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Good News for the VO UTILITY BARS and RACK
by Igor
A while back, we posted (on Instagram) a sneaky preview of a new handlebar and rack system we've been developing and testing. Dubbed the Utility Riser Bar, Utility Flat Bar, and Utility Rack, it is a chromoly handlebar and rack system that pairs together to create numerous portaging setups to carry all your stuff. After many iterations of testing, new butting profiles, and heat treating, we are happy to announce the bars have passed MTB testing and they will be going into production!
I'm super excited about these. I've enjoyed using the bars and rack riding around town, picking up produce from the farmers market, and picking up books from the library.
Additionally, for big handlebar bike-packing style bags, you should be able to strap them to the rack and be done! This is especially useful for shorter folks where tire to handlebar clearance might be an issue.
Clint and his friend Enrico recently put them to the final test with a multi-surface tour on Pass Hunters through the Colorado mountains. They were very creative in mounting gear to both the top and bottom of the platform. There are all sorts of ways you can affix things to the rack, and we look forward to seeing what you put together! Clint will be putting together a couple blog posts soon about their adventures and setups - stay tuned.
Here is generally how it works:
The front of the handlebar has threaded inserts all the way through the handlebar to bolt the rack to the bar.The mounts are spaced for water bottle cages and if you aren't using the rack, you could put bottles on the front of your bar. The rack has multiple configurations to really dial in how you want to fit the bag/backpack/lunch bag/whatever you want to strap down. Flip it up or down depending on the load.The rack also has an eyelet for a front light in both orientations.
There are two handlebar styles called Riser and Flat - you see the utilitarian theme here? The Riser has, you guessed it, rise and some upsweep.
The Flat is, you guessed it, flat. And it can be rotated up or down depending on your clearance and preference. The middle U-piece on the Flat Bar has a threaded middle hole for cargo cage compatibility.
Honestly, in writing this post and trying out different setups over the year+ of development, "the only limitation is your imagination"ⓒ.
We'll keep you updated with developments and timelines, but we think this will be a very cool offering.
In other announcements, VO HQ will be closed in observance of the Labor Day holiday on Monday September 4th. We'll re-open and resume shipping orders out on Tuesday the 5th. Have a great weekend!
