Sea Otter Classic is underway at Laguna Seca Raceway, just outside Monterey in California. Part bike show, part festival, part multi-discipline race event, the Classic has been running for more than three decades and will attract tens of thousands of people over the coming days.
The racing, of which there's all manner of disciplines including road, gravel, mountain biking, and even dual slalom, has attracted some huge names in years gone by; the US Postal team a long time ago, and Marianne Vos more recently. The expo attracts just as stellar a field, with Francesco Moser here to promote his brand's new bike, and rumours of Gary Fisher, Floyd Landis, and more roaming the dusty walkways between the hundreds of booths.
In each of those booths is the culmination of the brand's hard work, often years worth, and as ever there are some seriously cool things on show. Having followed (literally) in the footsteps of those aforementioned stars by roaming the dusty walkways myself, here are the coolest things I spotted on day one.
Classified does mountain biking, with new shifter and lots to come
The new shifter from Classified uses a simple ring plus two protrusions for your thumb (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
I spend a lot of time waxing lyrical about Classified's two-speed Powershift hub, dubbed the 'front derailleur killer'. However, one of its downfalls on the road has been the lack of easy integration with Shimano and SRAM, so it often requires a separate shifter. Notably, it's possible to splice and connect to Di2, which some OEMs already have – as found in my Ridley Grifn review – but it can void your shifter's warranty, so proceed cautiously.
It's grippy, light-action, and easy to reach (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Classified has recently adapted its tech to mountain biking, and with that it has announced this new ring shifter. I took it for a spin, and the same impressive Powershift tech is now actioned by a light-action machined alloy ring. It's a small thing, but the attention to detail is impressive.
What's more, there was a strong inference that there are lots of new things to come in the coming 12 to 18 months, so we'll be keeping our eyes on the brand for sure.
UK brand Vielo has started making 1x compatible road bikes only, so makes a prime candidate for the Classified system (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Diamondback launches the Haanjo gravel bike
(Image credit: Josh Croxton)
There's a new bike from Diamondback: The Haanjo. It's a gravel bike, available in eight different guises across two different frames, with up to 60mm of front suspension.
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(Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Available in both alloy and carbon, the bike aims to cater to both commuters who want a little more capability from their bike, and the do-it-all-well carbon gravel bike crowd. Dropper posts feature on five of the models, SRAM's Rival eTap groupset features on the highest-spec of each frame, and pricing ranges from $1000 to $5700.
The Haanjo 7 comes with Rockshox's Rudy fork with 40mm of travel, while the Haanjo 4 alloy model comes with Suntour's 60mm-travel GVX32 fork.
Teravail enters the road tyre market
(Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Founded in 2015, US-brand Teravail has its roots in gravel tyres, but is working towards having "something for every type of rider" and with that in mind, has this week announced the Telegraph road tyre.
Priced between $70 and $75, there are two options: 'Durable' and 'light and supple' and each is available in either black or tan sidewalls. They're tubeless ready, made with a 120TPI construction, and at the time of launch are available in 30c, with more sizes to follow.
Kav's 3D printed helmets are updated with colour
KAV is doing helmets differently to most (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Kav has a different take to most on what makes the best road bike helmets. Kav's promise is a helmet that fits without the need for a retention band, with improved protection over a standard helmet. It uses a 3D scan of the rider's head and an AI-powered algorithm to create a helmet that fits each rider perfectly without oversizing the outer shell and causing that mushroom style we all try to avoid. It has recently introduced colour to the equation, as shown in the helmets above.
The purchase process begins with a head scan, which is fed into the algorithm, and a skull-cap-style helmet is created for the customer to try. Upon approval, the helmet is then created, with the honeycomb structure throughout.
On this white helmet, you can see the lattice structure continues through the entire helmet (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Inside, 3D-printed pads are attached to small springs that help to keep the helmet comfortable, and a sweatband is designed with tension to act as a front pad. There's no added rotational protection, because KAV says all of the crumpling is handled by the hexagonal structure.
Pricing is set at $330, which might be offputting, but added value comes in the free crash replacement policy.
Selle Italia's 3D printed saddle and novel bar end plug
Selle Italia has more new saddles, as well as its own patented pattern (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Selle Italia has more 3D printed saddles on the way, with various densities and shapes aimed at different rider types, and its own patented pattern that separates it somewhat from the similar offerings from Fizik and Specialized, all of whom using the tech from California based brand Carbon.
Elsewhere on the stand was the brand's Greentech offering, which includes saddles and bar tape. The saddles are constructed entirely without pollutants, meaning the entire product is recyclable, and interestingly, it's made entirely using companies within a 15km radius of the brand's headquarters in Italy.
(Image credit: Josh Croxton)
The bar tape within the range has a novel take on the bar end plug. The eco-friendly rubber-like bar tape material is moulded into an over-the-top bar end plug for an all-in-one product. It's different, it's perhaps unnecessary, but it's neat and I'm a fan.
(Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Bike-mounted garage door fobs
Unassuming, but no doubt useful for a select few. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
In today's episode of things you don't need but almost certainly want: the bike-mounted wireless garage door opener.
If you own an electric garage door, you could carry the wireless key fob in your pocket, or you use an app as some offer these days, but for those who don't want to carry round the fob or reach into your pocket at the end of a ride, your first-world problems have officially been solved, because now you can integrate your key fob into your bike.
Roadies say hello to the bar-end-plug-mounted option. Mountain bikers meet the top cap.
It almost looks like Jack Skellington. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Josh is Associate Editor of Cyclingnews – leading our content on the best bikes, kit and the latest breaking tech stories from the pro peloton. He has been with us since the summer of 2019 and throughout that time he's covered everything from buyer's guides and deals to the latest tech news and reviews.
On the bike, Josh has been riding and racing for over 15 years. He started out racing cross country in his teens back when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s, racing at a local and national level for Somerset-based Team Tor 2000. These days he rides indoors for convenience and fitness, and outdoors for fun on road, gravel, 'cross and cross-country bikes, the latter usually with his two dogs in tow.
