Sea Otter continues to grow and evolve. Once a pure mountain bike event, the gravel race is now front and centre. In the rows of booths, gravel also had a massive presence. Both in numbers and literally just massive bikes. 32” is here in gravel as much, if not more than in mountain bikes… for now.

That gave the gravel and road booths a curious presence at Sea Otter. )ld school, hand-made bikes and retro paint jobs mixed with futuristic wireless shifting, a fresh crop of less-familiar Asian manufacturers and the so-new-its-still-barely-here 32 wheel size.

Faction Bike Studio continues pushing 32″

Starting with some CanCon, Faction Bike Studio had this 32″ take on a smaller-frame-size gravel bike in TRP’s booth. Faction designs bikes for some of the world’s biggest brands and fastest riders. The Quebec brand is showing its homework a bit more lately after years of secrecy. This 32 is clearly designed for quick prototyping but, at Sea Otter, it was also showcasing TRP x Classifieds new wireless drop-bar group, Vistar.

Geoff Kabush’s custom titanium Naked has curves

Another very-Canadian partnership, Maxxis housed Geoff Kabush’s new 32” gravel bike, made by Quadra Island’s Naked Bicycles (and the official bike of the unofficial Underbiking World Championships, held since 2022). The titanium rig rolls on new 32” Aspen ST tires, one of five tires now offered by Maxxis as the brand continues to push big wheels, with a seat tube curved perfectly to match. Wheels with extra-long Berd spokes to keep the weight competitive are another nice touch.

One Btchn’ Shimano gravel bike

Continuing the theme of custom 32” gravel bikes, Shimano housed a big wheeled gravel beast from custom house Btchn’. With one-piece ti bars and a ti seat post, this is a very bougie take on big wheels. Add GRX Di2 1x and it’s an interesting mix of welding and wireless.

Cannondale CAAD lives

Cannondale’s CAAD isn’t 32, but it is a long-awaited throwback, or revival, of the CAAD name. It sat front and center in the brand’s booth, right beside a wild “Noterra” concept mountain bike throwing back to the same era.

Salsa made a big impression, showing two production 32″ gravel bieksNothing looks too weird from the front, other than that wildl sloping top tube Does 32″ wheels work for small riders? I don’t know which way this Salsa moved that debateIt’s an interesting look …
Salsa production 32” for “everyone”

While there were many custom rigs, Salsa had one of the few production bikes, mountain or gravel, in the new wheel size. Two, actually. One Fargo in steel, one in Titanium. The Ti was showing in a small frame intended to prove riders as short as 5’2” could fit the new wheel size. It also proved that some laws of physics are unavoidable. With the post down, the back tire is almost taller than the seat, so “fit” is a loose term here.

Kenda Crusher 55mm in Coffee sidewalls Looks fast 700cc still, but in sizes up to 55mm now.
Kenda Crusher

If you’re thinking this looks a lot like a tire from a “S” brand, you’re not wrong. It borrows liberally from that tire, but you don’t have to go to a Specialized dealer to get this Crusher. It’ also comes in up to a 55mm size. While Kenda did have 32″ tires in its booth, the news on the gravel side is the Crusher, and soon the Alluvium, are matching the trend to higher-volume gravel

Garmin Rally pedals grow up

Garmin had its newest generation of Rally power meter pedals in its booth. The new design makes the modular pedal body far more functional. You can switch a pedal body, from road to SPD for gravel or XC, in under a minute with a single 5mm tool. Garmin’s also keen to point out that, if you’re really chasing data-driven performance, the pedals connect to input from all other Garmin wearables, which feeds into Garmin Connect’s coaching programs. So your training can be based off of a broader picture of your body, sleep, diet (beers), not just what your coach sees in your workout data.

FSA x Rodeo Labs Lancia tribute

FSA was looking back in a different way, partnering with Rodeo Labs for this 70’s-era Lancia rally car tribute. The brand focused on its Italian office for this one, pulling colours from the iconic rally car, down to the yellow-bladed spokes on the Vision 48 wheels. Add some Super Record to FSA’s carbon gravel cockpit and a nod to classic Campy rim brakes, and it was one distinctive ride.

Look takes a one-sided approach to gravel

As gravel gets specific, so does the gear. Look joins Wolf Tooth in offering high-end one-sided pedals. The brand’s not making any silly aero claims. It’s just lighter. Russel Finsterwald had them on his GRS Cezal, which also was tricked out with Look’s road cockpit for more speed.

Osprey

If you’re going extra long on your next gravel adventure, Osprey has new versions of its hydration vests. The Escapist 3 updates the design to be more stable and a bit wider. There’s still pockets up front and a bit of storage around back along with the hydration bladder and hose. The brand also updated its Berm riding packs for bigger days out or mountain bike rides.

Kona Sutra x Sim Works

Kona partnered with Portland trend-setters Sim Works for this bespoke take on its Sutra drop bar bike packing rig. Bespoke bags. A Brooks saddle and rims and cable housing to match. Fancy fenders. If you’re going to bike glamp, do it in style.

Aenomaly Switchgrade Pro brings the wild concept within the scope of gravel … and maybe road? Ok, you’re probably not looking for this much tilt… but… The new Pro model lets you limit the angle adjust to just 5 degrees fore/aft, if you want
Aenomaly targets gravel with Switchgrade Pro

While 32″ wheels are out there, Vancouver’s Aenomaly Constructs has an even more out-there idea. Adjustable on-the-fly saddle angle. Set your perfect saddle height for flat or rolling riding. Then have a 5-degree tilt forward for better power-transfer on steep, over eight percent climbs. If your lower back ever hurts climbing, or you’ve felt yourself pulling on the bars to stay on the bike on steep climbs, you know this idea has promise. Enough for INEOS to show some interest in the Switchgrade Pro, apparently. For now, there’s no remote, just a lever under the saddle. So it’s best for longer climbs where you’re not constantly switching saddle angles. But the smaller steps compared to the original Switchgrade make this a more interesting product for more riders.