{"id":548659,"date":"2026-04-24T17:41:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T17:41:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/548659\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T17:41:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T17:41:22","slug":"2026-sea-otter-classic-attendee-rigs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/548659\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Sea Otter Classic Attendee Rigs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Miles<\/a><\/p>\n

By Miles Arbour<\/a><\/p>\n

Associate Editor & Events Manager<\/p>\n

2,434 Posts<\/a><\/p>\n

Keeping the tradition alive, we put together a special edition of Readers\u2019 Rigs this week: a collection of event attendees and their bikes from the 2026 Sea Otter Classic. The roundup is packed with interesting bikes\u2014and plenty of strong opinions on the emerging 32\u201d wheel size. From a lightning-fast Specialized prototype to a flock of Neuhaus Hummingbirds, there\u2019s a lot to take in. Dive in here.<\/p>\n

\t\"Wheels<\/a><\/p>\n

Debuted at the MADE show in Portland, Oregon, and repeated at Bespoked in Germany, our showcase of attendee rigs has quickly become one of our favorite traditions at bike events. For me, it\u2019s a chance to balance our coverage of shiny new products with something a little more relatable: bikes that real people bring to these shows. <\/p>\n

Capturing the attendee rigs of the Sea Otter Classic was a challenging affair. The area near the bike valet zone was congested with foot and bicycle traffic, so we found a little corner wedged up against a wall where we could minimize interference for both video interviews and photos. I love comparing the bikes we shot to those of MADE or Bespoked. Each event attracts a slightly different audience with slightly divergent bikes. This feels like one of the most unique collections yet, complete with e-enduros, handbuilt hardtails, racey gravel bikes, and a 49cc four-stroke scooter from Yamaha. This year, we asked each attendee some key questions about their bike and their thoughts on 32-inch bikes. Dive in below!<\/p>\n

Eric
\nAnchorage, Alaska
\n\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

BIKE: Custom Meriwether mountain bike \/ fat bike.
FAVORITE PART: My favorite part is the frame. Whit built this for me. It works awesome as a sporty fat bike and bikepacking rig.
32-INCH?: Thumbs up. Change and options are always good. It will be interesting to see how it works in the bikepacking world.<\/p>\n

Keith
\nAuburn, California
\n\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

BIKE: Trek Fuel Plus
FAVORITE PART: The motor. It\u2019s rad.
32-INCH?: Yes. I want one. I want a gravel bike like the Salsa Fargo 32.<\/p>\n

Eva
\nSonoma, California
\n\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

BIKE: Neuhaus Hummingbird
FAVORITE PART: The dropper. I also like the rainbow pedals.
32-INCH?: I wish I was taller!<\/p>\n

Andrew
\nBay Area, California
\n\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

BIKE: Zink Vacay
FAVORITE PART: Just the frame. It does everything you want it to. The fact that it\u2019s singlespeed as well. I don\u2019t have to worry about breaking a derailleur. Super cheap to keep running.
32-INCH?: Thumbs up, dude. I\u2019m optimistic. Let\u2019s give it a shot.<\/p>\n

Johnny
\nSonoma, California
\n\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

BIKE: Neuhaus Hummingbird
FAVORITE PART: The lefty. It\u2019s just cool.
32-INCH?: Thumbs up. They feel really cool.<\/p>\n

Mandy, Michael, and Leeland
\nSan Luis Obisbo, California
\n\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

BIKE: Two Marin Hardtails and a Fezzari
FAVORITE PART: The bikes ride smooth. And we got a buy-one-get-one special. And for the Fezzari, the dropper post.
32-INCH?: Depends on rider height!<\/p>\n

Nick
\nNevado, California
\n\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

BIKE: Neuhaus Hummingbird
FAVORITE PART: The wheels. They are We Are One carbon wheels, Berd spokes, and Onyx Vespr hubs. The rims are the first carbon rims I haven\u2019t broken in six months. The Berd spokes and Onyx hubs are perfect for the hardtail experience.
32-INCH?: All thumbs up. It feels like a normal bike with a lot of tire. Feels good.<\/p>\n

Jason
\nOrange County, California
\n\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

ONE: Trek Checkout
FAVORITE PART: It\u2019s the perfect mix between both road and mountain. If you like to gravel, but you like mountain biking as a comfortable controllable ride, this is the best of both worlds.
32-INCH?: No comment. Haven\u2019t ridden it. Not sure if you\u2019re going to get any performance benefit. 29\u2033 seems to do the job.<\/p>\n

Dave
\nBoulder, Colorado
\n\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

ONE: Hakka MX
FAVORITE PART: The flat bars.
32-INCH?: Undecided.<\/p>\n

Jill
\nOakland, California
\n\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

BIKE: Corvid Cycles Custom Titanium
FAVORITE PART: The frame because all my bikes have always been too big. I finally got a bike that fits me. So, that feels good.
32-INCH?: No, not for me. <\/p>\n

Alex
\nBirmingham, Alabama
\n\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

