Certified as strong enough for riding anything up to DH yet the first thing that strikes you is how amazingly light the USE Ultimate Boom Carbon bar feels.

>>> The best mountain bike handlebars

It can be hard to justify the extra outlay for a carbon handlebar when there are so many good quality aluminium offerings that seem to offer the same features for just a handful of grams more. Add in the typical horror stories/myths of what happens to a carbon bar in the event of a crash and you would wonder why you would bother. But a good carbon bar can offer qualities above and beyond anything aluminium can achieve, namely weight reduction and ride quality.

And the Boom Carbon is a very good handlebar.

At 218 grams it is not light enough to put question marks over its durability. In fact it’s almost the exact same weight as the benchmark Renthal Fatbar Carbon.

Its 800mm width puts you firmly in control, although you can happily cut them down to your preferred measurements and happily shed a few grams in the process.

The nine degree backsweep is a touch more than with the Renthal but personally I prefer this extra angulation as it keeps the wrists in a more natural position. It also shares the same five degree upsweep. The only downside is its lack of ride choice, with just a 30mm rise available.

It’s the ride quality of the Boom Carbon where the most significant differences between carbon and aluminium are highlighted. The Boom somehow manages to bring a slightly springy, comforting feel to the hands without feeling overly soft and flexy. The easiest way to think of it is as if there was an extra layer of rubber under your grips, helping to ward off vibrations.