April means a few things in the cycling world: spring classics racing, muddy dirt roads, putting away the indoor trainer, and getting outside. It’s also the season for the annual bicycle-gear extravaganza known as the Sea Otter Classic. Bicycling’s test team headed west to Monterey, California to see some new products and seek out top-secret or yet-to-be-released road and gravel goodies.
For dropbar bikes, the overarching product themes of Sea Otter 2024 were road bikes with wider tire clearance and “Wait until July,” eluding to product releases around the time of the Tour de France and the Paris Olympic games. But while many big hitters—like Specialized, Trek, and SRAM—held their cards close on any new product launches, plenty of brands had new bikes, clothing, and gear for us to check out.
Abbey Bike Tools
Bearing Removal Set
New to Abbey’s tool lineup is its bearing removal set. Coming in at $300, it is compatible with a wide range of bearing standards common to bicycles, from hubs to suspension linkage bearings. The bearing removal set/range is compatible with bearing inner diameters (ID) from 12-20 mm and bearing outer diameters (OD) of 24-37mm.
Ari
Unreleased Lightweight Bike
Earlier this year, Fezzari, the direct-to-consumer brand based out of Utah, rebranded as Ari. The brand was showing off a new ultralight road bike called the Suncrest. It features clearance for 35mm tires and, with a claimed frame weight of 670 grams, is aimed squarely at the Specialized Aethos customer.
And like the Aethos, the new bike uses a traditional 27.2mm seatpost.
Continuing the theme of “keeping it standard,” the Suncrest uses a 68mm threaded bottom bracket shell.
Unlike the Aethos, the Suncrest uses a UDH derailer hanger and features through the headset cable routing. The brand was tight-lipped on availability, but given that the bike looks very much like a finished product, we would expect to see it launch later this summer.
BMC
Updates to the Roadmachine
The new BMC Roadmachine looks like a road bike from the future—Something lightweight, integrated, with clearance for 40mm tires, and a more accessible geometry. But more importantly, it still features the very distinct Swiss industrial design look of BMC’s dedicated race bikes.
Convenient features such as an integrated rear light and downtube storage make the new Roadmachine an appealing alternative to the recently released Enve Fray. Stay tuned for a full review later this year.
DT Swiss
New Ratchet System
DT Swiss was at Sea Otter showing off a third iteration of its ratchet rear hub. The new design, called Ratchet DEG, features an oversized ratchet that uses 90 teeth (up from 54) and now delivers 4º of engagement. The new design addresses riders’ demands for a faster-engaging DT Swiss mountain bike hub with the reliability the brand has always been known for.
The enlarged ratchet rings should also allow for much easier hub service. Basic maintenance is now completely tool-free, and due to the increase in space, the bearings only need basic tools for removal and installation.
Garmin
Women’s Heart Rate Monitor
Garmin listened and created a gender-specific heart rate monitor to solve women athletes' needs and demands. Priced at $150, this strap does not extend the full circumference of the rider's body but is attached via two clips to any medium to firm-supported sports bra.
Giro
New Gravel Shoe
Giro had an unreleased off-road shoe in its booth. The new shoe looks like a long-awaited XC race shoe and is essentially an off-road version of the brand’s Imperial road shoe with updated BOA Li2 dials.
The tread looks pretty sparse and lightweight, but interestingly, it does not feature the Vibram soles that Giro has long used for its off-road shoes.
Giro had no details yet on price or availability, but we know it will also be available in green.
Haro
New Road and Gravel Bikes
If you rode a BMX bike as a kid (or ride one now) then the Haro name should be very familiar. This makes seeing two new drop bar bikes from Haro a pleasant surprise.
The new road bike, the Rivette, seems to tick all the boxes riders seek in an all-around race bike. It has aero tube shapes, fully internal cable routing, and even a SRAM UDH. Tire clearance looks around 32mm, with the display bike shown with 30mm tires.
Interestingly, Haro is using a T47 version of Cervelo's BBright bottom bracket standard. The drive-side bearings are external to the frame, while the non-drive-side bearings are housed internally. Rivette pricing starts at $4,500 for a Shimano 105 Di2 build and goes up to $8,000 for a bike built with Dura-Ace Di2.
Haro's gravel bike is called the Buzzard, and it's meant to be versatile yet performance-centric. Pricing for the model here with SRAM Force XPLR and the Reverb AXS dropper post is $6,800, and availability for both bikes is slated for mid-May.
