A comprehensive collection of gear and culture from a weekend at the 34th Sea Otter Classic
(Image credit: David Kennedy)
Hordes of cycling fans shuffled through the serpentine aisles of the Sea Otter Classic this weekend for the 34th edition of the four-day festival of cycling.
With 70,000 attendees and a record-setting 1100 vendors, the impact of the weekend was not lost on the dozens of brands that launched products each morning.
In the dusty depths of the Laguna Seca Raceway infield, there was a healthy mix of legacy and novel brands to peruse. The big three drivetrain brands: Shimano, SRAM, and Campagnolo were hard to miss, while newcomers like LTwoo gathered crowds of interested riders looking for budget-focused gear. Giant, Trek, and Specialized had tents big enough to encapsulate those of smaller, innovative teams like Sage Titanium, Chandi Bicycles, and a refreshed Parlee Cycles. And even French wheel maker Mavic returned for the first time in years with a modern offering of road and gravel wheelsets.
An embrace of gravel and bikepacking was apparent with scores of bikes bespeckled with wider tyres, mounting points and frame bags. Even suspension - *gasp* - was a focal point for more brands looking to smoothen the increasingly technical terrain that more and more riders nowadays consider 'gravel'.
With so much fresh tech and bikes on display, we've pulled together a comprehensive selection of the most interesting and eye-catching gear on display.
Scroll down to see what made the cut.
First up is Enve, which displayed its new Fray road bike with an unbashful 40mm of tyre clearance. This particular model is specced with the Classified rear hub system to complement its 1x SRAM Force AXS drivetrain. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
An Italian delight at the Pirelli booth. This C68 Gravel was equipped with a set of Cinturato Gravel H tyres. Rumour has it there will be a new flagship addition to road side of Pirelli's catalog coming soon. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
Quite a stunner from Sava, a German brand with Asian heritage. Dubbed the Dream Maker, this 105 Di2 model impressed with its $3999/£3231 price point. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
Over at Hunt, an American-made Parlee Z-Zero RD was paired with a set of Limitless 60 wheels. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
We caught a glimpse of this Honda Motocompacto cruising through the aisles. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
In the hands of new ownership, iconic BMX brand Haro jumped into the drop-bar game with new gravel and road bikes. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
Spotted: a Felt VR, new for 2024 with improved compliance numbers. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
CarBack, an all-new radar from Trek made its debut at the show. It's intended to be a direct competitor to the Garmin Varia priced at $199.99 / £169.99. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
Cinelli shipped over a bevy of Italians as well as this glossy 2024 Pressure road bike. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
The Turner Cyclosys is the culmination of 30 years of frame design from company founder David Turner. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
A Garbaruk cassette and chainring added a subtle flair to the titanium frame. Bonus: the dropout and chain stay yoke are 3D printed! (Image credit: David Kennedy)
Ari, the rebranded Fezzari, teased this unreleased Class 3 e-road bike with a claimed sub-30 pound weight. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
At the Campagnolo booth, this Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7 paired well with some top-of-the-line Italian componentry. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
A special collab from the mind of daredevil rider Safa Brian and Ornamental Conifer paint brought forth this one-off Scott Foil. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
Hailing from Tennessee, Chandi Bicycles is a collective of industry veterans looking to forge their own path in the Titanium frame game. A trio of custom road, gravel, and mountain bike frames are on offer with about a six-week lead time. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
Anyone looking for a modern endurance option should consider the revamped BMC Roadmachine. With additional frame compliance and tyre clearance expanded to 40mm, the lines of road and gravel are becoming blurred. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
We found this colourful Ribble Rebellion team bike hanging around the beer garden. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
Ride the ramp on this slacked-out Schon and win a sticker over at the SRAM booth. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
Giro had a showstopper of its own, however the Aerohead 2.0 is intended to be time-trial specific. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
We spotted these eeBrakes over at the Cane Creek Booth. Viva la rim brake! (Image credit: David Kennedy)
Cane Creek hosted a big release of its own at the show: the Invert gravel suspension fork. Available with 40mm of travel and a lockout at a claimed 1113 grams or as the SL model with 30mm of travel and no lockout at 990g. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
Mavic returned to Sea Otter for the first time in years. The company continues to manufacture wheels in France and has launched a line of modern road and gravel wheelsets. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
This Stein&Fenton road bike stood out with its 3D printed titanium lugs, carbon tubes, an SLF Motion pulley set, and new Mavic Ultimate carbon wheels. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
A handmade and painted bike from Colombian builder Scarab. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
Wolftooth unveiled this 1x narrow-wide SRAM aero chainring. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
We took a minute to appreciate this Beach Club gravel bike. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
A first look at the Panaracer Gravelking X1 tyres which are available in three different models and three sizes 35mm, 40mm, and 45mm. The Gravelking X1s don a more aggressive tread pattern better suited for rough terrain and intended to kick up fewer rocks. Best of all they're still made in Japan. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
German bag brand Capsuled showed off its ultimate set-up with this aero-bar-equipped Canyon Grail. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
All the way from Italy, apparel brand Q36.5 made an appearance to highlight its unique line of knit road shoes. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
More knit shoes were found back at the Trek booth. These RSL Knit shoes have a claimed weight of 488g for a pair of size 42s. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
"Brewed in Oregon" is Sage Titanium's slogan and this Storm King gravel bike is designed with forward-thinking geometry. Intended to prevent toe overlap while preserving a premium ride quality company founder Dave Rosen thought to extend the wheelbase and incorporate a relatively short stem to compensate. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
LTwoo made an attempt to legitimize itself with an offering of drop bar demo bikes on hand. Although most of the company's sales come from the infamous AliExpress, the electronic 1x12 hydraulic groupset put smiles on many riders' faces. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
Koo, a sister brand of Kask, was touting its recent WorldTour sponsorship of Bora Hansgrohe with a selection of stylish photochromic lenses. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
At the extreme edge of the gravel spectrum riders are looking for bikes that are more and more capable. This Giant Revolt Advanced pushes the limits with its Fox Taper-Cast 32 fork with up to 50mm of suspension and a Transfer SL dropper post with 70mm of drop. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
Parlee Cycles is in the midst of a resurgence. The Massachusets-based operation released the Ouray a monocoque frame produced entirely in the EU. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
The exposed carbon layup glistened under its gloss finish. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
Former pro-roadie TJ Eisenhart was offering up on-the-fly custom artwork to fans and mentioned a recent painting he just sold for $20,000. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
We got up-close with Paris-Roubaix winner, Alison Jackson's Cannondale Supersix Evo. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
Belgian helmet maker Lazer brought out the frites for hungry showgoers. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
Speaking of Belgians, Wout van Aert's Cervélo S5. Yes, that's a 54t chainring. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
Not quite a 54T, but this chainset from 5DEV featured diamond-coated crank arms which are said to prevent shoe rub entirely. It looks great paired with SRAM's Transmission and CeramicSpeed's titanium OSPW. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
Gary Fisher appreciation post. That is all. (Image credit: David Kennedy)
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