USE Tula Carbon

USE's left-field thinking has already racked up Olympic and Ironman wins across the globe. And the Tula is certainly a radical-looking bar, not least because of the unique brake levers.

Thin aluminium blades sit parallel to the leading edge of the curved base bar to reduce drag over the wing. At first, they take a leap of faith to trust, but braking action is fine and, unlike most horn-mounted levers, can be used from the hand pods or the flat wing sections. Sport pods with conventional levers are also available.

At only 712g they're far lighter than anything else here with combined brakes. But there's no trace of warp when you're battling gravity.

The base bar comes in width options from 380mm to 440mm; rose joint-mounted clamps mean excellent fine-tuning of armrest angle, tilt and sweep; and the soft gel Fizik pads are excellent, although the holders aren't height or width adjustable. There's also a cheaper (£399) version with straight alloy extensions.

Contact : USE 01798 344477 www.use1.com