BIKE: Friend\u2019s Bike
FAVORITE PART: The fork. The Bomber Fork is pretty cool. It get\u2019s the job done.
32-INCH?: Dude, I don\u2019t know. I still ride 27.5\u2033 back at home. So, I don\u2019t know. 32\u2033 sounds kinda big. I don\u2019t know, man. Probably not. <\/p>\n

Taya
\nNew York
\n\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

BIKE: Velo Orange Neutrino
FAVORITE PART: Paul Klampers. Just because they stop really well. I\u2019m pretty heavy and I go down hills fast. So, I need it.
32-INCH?: Depends on the usage. I think if you\u2019re really tall and you need a big bike\u2014great. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s for me, though.<\/p>\n

Ryan
\nSan Luis Obisbo, California
\n\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

BIKE: Specialized Prototype
FAVORITE PART: FOX 40 in the front. With the 32\u2033 wheel in the front and 26\u2033 in the rear.
32-INCH?: Thumbs up. Fast.<\/p>\n

Jason
\nMarin County, California
\n\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

BIKE: Klein Attitude Comp
FAVORITE PART: Aside from the frame, the Syncros seatpost. It\u2019s a classic.
32-INCH?: Thumbs down. I\u2019ll never ride them because I\u2019m a downhiller. I ride mullets.<\/p>\n

Asher
\nSan Francisco, California
\n\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

BIKE: Crust Romanceur
FAVORITE PART: The saddle. It\u2019s a Gilles Berthoud. It\u2019s the narrowest one that they make. You can see my sit bone indentations. I just did a 400k on it a few weeks ago. Comfy.
32-INCH?: Thumbs up. Long inseam! Tall guy!<\/p>\n

Trent
\nMonterrey, California
\n\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

BIKE: Neuhaus Hummingbird
FAVORITE PART: The FOX 36 SL is absolutely as sick as advertised. I\u2019m way into it. Very close second are these Rat King bars. I read the article on the site and thought, \u201cI\u2019m gonna go buy those.\u201d
32-INCH?: Really remains to be seen. It\u2019s like a just below horizontal thumb.<\/p>\n

Will
\nBay Area, California
\n\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

BIKE: Jamis Renegade
FAVORITE PART: I love the wheels. I actually won these a couple of years ago here at Sea Otter doing a costume contest.
32-INCH?: Straight up the middle.<\/p>\n

Andrew
\nBay Area, California
\n\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

BIKE: Stooge Dirt Tracker
FAVORITE PART: I got two answers for ya: the titanium bars are killer. They take all the edge and harsh bumps off. And, the part that has a personal touch, the cranks that I hit with some oven cleaner. They\u2019re Jensen USA cranks. But they\u2019re silver now.
32-INCH?: Middle of the road on 32\u2033.<\/p>\n

JJ
\nSanta Rosa, California
\n\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

BIKE: Black Mountain La Cabra
FAVORITE PART: Honestly, it\u2019s a pretty gnarly parts bin build, but my favorite part are the SQ labs bar ends. Lifesavers.
32-INCH?: Thumbs up, for sure.<\/p>\n

Adam
\nColorado, Colombia, Poland
\n\"2026<\/a><\/p>\n

BIKE: Otso Fenrir Ti
FAVORITE PART: The new Revelate bags we have coming out soon. This harness is going to make my life so much easier. And the new feedbags are great because they have bigger pockets and I\u2019m always stuffing a bunch of stuff in there.
32-INCH?: Bigger is always better.<\/p>\n

Sea Otter Rigs on Video<\/p>\n

As he did at MADE, Neil caught up with readers at the Sea Otter valet to talk about their bikes, their favorite component, and whether they have any strong opinions on wheel size. Here\u2019s what they had to say\u2026<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Which is your favorite? Let us know in the conversation below. Also tell us what you think about these attendee rigs roundups; should we keep them rolling for future events? For more bikes, gear, and interesting finds from the 2026 Sea Otter Classic, explore the #SeaOtterClassic<\/a> tag.<\/p>\n

2026 Sea Otter coverage is supported by<\/p>\n

<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

Further Reading<\/p>\n

Make sure to dig into these related articles for more info…<\/p>\n

Please keep the conversation civil, constructive, and inclusive, or your comment will be removed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Miles Arbour Associate Editor & Events Manager 2,434 Posts Keeping the tradition alive, we put together a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":548660,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[173302,173298,173299,173303,50635,173300,50634,4985,101,173305,173301,387,56,54,55,173304],"class_list":{"0":"post-548659","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-adventure-cycling","9":"tag-bicycle-touring","10":"tag-bike-touring","11":"tag-bike-tours","12":"tag-bike-packing","13":"tag-bikepacking","14":"tag-cycle-touring","15":"tag-cycling","16":"tag-sports","17":"tag-stealth-camping","18":"tag-touring-bikes","19":"tag-travel","20":"tag-uk","21":"tag-united-kingdom","22":"tag-unitedkingdom","23":"tag-world-travel"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548659\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/548660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}