Some Sea Otter Stuff for 2025

Thankfully, customs and immigration went without any cavities probed or toothpaste squeezed, and everything seemed normal, at least until we got to Santa Cruz...depends on what you're looking for, officer.

Thankfully, customs and immigration went without any cavities probed or toothpaste squeezed, and everything seemed normal, at least until we got to Santa Cruz.

Industry types were talking about containers of bikes from China that used to cost 10K to land, going up a little. By which they meant thirtyfold to 300k. Nobody seemed sure how the industry could swallow these new costs and still make money, particularly with demand down and supply up. It's a scary time, but you wouldn't have known it at Sea Otter, where everyone puts on a brave face.

That got me thinking about whether an optimistic viewpoint was essential to mountain biking. My anxious and pessimistic friends aren't inclined to hurl down mountains, crashing at relatively regular intervals. If you are a mountain biker and you are in the MTB industry, you'd probably bring marshmallows to a dumpster fire. So it was all smiles in the alternating heat and cold of Laguna Seca Raceway last week, the site of the 2025 Sea Otter Classic.

The Coolest!

The question everyone asks is, what was the coolest thing you saw so far? We had no answer until we saw the Praxis gearbox with the cogs that have folding ears. It's a long way from production, and like many pre-production ideas, nothing may ever come of it, but it looks to have real potential. The chain never moves side to side, it can be made to travel through up to 16 different ratios, and the whole thing would be contained at the bottom bracket. The killer app of course would be combining it with an electric motor but would there be enough room? Time will tell.

Work Stands with Lifts

We always go looking for new tools from our favourite companies and there was a trend this year; several had added a stand with a lift of some kind. Topeak, Feedback and Park each have one in the line up with a different mechanism. Topeak didn't seem to have theirs on hand but it appears to exist.

Abbey Tools

We were lucky to find Abbey founder Jason Quade at the booth and he told us a great story. Jason was attending a race mechanics clinic in 2010 and while he was there he met Jeff, with whom he had a shared background: they had both worked in aviation - Jeff as a mechanic and Jason as a welder. A few years later, Jeff was hired to be the mechanic for the Spyder Tech road team and he called up Jason. He asked Jason if he had a cassette tool and a steel bar. Jason did so Jeff asked him to weld them together and send one to him. When other mechanics saw Jeff Crombie's new tool, they wanted one as well. Jason made a few more, took them to a race and sold them to everyone who had the cash. The mechanics that didn't came back the next day with money and bought the rest.

Once the tool became more polished and commercialized, people started to ask what else Jason was making, and that's how Abbey Tools came to be.

Forbidden Druid Core and Core Lite

The official release has happened but this hasn't been a well kept secret. Forbidden has made an eMTB using the DJI Avinox motor. There is a lot of buzz about this motor and much of it seems related to its high torque (105nm max continuous) and peak power (850w) and those numbers go to 120nm/1000w for up to 30 seconds at a time in boost mode. I'll have a chance to try the bike in both the Lite (150/140) and Core (160/150) versions next week and will report back as soon as I can. The bikes look great in person. The downtube isn't bulky and everything fits nicely.

Endura

We don't have as much experience with Endura gear as we'd like but we have been impressed by both price and performance. They are making a bigger push into North America and their Scottish roots will serve riders in the PNW well.

Thule

The coolest rack at the show came from the Swedish brand. It wasn't flashy and doesn't have a power lift or tail lights. It is, however a very light yet sturdy foldable tray rack that accommodates some decently long and hefty bikes and then can all fold up and fit into your trunk, or hang easily on the wall. I apologize for not getting all the details (it's not on the website yet) but I did remember the price of 600 USD, which is pretty killer for a quality, portable, stowable two-bike tray rack.

Heathen and Puritan

While Forbidden Bikes are known for their high pivot chatter erasers, they went full retro on the other end of the spectrum and teased two new hardtails at the show. Everybody knows one's "other bike" is always a titanium hardtail. Armed with that knowledge, aimed at short travel distance covering, both Puritan and Heathen were born. Puritan is the flatbar gravel bike for the beer runner, beach cruiser or wherever the road my take you. While the Heathen is the more capable 120-130mm forked trouble maker. The frame has a 66° head angle and flat brake mounts. It will come in Titanium and in Stainless Steel.

Price: TBD

Sebastian Salvant - Saved by the Trail Dream Build

Sebastian Salvant from Crankbrtohers is back with another dream build for Sea Otter. Seb wears many hats at CB, and I always look forward to seeing his bike creations at the show. I can't forget about that iconic JPS Druid in 2023.

While the ever-so-talented graphic designer Bridget Hallowell carved a Candy shoe out of a massive pile of foam last year to give Seb a break, this year he was back with a sweet Norco Optic build that pays homage to the '90s. Saved by the Trail Norco Optic is a chapeau to the culture of loud bikes, sick trails and colourful people that keep us sane and out of trouble. There are very few things that can get us out of a funk in a hurry, and bikes - with or without motors - are definitely on the top of that list. Dripping in anodized Crankbrothers, Industry 9 and Crane Creek parts, Seb also powder coated the coil spring in '90s glitter. As with most of these builds, watch out for the auction to grab this 1 of 1 bike and help the trails, and humans in the process. If you know Seb, you would know this bike is a great representation of his fun side. Thank you for the inspiration, Seb.

Telepathy Bikes

Bozeman, Montana, and the Faculty of Engineering at Montana State University are where Matt Lessmeir learned his crafts. Matt had the vernacular to convince the department to collaborate on a bike that he believes is the ultimate trail machine. With 70mm growth on the rear center at full compression, the front and rear wheels follow nearly identical paths. This leads to a bike with a drastically unique feel on compression.

The 180/180mm travel bike rode lively but stable on my Sea Otter cruise test. Welded out of 4130 chromoly, the Telepathy is not a lightweight build. I am sure it would eat up whatever is thrown at it on the trail, but the versatility of its up and down performance is yet to be seen. While I don't expect it to be spritely on its way uphill, I hope it is easy to live with day to day. The hammered finish was stunning, along with the glitter bomb version next to it. Matt seemed to be planning to become a bike brand in the next couple of years, with a business plan. We would love to throw one around on the trails here.

Telepathy Bikes

Deniz Merdano