The 2026 Sea Otter Classic wrapped up a week and a half ago, and we’ve been doing our best to report on all of the cool new bikes, components, and accessories we saw at the expo. From 32″ everything to instant coffee, there was no shortage of interesting products to find in the booths at the Laguna Seca Raceway. But to wrap up my Sea Otter coverage, here’s a collection of things that caught my eye and that I feel deserve mention.
Below you’ll find a seemingly never-ending supply of anodized parts, more mountain bike tires with radial casings, the most beautiful bike at the show (in my opinion), entrepreneurs with new products trying to get noticed, and more.
And not a single additional mention of 32″ wheels, tires, or bikes (except this disclaimer), I promise. Check it out.
The Best Looking Bike at Sea Otter
We’ve seen this titanium masterpiece before. In fact, we covered this Ogle bike in detail after seeing it at MADE last fall. But I wasn’t there, so I didn’t get to see it in person. Now that I have, I’m going on record as saying it was the best-looking bike I saw at the Sea Otter this year. Obviously, the lines, titanium tubing, and gold logos matching the Kashima on the suspension are eye-catching, but it’s the detail in the 3D-printed lugs that really seals the deal. Hit the link above for a deeper dive and more detailed shots taken with a nicer camera than mine.
Respect the Hustle
It’s never easy to start a new business, and that seems particularly true in the cycling industry, especially since COVID. Which is why I was impressed to see a couple of smaller, up-and-coming brands at Sea Otter, doing their best to get noticed in a sea of exhibitors. Not to mention that their products looked pretty darn interesting and somewhat unique in the marketplace.
Nadive Tailgate Pads
Nadive’s owner, Justin, reached out via email before the show, but I didn’t have specific plans to meet up with him. Fortunately, I happened to be passing by his booth when he grabbed my attention. With his tailgate pads, Justin has essentially distilled the concept down to its simplest form. He makes two models, the strapless COMPACT and the strap-on COMPACT+, both of which fold down to a very compact size when not in use, and look incredibly easy to install and remove.
The Nadive pads appear to be a big step up from using a towel or moving a blanket over your tailgate, but just as convenient. They are made from a PVC-coated tarpaulin shell covering 3/4″ EPE foam padding to protect your bikes and your tailgate. A silicone dot print on the inside of the pad adds grip and stability in transit. Both pads are 26″ wide, cover a bit less than half of a truck tailgate, and look like they’ll fit 2 bikes easily.
The COMPACT ($57) is strapless, so it installs in seconds by simply draping it over your tailgate. The COMPACT+ ($88) has two straps with metal g-hooks to secure it under the tailgate, plus stitched-on daisy chains and two Voile straps to secure your bikes to the pad. When not in use, the folded pads are tiny and will essentially disappear in your truck or garage until you need them. Nadive is taking preorders now with pads estimated to ship in June.
Rockinator Body Armor
I was walking out of the media center when Pau from Rockinator approached me to check out some new body armor. I don’t personally wear body armor, but if I did, I’d sure as heck want it to be breathable, which appears to be one of the design priorities with the brand’s modular system. The system includes the zippered, armored vest and a base layer with integrated shoulder pads. Pau was wearing a 3/4 sleeve baselayer, which also had elbow pads, but that doesn’t appear on their website yet.
The body of the vest and the optional padded baselayer are made from a breathable mesh-like fabric. The vest includes eight pads covering nearly the entire torso, including the chest, upper and lower back, ribs, and abdomen. All of the armor panels appear to be highly breathable with a very open structure, yet they are all rated CE Level 2 for impact protection. In addition to providing fairly comprehensive torso protection, they included pockets on the lower back so you can stash some items in there while you ride.
The Rockinator armor looks highly breathable, relatively comfortable, with a streamlined fit and thoughtful design. It’s currently available with special launch pricing of $245 for the vest and base layer combo through the Rockinator website.
More Radial Tires
Given the success of Schwalbe’s Radial tires, we figured it was only a matter of time before other brands got on board the Radial casing train. This year, we’ve already seen Specialized, Vee Tires, and most recently, e*13 introduced new tires with Radial casings. Though we’ve already heard about all of these, it was good to see them at Sea Otter. As a fan of the enhanced grip and control of Schwalbe’s Radial tires, I’m excited to try some more options from other brands.
Vee Tires
Vee Tires was showing its new Radial casing lineup of gravity-oriented tires. These were introduced a couple of months ago and should be hitting the market pretty soon. Dubbed RAD-Core, the radial casing will be coming on the three tires in the photo above to start. I’ve got a set of the Attack HPL and the Attack FSX (as a front/rear combo) lined up for testing, and I’ll share my impressions once I get some time on them.
e*thirteen Grappler Radials
We posted a piece on the new Grappler Radial tires from e*13 yesterday, so I won’t bore anyone with the details here. Long story short, they’ve got three models with radial casings that appear to be aimed at aggressive riders and terrain, with tread patterns that look chunky and strikingly similar to the Vee Tires above.
Kitworks
I got my hands on a Kitworks MTB tote late last year, and I’ve been loving the modular system, tough materials, and new level of organization that it has brought to my cycling gear. Turns out, the brand makes more than just heavy-duty tote bags. I swung by the Kitworks booth to check out some of their other gear organization solutions. The Gear Box above is more structured than the tote, making it stackable (apparently up to 250 lbs), but it is collapsible when not in use. It has a modular design, so you can compartmentalize the storage however you like, with loads of system accessories like pockets, cubes, and dividers to choose from.
I wish my camp kitchen were anywhere near as organized as the Gear Box in the photo above. Kitworks’ selection of gear cubes, accessories, and even the Velcro gear ID labels is well developed to dial in your setup.
