12 years now, and now own an art gallery and custom picture framing business in Bigfork, Montana. My cycling knowledge was gleaned at Braxton Bike Shop in Missoula, MT, where I worked for Sam and Shirley from '85 until mid '90, around six months after Sam's death. I worked as the head mechanic, assembled all of the Braxton customs that went out, built most of the wheels, and was slowly learning to file lugs and miter tubing when Sam was diagnosed with cancer. His passing was certainly a loss to the industry, as I soon learned working in other shops in Madison, WI and Minneapolis after college.
Regarding the padding -- there are several types of overwraps for squash and racquetball grips that will work quite well under Tressoplast or Benotto tape. Look for stuff that's thin and flat, generally without adhesive, rather than an actual replacement grip with adhesive and tapered edges. They generally come in packs of three, which should easily do a bar if you stretch it enough. Prince and Wilson are common brands that most pro shops should carry. If you're topping with Benotto and are concerned about unraveling, you might want to hit the overwrap with some spray adhesive before your final wrap.
If you're looking for an old-school, large diameter solution, we used to do a custom wrap on some of the expedition touring bikes that was comprised of adhesive backed foam weather stripping on the bar tops (Grab-ons came later), covered with 6 rolls of cloth tape, three each side. The drops were usually left unpadded, just taped. Gave a nearly indestructible, 3-4 cm diameter bar for long days (weeks? months?) on the road.
Regards --
Derek Vandeberg
Bigfork, Montana