BRANDS
U
ltimate Sports Engineering or USE as they are better known has long been a staple in the industry.
In May, they’ll celebrate 35 years in business. What
started with a suspension seat post has grown to a company that manufactures parts and has brands like Exposure Lights under its umbrella. Not to be overshadowed, 2025 also sees Exposure celebrate its 20th anniversary. “At the start, it was a steep learning curve. There was
too much enthusiasm, without enough business acumen, typical of many engaging with the explosion of MTB,” explains Mark Swift, Head of Sales and Marketing at USE. “We had some great wins with innovative first-to-
market and market-leading products, most of which were well-received and successful. The market at that time was very receptive to innovation and new ideas. We enjoyed the many challenges and the success we achieved to grow and flourish,” he adds.
As for Exposure, being the first to market with performance lights using LED technology meant early innovation got them noticed for the right reasons. Developing products for riders helps when you’re riding a lot, too. “We have worked hard every year to improve technology and maximise the benefit to the riders. This brings pressure, but it has proved to be worthwhile and a key driver of our success.
“Of course, we were riding a lot, so our ability to understand and make best use of innovative ideas was key to moving forward quickly,” Mark adds.
Learning From the Past When you’re the first to create something, especially 35 years ago, the last thing you’re likely to consider is
www.bikebiz.com February 2025 | 25
protecting those designs, “We should have patented it, but did not have the money and the knowledge at the time,” says Mark. One thing they did have the insight to continue was innovation in product design, but the suspension seatpost also remains: “We still produce a refined version of this seat post
today and have never stopped producing it. With the rise of the gravel and bike-packing markets, its relevance and benefits are being realised by a new generation of riders. “Other seat posts in carbon, titanium and aluminium grew from the Suspension post-development knowledge. Not being able to help ourselves, we prototyped many products, such as carbon kevlar hubs, titanium bottom brackets etc, all innovative and lightweight but, realistically, we were probably too small and inexperienced to capitalise on the potential fully, he adds.
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