The Adventure Duffel employs the same durable materials and modular storage design as Kitworks’ other products, but turns it into a more travel-friendly duffel bag package. The top opens all the way and is designed to hold its structure, so you can easily see and access your gear. The Laminated shell material is tough and weather-resistant, as is the YKK Aquaguard zipper. It has reinforced carry handles, removable backpack straps, and it comes in 60L and 90L sizes.
SQlab LTD. Saddles
If you’re tired of your bike saddle color options being black and black, SQlab has a few interesting LTD versions of its ergonomic saddles to choose from. The Mike Metzger saddle with the eyeballs is undoubtedly going to attract some attention, but if you’re familiar with freestyle motocross legend Mike Metzger, the design seems pretty appropriate. The ION saddle is part of a collaboration with SQlab and ION, which includes ergonomic mountain bike grips in the same colorway. The Escape saddle is also part of a collection that includes an off-road drop handlebar and handlebar tape that comes in the same sand and green colors as the saddle.
SQ Lab was also showing a new 614 ERGOWAVE Active 2.1 saddle with carbon rails. The rails are the biggest update to the saddle and increase the price to $219.
Drift Shoes
Drift shoes are set to officially launch in the next week or so, but we got a sneak peek at Sea Otter. Formerly a brand known as DZR, Drift is starting out with a new model called the ARC (pictured above), which they are referring to as an SPD-compatible cycling sneaker. It appears Drift is trying to set itself apart from the competition with the feel of the full leather upper and skate shoe-esque aesthetics.
Inside the somewhat casual-looking shoe is a waterproof membrane for weather protection and a reinforced toe box to shield against rock strikes. Underfoot, a composite shank provides a pedaling platform, and there’s a full-coverage rubber sole with 2-bolt cleat compatibility. We’re told they’ll be available in five different colorways, and should be available May 5th.
Anodized Everything
As usual, there was no shortage of anodized parts on display throughout the Sea Otter expo. I’ve never been one to color-coordinate everything on my bikes, mostly because I can’t afford it, but I appreciate it when other people do. Plus, I’m easily distracted by bright colors and shiny things. Below is just a fraction of the anodized parts to be seen at Sea Otter.
Race Face
Race Face has been in the color game for a long time, and they were showing off their matching Atlas handlebars and cranks, Vault hubs, Turbine stems, and an entire tree made of colorful pedals.
Wolf Tooth Components
Wolf Tooth Components offers a wide range of anodized colors, available across a deep selection of their parts and components. If you’re interested in matching as many parts as possible on your bike, Wolf Tooth is probably your best bet. Check out their Color Shop the next time you’re doing a custom build. There’s a heck of a lot more than what’s in the pictures above, including some soon-to-be-released hubs.
Freedom Coast / Better Bolts
I got turned onto Freedom Coast’s products when I learned about and tested their 90-degree Pod Clamp last year. The brand also makes a huge range of colorful brake mount adapters (left), brake lever upgrades (middle), and even some slick air cap and compression dial replacements for Fox forks (right). That’s in addition to the truck bed and camper van rail systems and fork mounts they sell.
And if you’re really going all-in on colorful bits, Freedom Coast and Better Bolts are basically the same company. Better Bolts offers a huge array of colorful titanium bolts to fit nearly everything on any bike (see the photos above). They make pretty much any bolt you could possibly need in gold, black, silver, copper, and rainbow (oil slick).
White Industries
White Industries didn’t have anything white to show at their booth, but they did have anodized red, blue, gold, and purple hubs, headsets, spacers, BB shells, rotor lockrings, and more.
ZENO
We’ve written about a few innovative products from ZENO before. Most recently, we featured the brand’s Q-Connector V2 Hydraulic Quick Coupler, which they had on display at the booth. We’ve also talked about innovative designs like their Reaction EX Floating Brake Rotors. But what really caught my attention was the well-organized display of colorful brake rotor adapters, dropper levers, and mechanical disc brake calipers. ZENO’s Speedclip Dual Mechanical Disc Brakes actuate both pistons simultaneously for even, smooth, and consistent braking performance. They come in a variety of colors, as well as flat-mount and post-mount versions.
And Many More
There was so much more anodized goodness to see; this post could honestly go on forever, but it needs to stop somewhere. I’ll wrap up the anodized gallery with a couple of the best in the business. Cane Creek (left) offers a huge range of its parts in anodized purple, silver, gold, blue, and red (plus black), and makes them easy to find and coordinate in its Chroma Studio.
Likewise, Hope Technology has been putting out colorful parts of all kinds for years, helping riders bling out bikes with their beautifully machined and engineered components of all kinds. From bottom brackets to pedals, brakes to dropper levers, Hope’s products are a classy and high-performance addition to any build.
Cheers to NA Beers
There was no shortage of regular beer to be found at Sea Otter, but it might have been even easier to find non-alcoholic beverages at the expo. Don’t get me wrong, I love beer, but I am 100% in favor of the growing popularity and growing number of great-tasting non-alcoholic beers. Best Day Brewing was in attendance, providing folks with their whole range of NA beers. The Electro-Lime Cerveza was super refreshing and my personal favorite of the brand’s varieties. Athletic Brewing was also on hand, offering attendees their full lineup of NA beers and mocktails. Athletic’s Tucker’s West Coast IPA might be my new favorite.
Either way, the NA Beer revolution is here, and I’m happily incorporating more of them into my post-ride routine. Not gonna lie, it’s pretty nice to crack a cold one at any time of day with zero guilt and a clear head.
And on that note, cheers to bikes! Til next year, Sea Otter.
