A few weeks ago, we covered the explosion of brands adopting the Avinox motor on their eMTBs. And, guess what? Quite a few of them were at Sea Otter.
But there are other eMTBs out there that weren’t covered in that initial roundup, some with the Avinox, some without. So, without further ado, here’s a quick look into Sea Otter’s eMTB scene for 2026.
Some Avinox Additions Seen at Sea Otter…
The Commencal Meta Power SX isn’t necessarily new, but the drive unit is. Obviously, it features the new Avinox MS2 drive unit with 150Nm of torque and an 800Wh battery.
Not only does the new Meta Power SX feature the new drive unit, but Commencal made a few tweaks to the frame. It’s a bit longer, a bit slacker, and has a slightly steeper seat tube angle. The Meta Power SX features 160mm of travel paired with a 170mm fork and rolls on mixed wheels.
Ari was also teasing a new Avinox-equipped e-bike at Sea Otter, the Wire Peak. They are staying fairly tight-lipped with all the details, but here is what they were able to share:
- Alloy frame, 150mm of travel
- 160 (stock) or 170mm fork
- 29er or MX wheels
- 64° HTA / 78° STA
- 4 sizes (S–XL)
- 4-way geo adjust
- 800Wh or 600Wh battery options
Perhaps best of all is the price. Ari says there will be three or four build options, with prices starting under $5,000.
Something New From Kona
Well, sort of new. The Kona Remote 160 isn’t a new name to the brand, but they have done a complete revamp of the bike. And, it made its debut at Sea Otter, with more details to come in the next few days.
It is still a 160/160mm bike, but there are a few firsts for the Remote 160. Unlike previous iterations, and any Kona e-bike for that matter, the Remote 160 is their first carbon e-bike offering. Obviously, they also changed up the shock placement. Kona did this to easily fit the range extender in the front triangle across all sizes.
Speaking of range extenders, the Remote 160 comes with one. Out of the box. No additional purchase necessary. The bike features a Bosch SX drive unit, SRAM Ultimate-level suspension, Maven brakes, and a Di2 drivetrain.
New From Norco
Also in that new category is the Norco Sight VLT Bosch A. While the Sight isn’t a new name to Norco’s lineup, this bike certainly is. It features an aluminum frame, 150/160mm of travel (rear/front), and a Bosch PX drive unit.
Yeah, you heard right, Bosch PX. It has 700W of power, 90Nm of torque, and a 600Wh battery. It is offered in five sizes, mixed-wheel options, and, best of all, an affordable price range. Prices for the Sight VLT Bosch A start at $4,799 and top out at $6,599.
Maybe You’ve Heard of Them, I hadn’t…
It is fun to discover brands you either haven’t heard of or know very little about. And, as you might imagine, Sea Otter is the place for it.
Bulls is an interesting co-op-owned brand in Germany. I chatted with their American distributors here at Sea Otter about the new e-bike they had on display. It features a Bosch CX drive unit paired with a 600Wh battery, 150mm of travel (front and rear), and integrated lights. And it is priced pretty competitively, with prices starting around $4,500 for the full alloy frame.
The carbon front/alloy rear bike on display is around $6,000. Bulls expects to release the bike this summer.
Another brand I was relatively unfamiliar with was HPC. Their Trail Blazer enduro features 155mm of travel paired with a 160mm fork. And it certainly doesn’t lack power, perhaps blurring the lines between e-bike and moto, with a Bafang motor delivering 185Nm of torque.
Their bikes at Sea Otter were paired with 1,050Wh batteries, which HPC said are made in-house. Jumping onto their website, it looks like HPC provides quite a few options for battery size, power output, etc, so you can likely get it down to class 1.
Shimano Motors Represent
The Shimano EP8 motor was also spotted on several bikes here at Sea Otter. The Jamis Defcon features a 150mm alloy frame with particularly long chainstays. They offer two builds, with the lower listed at $6,000 and the higher at $7,500.
The Defcon E1 looks to be a pretty solid build, with TRP DHR brakes, Fox Performance suspension, and an XT mechanical drive unit.
Canyon also uses the Shimano drive unit on a few of its eMTBs, including the Torque ON and Spectral ON. We all likely remember the issues Canyon had with its batteries, which led to an eventual recall. Now, all is good, and Canyon was happy to share that both the electrified versions of the Torque and Spectral are being shipped.
More From Bosch…
The Avinox release has certainly garnered a lot of attention. The word is that Bosch has something in the works that we look forward to hearing about. Regardless, there were some pretty cool Bosch e-bikes at Sea Otter, with some pretty sweet paint.
The Revel ReRun was present, looking so sweet with a custom paint job from Tec-Gnar. The big squish enduro rig features a Bosch SX drive unit.
Polygon had their emerald-green Collosus TE with a Bosch CX drive unit. Prices start at $7,500 and, damn, that color really pops.
Cannondale was also showing off its Bosch CX-equipped Moterras. This bike embodies “long, low, and slack,” and, from personal experience, feels incredibly planted. However, you might clank a pedal or two off the ground.
A Drive Unit/Gearbox Mashup
Intradrive is a UK-based drive unit brand that said, “Why not put it altogether?!” They produced the GD8, a gearbox/motor mashup which, in my opinion, really makes a lot of sense.
Intradrive’s GD8 drive unit features 700W of peak power, 8 speeds, and weighs 4.5kg. The GD8 has electronic shifting with a 0.1-second shift speed. It is currently compatible with e-bikes that have a Shimano EP8 motor, and can accommodate a belt or a chain.
At Sea Otter, the Intradrive unit was displayed on two bikes made for the show. The guys from Intradrive told me that the focus is on business-to-business (I think “B2B” is what they call it) rather than on manufacturing a frame.
Is it an eMTB?
Lastly, I couldn’t walk past this Salsa Wanderosa without asking: “eMTB or eGravel?” Regardless, it is a rad bike and frankly just looks good.
