Well, we’re wrapping up the 2024 Sea Otter Classic, and I have a lot of stuff to sort through. We just posted our overall Best of Show with input from the whole team, but this post will focus on some of my faves.
I snapped a ton of photos per usual. But I also snapped a few neat random bikes while walking the show. This won’t be a tech article, just a fun post about some cool stuff. But, don’t worry, I will get to the techy new stuff as well.
Plus, Zach, Jordan, and Tyler were here with me, so there will be all kinds o’ new bike bit coverage from those guys as well.
Here are a few fun photos of some random cool bikes and other stuff that interested me, including K-Edge’s cool trailer. Let’s get started with some oldies!
Ol’ School GT Ricochet
I started my career in the bike industry at GT Bicycles, way back in 1995. They hold a little real estate in my heart, and to this day I still bleed “blue and yellow”. So when I saw this bike stashed at the back of a booth, I had to grab a photo or two of it.
Restroom Ritchey
I am a huge fan of Tom Ritchey and his designs. And this one is a stellar specimen. I’m guessing the owner was the guy sitting right next to it, or in the men’s restroom.
Quick story: Along with Grant Petersen, Tom Ritchey is one of my biggest “bicycle industry heroes”. I met them both at Interbike once… I ran into Grant first, and then Tom. While snapping a selfie with Tom, I told him, “This is cool, I got to meet my two biggest heroes today, I just talked with Grant”. And Tom said, “That’s impossible, Grant never leaves the house.” Given Grant’s quirky personality, I thought it was pretty funny. Plus Tom feels like he’s seven and a half feet tall.
Mint Merlin
I saw this super clean Merlin being pushed around at the event and thought I’d ask the owner if I could get a photo of it. His name is Hong Quon, and he was A-OK with it…. everyone likes to share their love of bicycles. He informed me that he was selling this bike to Joe Murray later that day. Very cool bike! I was in a hurry to an appointment, so it’s just the one photo. Enjoy.
New Ritchey Rando
The new Ritchey randonneuring frameset, the Montebello was at the Ritchey booth in all of its glory. It had a great build and was done up in sweet ol’ French Constructor style. The new frame is built with triple-butted steel tubing and the fork had routing for a dynamo light. Bob’s yer Uncle.
It carries the Ritchey signature fastback seat cluster and modern thru-axle, flat-mount brake dropouts. It can clear 35mm tires with fenders and 40mm without. The new Montebello is designed with a more relaxed “all-road” geometry and is ready for long-distance riding.
B Vivit and the HotSalad Wild Sierra Roamer
For the last 7 years, Paul Components has brewed up a wild, custom steed forSierra Nevada Brewingand the annual custom, one-off bike offering for non-profit. This year’s offering was no exception and features a frame built by B Vivit of HotSalad Bicycles. It’s an amazing frame with a lot of cool details. Check it out below. Also, you can donate to this year’s non-profit, the ROAM Collective here.
Po Campo Cresent Bike Basket
This is a really cool and well-thought-out lil’ soft basket. It’s made to easily take on and off of your bike. It’s perfect for those who don’t want a hard, bulky basket but don’t want the hassle of a closed bike bag. This little gem has a wide opening that’s made to stay open allowing for easy storing and retrieval of your goods.
It has a flexible, mesh lid that attaches at four points to keep your goodies in place when it gets bumpy. It uses Po Campo’s exclusive Visi-Hemp fabric that features reflective highlights throughout the pattern. A zippered pocket and key fob make it easy to get to the essentials. An all-around great little bag!
Aventon Reveals New Ramblas eMTB Color
A few months ago I did a review of Aventon’s new eMTB, the Ramblas. At the press event, they hinted at a second color to be coming for their Ramblas eMTB. They gave us a little sneak peek, but we couldn’t write about it. Well, they’ve released it, and here are some not-so-great photos of it!
Yes, it’s purple, and it looks really cool in the sunlight.
More Bitchen Bourdeau Bikes
I don’t know if you remember, but I covered a few of Jarod Bourdeau’s creations in last year’s “Bikes I Liked at Sea Otter” post. Well, Jarod was back this year with an ultra-modified All-City Spacehorse. This thing was cool.
It was a damaged All-City Spacehorse, left for dead and heading to the proverbial glue factory to be done away with. Jarod stepped in and saved it, and built some extra utility and versatility into it. Perfect!
Omnium Cargo Bikes
This was a really nice cargo bike that I could see myself enjoying. Omnium was started in 2012 by founder Jimmi “Jimbo” Bargisen, a bike messenger since 2002. He designed his dream bike in the Omnium cargo bike. This was nice to see a lot more cargo-type bikes at the Sea Otter this year.
As the needs of cyclists are changing, so is the expectation of what a bicycle can do. I also took some shots of an Omnium that is fully loaded and looks like it is ready for a tour across all of the countries.
K-Edge Brings Their Chips-N-Salsa Trailer!
It’s not really a trailer dedicated to the enjoyment of chips and salsa, but man, it’s sure perfect for that pastime! Bringing their trailer was not only easier than using an Easy-Up for K-Edge to set up their displays, but it looks pretty pro-level displaying your goods out of such a fancy trailer.
The trailer was built and put together as a labor of love by K-Edge owner Eric. And I’m here to tell you, he did an amazing job! I dug it and spent more time than I should’ve sharing stories and enjoying the chips, salsa, and beers – something that has become an anticipated Sea Otter tradition between us. Kudos guys!
Don’t worry SOC Officials, the trailer is on plywood, and the grass is fine.
