The Sea Otter Classic is North America’s largest cycling event, with estimates of over 80,000 visitors descending on the show this year. It’s also the marquee event for brands to showcase their latest wares. With a media pass in one hand and a coffee in the other, here’s some of the tech that caught my eye.
IF APPLE MADE AN E-BIKE, IT WOULD BE THE ALSO TM-B
(Image credit: Future / Lisa Charlebois)
Living in San Francisco, tech influences are everywhere. And at this year’s Sea Otter, they finally rolled up on two wheels in the form of the ALSO TM-B. Thankfully, it’s not vaporware.
With genuinely helpful touches, the ALSO features a modular system where you can swap out seat systems to create different bike configurations, from a solo commuter to a full, cargo bike setup. It’s a helpful idea, even if each set up does come with its own additional cost.
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The drivetrain is just as unique. Instead of actually pedaling the bike, ALSO’s “DreamRide system” removed the connection between the rider’s pedaling and the movement of the bike. Instead, the pedal action powers a generator that then replenishes the battery, which then powers software to drive a motor to move the wheels. If that sounds like a company trying to reinvent the wheel, you’re not entirely wrong. However, the ride feel is similar to other e-bikes I’ve tried: responsive, smooth, with a real kick to boot.
The ALSO team claims their range tops out at 100 miles on the larger battery, with pedal-assisted speeds going up to 28 mph. Finally, you’ll find all the bells and whistles you’d expect to see on a high-end e-bike including a real-time GPS, integrated lighting, a 2.75-inch touchscreen display and more.
Price: From $3,500
START EM’ RIPPING YOUNG: THE PREVELO FOXTROT THREE 20”
(Image credit: Future / Lisa Charlebois)
It’s funny to be walking around the show marveling at—and mildly confused by—the 32” wheel revolution (more on that later) only to turn down an aisle and see this full-suspension beast, shrunk down into kid form.
I can confidently say this is the first ever full-suspension, children’s bike I’ve ever seen. Although, I’m also the first to admit I don’t review a lot of kids’ bikes. If they look this cool though, I just might start.
Built with a Manitou J-UNIT comp front fork with 120mm travel paired with a RST MONO DPU Trunnion rear suspension, delivering another 120mm of cushion, this is a bike that will give gravel confidence to even the smallest rider. I can’t speak to what kind of anxiety it might induce in the parent.
The rest of the spec is just as impressive with a Microshift Advent 9-speed drive train (11-38T), tubeless-ready tyres and Shimano Deore brakes. It really is a big bike in a little package.
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The Foxtrot will be available in three sizes (20, 24 and 26 inches) with delivery later in 2026 or early 2027.
Price: TBD
(Image credit: Future / Lisa Charlebois)
The problem with finding the right saddle is just that — finding it. It’s either trial and error, or if you’re lucky, a local bike shop will have a gel pad for you to sit on and measure your sit bone width. Not precise. Not ideal.
Ergon is releasing a new digital sit bone measurement tool that precisely determines the width of your sit bones so you can pinpoint the right saddle for you.
They’ve also released a new women’s saddle, the SRS LP Pro Carbon, featuring carbon rails, a carbon composite shell, and their reactive performance foam. It’s a material that offers a subtle give, helping to take the chatter out of any ride. Complete with a gender-specific cut-out, it’s a saddle built for long rides and big adventures.
Look out for both coming to a retailer near you this summer.
Price: TBD
Building a Better Mousetrap, for Even More Pedals
(Image credit: Future / Lisa Charlebois)
I never pass up the opportunity for a quick noodle over to the local café, but putting on my cycling shoes for a two-mile ride always seems like a bridge too far. The folks at Redshift spotted this problem and developed a better mousetrap to solve it, aptly called the Mousetrap.
It’s a clever design that lets you snap a flat platform over your SPD pedal, creating an increased surface area. So what used to feel like pedalling on a tiny pin head in your trainers, is now transformed into a proper flat pedal platform.
SPD-SL, Look, and Crank Brothers pedal adaptors will be launching later this autumn.
Price: $59.99 per set
Champagne Gravel Tastes on a Beer Budget: The Tavelo Grow
(Image credit: Future /)
Chinese bikes are no longer the curiosity on a group ride, instead they’re becoming increasingly commonplace. And at $1,650 for a 830-gram frameset, you can certainly see why.
This is the Tavelo Grow and it might be the best deal you’ll find in a frameset, in a very long time. With room for 55mm tyres up front and 50mm in the rear, in-frame storage, a BSA threaded bottom bracket, and universal derailleur hanger dropouts that genuinely future-proof your groupset options, this frameset really does punch well above its weight.
This bike could easily be set up with some road wheels and look just as comfortable on the tarmac as an off-road escapade.
Price: $1,650 for frame and seatpost
Salsa Fargo: 32” Wheels Everyone Can Ride
(Image credit: Future / Lisa Charlebois)
It’s hard to ignore the buzz around 32-inch wheels at this year’s Sea Otter. Which for most brands translated into bikes that were designed for riders 5’9” and taller. As someone who’s 5’6” this was disappointing. Until I walked by the Salsa booth.
Their new Fargo steel and titanium frames were the first bike I found that featured a set of 32” wheels on a size small. I was so skeptical I even asked the rep if they could take the bike off the display so I could stand over it and see for myself. Sure enough, it fit.
With more contact patch, less rolling resistance, the opportunity to run even lower tyre pressures and the confidence to charge over just about anything in your path, the concept of larger wheels, and tyres, makes sense. The challenge is finding a frame that will fit them, and you.
Salsa brought their inclusive design philosophy to the table with the Fargo, offering sizing from small to x-large.
With framesets (steel and titanium) available for purchase later this summer and complete bikes available later in the year, now just about anyone can “go big” with the new 32” revolution.
Price: TBD
Some of the Coolest Tech Wasn’t Even at a Booth.
(Image credit: Future / Lisa Charlebois)
As I made my way around the show floor, I kept crossing paths with founders and entrepreneurs who had a prototype in their bag and a compelling idea they couldn’t wait to share.
Tripp Hurt was one such pioneer, launching the first flax and fibreglass cycling shoe. All the stiffness and weight savings of carbon, with the added natural vibration-dampening properties that flax and fibreglass deliver.
The Stealth Mount is another clever innovation, hiding an AirTag in the cradle of a computer mount. And then there were plenty of apps. Suayves helps you track your hydration needs and Ride Call doesn’t just give you weather for your ride, but will skip your morning group ride alarm if the forecast calls for rain.