Ultra Cool Tech (UCT) has shown us its brand new Glacier handlebar tape at Eurobike, designed to cool you down as you ride. Though the temperatures this tape goes down to aren’t quite glacial, the cooling is activated with water which then creates an endothermic reaction to provide “continuous cooling”.
This means that no ice, pre-freezing or batteries are needed, and the cooling effect can last for hours and be reactivated with water – or more likely when you’re riding, sweat.
Why does that matter, then? While UCT didn’t make huge, specific performance promises as we’re accustomed to seeing in the bike industry (such as the number of watts you could save, although that was always going to be a stretch here) its co-founder Christopher Jones highlighted the comfort this can bring to recreational riders, while the gains in performance can be used strategically, especially in hot racing conditions.
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There’s been a reasonable amount of research done on the physiological and psychological advantages of cooling in sport, and you’d have to surmise that something as marginal as a mild cooling effect on your bar tape would fall more into the psychological category; however, Jones was quick to steer away from using the word ‘placebo’, but admitted that how we feel on the bike can have a huge impact on our performance and ride experience.
With the level of interest that UCT said they’ve had from pro teams, including Intermarché Wanty and Canyon-SRAM to name two, it’s easy to believe that these kinds of products will become much more popular in the future. If you’re interested in studies on the benefits of cooling effects in sport, UCT has a section highlighting some on its website.
How does the tape feel like to hold, then? Having got my hands on the tape at the mega Eurobike show in Frankfurt, the conductive material the tape is made of doesn’t feel too different to normal bar tape, but you can certainly feel its moistness.
I can’t really see anyone wanting to ride the tape in its dry form, as it feels a little rough. As someone who does quite easily feel the heat on the bike, though, I am excited to get home and wrap my bars with the bright blue tape – and with that, you can expect more thorough thoughts on what we make of it in a full review later in the year!
The tape currently comes only in black colourway, and the blue you see in our pictures and footage is a demo/pre-production one, with more colours expected to be added later. Each package comes with 2 x 220cm Cooling Bar Tape rolls, finishing tape and bar end plugs.
Interestingly the tape is slightly moist in its package already, so you shouldn’t really open it before you are actually ready to wrap your bar. You can also expect it to not have quite as much give to it as some other bar tapes. Each pack retails for £42.33, with deliveries of pre-orders starting this month.
UCT’s chilled out range of products also includes a cooling vest, which is already been used by some women’s WorldTour teams and available for pre-orders priced at £166. There is also a cooling towel (above), which is the most affordable UCT product at £12.67 and features the same tech as seen on the tape and vest. In essence, this towel has a kinda sponge-like, but thin feel and its cooling is activated by water. I can see it being great at resting on your neck during indoor turbo trainer sessions.
You can find out more about the tape, vest and towel at ultracool.tech/shop
7 thoughts on “Sweaty palms on your summer bike rides? You need this patented cooling bar tape that cools while you ride”
The ‘endothermic reaction’ in
The ‘endothermic reaction’ in question is simply the water evaporating; there’s nothing clever going on here.
When I add water to my vest,
When I add water to my vest, via sweat or a spray, it has a cooling effect. I learnt at school that, ‘evaporation takes away heat.’ Maybe a chemical reaction, other than evaporation, takes place. Perhaps the manufacturer should let us know. I wonder if the weave creates a very large surface area?
If a chemical reaction is
If a chemical reaction is taking place then once the chemicals are used up it would either stop working or you would have no bar tape left. I think it is more likely to work by evaporation and the rough surface is to retain the water on the surface to benefit from the airflow.
No chance of needing this bar
No chance of needing this bar tape in the UK more like heated tape atm
Festus wrote:
Word. We had hail yesterday in Edinburgh and near-freezing rain on my ride today.
So, if it feels rough when
So, if it feels rough when dry*, you’re really only going to want to use it when it’s hot enough to use its USP. Not much use if you rarely ride in warm enough temperatures to need it. Perhaps there’s some advantage for competitive riders but I’d think it’s of little use for the majority of recreational and casual riders unless they live in hot regions.
In the UK, we’d not only need winter bikes but ‘3 days of actual summer’ bikes!
* Presumably that’s with bare hands, and I’m doubtful it would be of benefit to mitt wearers.
Strange choice to use that
Strange choice to use that material for the bar tape and not for gloves. Presumably, if you want to wear gloves as well, then the bar tape isn’t going to work properly.
Full marks for the slightly moist package though.