The Radavist

The Radavist thanks 1-Up USA for sponsoring our Sea Otter Classic 2024 coverage!

Josh and John were at Sea Otter Classic this week, covering people, products, and bikes on display. We’ve pulled together a few über galleries for your enjoyment, and today, we’ve got a selection of bikes we found wandering the aisles of the 2024 event.

The Radavist thanks 1-Up USA for sponsoring our Sea Otter Classic 2024 coverage!

Josh and John were at Sea Otter Classic this week, covering people, products, and bikes on display. We’ve pulled together a few über galleries for your enjoyment, so let’s get into Part 02!

The Radavist thanks 1-Up USA for sponsoring our Sea Otter Classic 2024 coverage!

Josh and John were at Sea Otter Classic this week, covering people, products, and bikes on display. We’ve pulled together a few über galleries for your enjoyment, so let’s get into Part 01!

The Radavist thanks 1-Up USA for sponsoring our Sea Otter Classic 2024 coverage!

Josh and John were out at Sea Otter this week, covering people, products, and bikes on display. One bike in particular that caught our eye was this Stanton Sedona 29er, on display at the 5Dev booth. We love a good hardtail and much like Steve from the Hardtail Party YouTube and Instagram account, we’ve been lauding their merits for a long time! So we know a good bike when we see one. Let’s take a look at this shreddy 29er below!

The Radavist thanks 1-Up USA for sponsoring our Sea Otter Classic 2024 coverage!

At Sea Otter Classic 2024, John caught up with Hudski Bikes to check out their new V3 Doggler prototype. If you recall, John loved the Hudski Doggler V2 he reviewed last year and made some mindful notes of what he’d change in the next version of this affordable jack-of-all-trades flat bar bike. Did Hudski read his notes? Read on to find out…

The Radavist thanks 1-Up USA for sponsoring our Sea Otter Classic 2024 coverage!

Josh and John are out at Sea Otter this week, covering people, products, and bikes on display. We’re starting the show coverage off a little differently this year with a feature on Neuhaus Metalworks’ newest offering: the HBSL Titanium XC Race 29er. Read on for a look at this new titanium Superleggera chassis and a comparison to the steel Hummingbird hardtail 29er…

Last year at the 2022 Sea Otter Classic, as I was walking through a parking lot near the Expo I came across a pair of athletes with the most incredible bicycles I’d ever seen. They were rugged, heavily-built trikes with two mountain bike wheels in the front and a massive single fat mountain bike tire in the back, and an electric drivetrain was apparent on each. Both athletes were in wheelchairs. Later that weekend I’d see them, and other para-cyclists, compete in both the Downhill and Dual-Slalom events. It was the first time para-cyclists had been given their own separate classes in any Sea Otter event. I was flabbergasted and, honestly, in awe of not just the bikes but by the para-cyclists and how hard they were sending it on every single run. I came back to Sea Otter this year to talk with and document a few of these athletes.

Travis and Josh are back today with their third and final report from the 2023 Sea Otter Classic. Continue reading below for another installment of interesting bikes, products, and people from the show, in addition to a mega gallery of images from the three days of sun, fog, rides, and wild times at Laguna Seca Raceway. Did they save the best for last? Read on to find out!

We’re back with our second eclectic mix of findings from the 2023 Sea Otter Classic. Yesterday’s post just wasn’t enough to tell you about all the new bikes, old bikes, products, and people Josh and Travis encountered this year. In fact, we reckon even two posts won’t be enough. There’s a lot to cover, so settle in with your morning coffee and enjoy.

Sea Otter Classic is one of the largest annual cycling festivals in the world. Each April since 1991, cyclists of all persuasions have descended on Laguna Seca Raceway outside of Monterey, CA to cheer on professional and amateur racers, as well as check out the latest and greatest in cycling technology at the massive vendor expo.

And this year, that tech happened to be especially late and great, and there was more to talk about than usual. Maybe it’s because there were more exhibitors in attendance than normal. Maybe it’s the easing of strains on the supply chain. Whatever it was, Josh Weinberg and Travis Engel were on the ground all weekend and, over the next few days, will be sharing their findings and observations from the massive event. So, let’s get into it below!

The good ol’ Sea Otter Classic can be an overwhelming experience with its plethora of products and bikes. Here at The Radavist, we try to sift through the dirt to find the chunks of gold, which is what we did this year, profiling a selection of bikes from vintage, to new, including some randoms we found meandering the wind-blown aisles of this lovely event. Check out some beauts below!

When it comes to the trade shows of the cycling industry, it’s hard to beat the Sea Otter Classic. Set in the hills above Monterrey, California, at the Laguna Seca Raceway, this event has tons of charm, bike races, and enough products to wet your whistle. Josh and John spent a few days combing the isles, documenting the people, products, and bikes at the event. Today, we’re diving into the people and products, so read on in the Reportage gallery captions to see what they found…

This is the 5th time in a row that Sierra Nevada Brewery have asked us (PAUL Component Engineering) to build a bike for them to show off at the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, which kicks off this week. So, we must be doing something right!

Wow. Just wow. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this great – emotionally, not physically – after coming back from a tradeshow. It’s been three years since the last time I went to the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, California. In years past, it felt like a flat-brimmed, Monster Energy, bro fest and honestly, it was kind of overwhelming. Don’t get me wrong, that is a broad stereotype and isn’t fair, but I’m not the only one who had that perception. This year, however, the ‘Otter felt more diverse, more inclusive, albeit with a few hiccups – like the racing announcer, and that Canadian company with the ‘booth babes’ wearing bikinis to sell their cheap sunglasses, but overall, I was impressed at how much Sea Otter has improved.

We’ll go into this more in-depth later, with an article by contributor Erin Lamb coming shortly, so right now let’s dive into the tradeshow itself!

Can you OD from OD green? I can’t and at the 2019 Sea Otter Classic, there was a lot of olive drab green bikes, one of which I wanted to spend a little more time documenting because it was from two brands taking on the all-road market. Chapter2 is based out of New Zealand, spearheaded by Mike Pryde. They pride themselves in many of the roadie mantras with “light, fast, responsive” in their tagline, yet the Chapter2 AO looks to add a couple more to that list. If I were to expand on the light, fast, responsive, line, I’d add in versatility and compatibility to that list.

Whoa whoa whoa. What? Last year we saw a plastic shelled prototype of Niner’s full suspension all road, the MCR 9 RDO, and this year at Sea Otter, the brand teased an updated prototype, to the shock and awe of trail shredders and roadies alike.

Niner calls the MCR 9 RDO their Magic Carpet Ride, alluding to the cushy feel that full suspension offers all-day gravel racers. Their theory is the suspension allows riders to run their tires at higher pressures, avoiding snakebite tire tears, rim damage, and less rolling resistance, all with 50mm x 27.5 clearance. Their CVA design – constant varying arc – boasts modified leverage ratios for less travel and total lockout maximizes energy on pavement climbs. The frame is made from Niner’s RDO carbon layup, with one piece forged linkages, has a removable front derailleur mounts and has full sleeve internal routing.

While this bike might not be for everyone, it is cool to see. If you’re feeling this design, let Niner know in the comments and be on the lookout for the MCR 9 RDO late 2019.

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