Fresh Goods Sunday - Ultimate USE RIP Carbon Flat Handlebar

I have an Ultimate USE seat post on my Nano Black Inc road bike and is super light and not had any problems with it so when I was looking for a new pair of handle bars for the mtb I had a look on the USE website. They manufacturer loads of different models from flats to risers in both alu and carbon. The RIP is the flat model and comes in carbon and alu. The carbon version comes in two models - 740mm & 720mm which can both be cut down further if required. They have slightly different sweeps / rise's. The alu version also comes in 740 & 720mm options rrp £60. I opted for the carbon version in the narrower width. I don't tend to ride wide bars apart from the Syncross carbon risers on the Beast of the East which is mainly used at trail centres / open moorland rides. All my other mtbs have narrow flat bars which are better for getting through stiles etc along the old railway lines. The 720mm is some where in between and you can see on the photos below there are also three markings to either end of the bar for reducing further. Fitting was straight forward - removing the lock on grips, bell, brake levers, gear lever, Bosch display , stem cap & Garmin mount. The central section is not smooth so increases the grip under the stem clamp area which has loads of markings so you can keep it central / level etc. I then refitted all the items and she was ready to rock and role. I have kept the bars standard width at the mo to see how I get on but will probably cut them down later. The logos are subtle and a lovely mat stealth finish to the carbon. The claimed weight was spot on 168g full width. The sweep is just right but may rotate them slightly but will wait until I have had a few more rides with them.
NOTE - USE also do 9 different models of riser bars as well.
RRP £115 and I paid £88.51

Manufacturers blurb -
The Ultimate Rip takes the flat bar to the next level for XC racers or trail rider, created for modern geometry 27.5 and 29” riders where a rise is not needed or even a more aggressive -5mm is wanted to rip through the country side. You do not need to compromise with the Rip the 8 degree sweep and 720mm width give the aggressive yet comfortable position for all-day rides or fast XC racing through narrower trails or circuits. The bars in are in Stealth Matt Black UD Carbon specially designed to have the perfect layup to create strength, stiffness and flexibility in the right places within the bar to give you the best ride at only 158gs.

Technical Specs

Weight	158g/168g
Width	720mm
Diameter	31.8mm
Material	Carbon
Finish	UD Matt
Sweep	8 Degree
Rise	flat/-5 Degree



Alu Cube bars I took off not too bad considering the width of them

Cold, wet & windy Sunday Morning ride on a Mason Definition 2

I picked up Richy's new Mason Definition 2 bike yesterday so decided to take it for a spin around Durham's local roads / hills and country lanes. It is a 56cm and in grey so very similar to my Bokeh. It also has the same group set - Ultegra Di2 but Richy has the fancy new version. Same 50-34 chain rings up front but the new Ultegra rear has the option of 11-34 instead of my 11-32. He has Mavic Allroad wheelset instead of my Hunts and some skinny road tyres! Out of the blocks if felt a very similar geo set up and I did not have to adjust saddle height etc!
The bike spins along on the flat with a tail wind and is responsive on the hills. The front also feels comfy but would feel even better if it had 28/30c tyres on. The rear end felt more harsh than my Norco Search or Bokeh when on rough tarmac but again that might be down to the tyre as I not accustomed to riding narrow tyres these days! There is shed loads of room / clearance on the front and back for a wider tyre / mudguard combo. The Di2 felt like a quicker change on the rear, not sure its it my Di2 is getting older and this is new and crisp or if Shimano have tweaked something. The design of the rear mech is completely different, same for the shifters. As for the route well it started off with rain, wind and 2.9 degrees on the Garmin, great as we are nearly into May. The temperature rose slightly but still windy and overcast. The rain was very patchy and was on and off for the whole ride. The roads would be bone dry one minute and riding through puddles the next. I will take some more photos during the week comparing my Bokeh and Norco Search against this new beast. Below are a few snaps from the ride, enjoy and hopefully more soon -

Gave a quick charge just in case, battery was nearly full.

Rain on the Garmin for nearly the whole ride.

Top of the first climb on todays route

Ludworth tower in the back ground

Cold, windy but sunny spin upto Crawleyside / Parkhead and back

Yesterday I managed a good 2+ hour walk in the sun but it was windy and it was very similar weather for todays ride. The sun was out,  it was windy and cold. The temperature on the Garmin varied from 5.6 to a whopping 8.1 degrees. I did an out n back route up to Parkhead then through the old quarry to the top of Crawleyside. I had a mostly freezing cold headwind on the way up but the old railway line was very quiet so put my head down and never stopped (apart from taking a few pics). Once at the top a few more photos (see photo to the left) then jumped back on and rode back down. There was a few more people out and about inc cyclists, runners, dog walkers and walkers. No horses today but did see a few massive hares jumping about and loads of birds and sheep. The lines are still lovely and dry which makes it easy going, apart from the wind. There was no one in the café at the top when I passed twice. Enjoy a few photos below and hopefully more soon -