Sea Otter Day one is always an overload of stimulation: the bikes, the sounds, the kids doing wheelies in the aisles between the booths. Something extraordinary, usually carbon, usually anodized (purple), sticks out daily. Here’s what stood out to me on day one of the Sea Otter Classic
Scarab Bikes Mountain Bike
If you’re not familiar with Scarab bikes, you should be. This Colombian brand is crafting some of the coolest-looking and uniquely painted bikes.
This particular mountain bike build caught my attention. The paint, the simple shapes, and, of course, the purple anodized parts drew me in.
Something in the mountain biker’s brain gets stimulated when purple alloy is on the menu. Do yourself a favor, roll over to the Scarab site, and check out some of their cool builds and paint jobs. Scarabcycles.com
VIAIR Recon Mini Electic Pump
You know VIAIR from overlanding and trunk-mounted compressors. This time, the brand goes deeper into the bike world with a mini electric inflator. The inflator is compact, very easy to use (I needed it a few times already), and works as a great pressure gauge for on-the-go. The color LCD screen is easy to read, and the tan color of the rubberized package seems to eschew trail bumps and dust.
One charge (about 30 minutes) can provide roughly 3-4 tires’ worth of air. We look forward to a full review soon, but we’re currently very stoked about this little pump. VIAIRcorp.com
Savilia Blunk RockRider Bike
If you’ve been watching the UCI Mountain Bike World Cups recently (if you haven’t, you should), the name Savilia Blunk will ring a bell. We profiled her bike last year at Sea Otter Classic, and this year, it’s updated with lots of new kits and partners.
Rockrider is a French team, but this year, they moved away from Hutchinson and Mavic and went all in with SRAM and Vittora. The team now rides Zipp wheels, SRAM/Rock Shox, and Vittoria tires.
How is the switch? Well, they’ve had a super successful season and have been on the podium (with multipliers), so I’d say they’re pretty darn good.
Still, with all the SRAM, Zipp, and other sponsors, Blunk tightens the weight on her race bike with trick bits from Carbon Ti and Darimo. Decathlon.com
