We Are One Da Package review

We Are One’s goal was to create a carbon handlebar that was strong but didn’t compromise compliance. To do this, they reduced the size of the clamping area to 33mm and added an aluminium sleeve to bring the diameter up to 35mm. They say this spreads the stresses more evenly, making the bar less prone to damage from over torquing while allowing a layup that can flex and absorb trail noise more effectively.

The aluminium sleeve has a small locating dimple to help keep everything aligned, which is a nice touch. The quality of the carbon layup is pristine and I like that there’s a little sticker inside the bar with the John Hancock of the Canuck who lovingly laid each carbon sheet. You don’t get that kind of personal touch with big-factory handlebars.

Da Stem is a collaboration with German component manufacturers 77designz. Aiming for a stiff and light design, the stem is made as one piece and machined out of a 7075 aluminium. Clamping is handled by two titanium torx bolts, making for a featherweight 80g for the 35mm-long version we tested. 

The whole bar and stem package weighs just 332g, which is impressive for a DH-rated bar and stem. Check out the video of the testing process above. While it looks like a gym workout to an Industrial House soundtrack in a Berlin nightclub, it shows Da Package enduring forces far higher than you’re likely to inflict on any trail.

Fitting Da Package was straight forward. The torque settings were a fairly standard 4.5Nm at the bar and 6.5Nm at the stem and the bar has small horizontal indentations for cutting guides, making trimming them to size a breeze.

The hand-laid handlebar is a thing of beauty, the pristine carbon finish shimmering under a tinted clearcoat. Where the shape of some 30mm-plus-rise bars can look awkward, the 35mm-rise WR1 handlebar is an elegant combination of tapers and curves necessary for its strength, and to fit through the non-removable-faceplate stem. 

Da Package’s moderate backsweep of 8 degrees and upsweep of 5 degrees could feel flat to some, but I felt instantly at home after years of riding Renthal bars. 

On the trail, the WR1 combo offered a good balance of feedback and responsiveness. They’re not as soft as the very compliant OneUp bars, for example, but they’re a lot more comfortable than a 35mm-clamp aluminium bar.

Out-of-the-saddle cranking elicited a minimal amount of flex at the stem, while high-frequency chatter was muted, but not to the point where you couldn’t feel what was happening at the wheel. They felt solid when hitting repeated holes or g-outs and there were no feelings of weird flex or oscillation. While some more compliant bars can feel vague when hitting high-G corners, manoeuvring root sections, or pinballing rock gardens, the WR1 combo felt direct and decisive.