HighBar Systems
Rethinking the Helmet Strap
HighBar Systems began as an idea to improve helmet safety. Think of the HighBar like MIPS: a safety-focused system that helmet makers can add to existing helmets. And like MIPS, HighBar is available to manufacturers to license. The HighBar design seeks to improve helmet safety with a strap that prevents riders from incorrect helmet use.
The strap works by rotating around a pivot point near the helmet rim—Rotate the strap toward the shell to put the helmet on or remove it. Once on the head, swing the strap to the standard under the chin position and tighten the single dial to secure the helmet. The design eliminates the Y-strap that typically attaches the chin strap to helmet shells. This means there is less potential for someone to get it wrong by not fitting the Y correctly around the ears. Additionally, the hard plastic construction of the “strap” should prevent riders from wearing the helmet incorrectly as it can not be bent or flipped around.
HighBar’s engineers also discovered impressive benefits beyond creating an improved helmet retention system when they started testing. According to HighBar, the hard elements that drop from the helmet shell reduce wind noise and improve cooling. But incredibly, the system also claims an aerodynamic improvement of 3 watts at 25 mph over a traditional helmet strap. The benefit goes up to a massive 7-watt saving at 31 mph.
I am waiting to see the data backing up these claims, and I have yet to ride in the system. But, I tried on the helmet, and my initial impression: HighBar intrigues me. I'm looking forward to testing the system further.
Hunt
Updated Hubs and Alloy Wheels
Following the release of its Sub50 wheelset, which introduced a new ratchet design to the brand’s hubs, Hunt has now updated all its existing wheelsets to the new ratchet design. The ratchet inside the new hub will look familiar to riders who have opened up DT Swiss hubs. And like DT Swiss, the Hunt hubs can be disassembled without tools. (Unfortunately, Hunt’s hubs are not cross-compatible with DT Swiss parts.)
The hubs also feature a clever design element that might not result in any performance gain but is a quality-of-life improvement. If you’ve ever pulled apart a DT Swiss hub, the first time you did both ratchets and some springs likely went flying. To solve this problem, Hunt put the ratchets and the spring on a small carrier that holds all three together as a single unit. It’s a small detail that many riders might not even notice. But it will be appreciated by your bike mechanic when the time comes to service the wheels.
The new ratchet system is featured on Hunt's J-bend hubs, as well, and will be used even on the company's affordable alloy wheelsets, the Gravel Race Disc ($700) and the 4 Season Pro ($650). Both wheels also received updated alloy wheels with the width of the 4 Season Pro getting bumped up to 22mm internal and the Gravel Race Disc going up to an internal width of 24mm.
Wheelset for Ultra-Endurance Racers
Hunt’s teased a mountain bike wheelset built at the request of its ultra-endurance mountain bike athletes. The Proven Dynamo wheelset packages the brand’s high-end Proven carbon racing rim with a Son dynamo front hub. At the rear is Hunt’s 90-Tooth RapidEngage hub with J-bend spoke flanges: a nod to the service needs of the ultra-endurance crowd. Price and on-sale information are still pending.
K-Edge
Updated Chain Guide
The K-Edge 1x Race Chain Guide has seen plenty of action amongst the World Tour pros this spring, particularly at races like Paris Roubaix, where many riders opted for a 1x setup. This updated guide is much slimmer than its previous version, but more importantly, it offers an impressive level of adjustment with variable height, inboard/outboard yaw, and width.
Koo Eyewear
Sunglasses x Bora–Hansgrohe
Having recently collaborated with the professional team Bora-Hansgrohe, the Italian eyewear maker created three new colors exclusive to the team. The Spectro is priced at $215, the Demos is $195, and the Alibi is $250. With more models in its general range, this limited edition will surely turn heads.
Mavic
Back in the USA
With little to no presence in the United States for the last few years, Mavic is back with full dealer and warranty support. Since the legendary French brand’s US headquarters is now in Vermont, Mavic collaborated with Massachusetts titanium builder Firefly to create a custom topo design of the surrounding landscapes and mountains where many Mavic USA employees ride.
OrNot
McNally Collab Musette & UV Hoodie
The San Francisco, California-based OrNot released two new pieces in collaboration with McNally. The first is a sublimated packable, ripstop nylon musette. Priced at $31, these pocketable bags make the quick cafe stop on the way home easier (plus they are stylish). The second is a $68 UV Trail Hoodie. The collaboration between the artist and apparel brand continues by featuring the artist’s work on the inside back pocket. This understated piece is quick-drying and has UPF 30+ protection.
Orucase
Launches a Genius Travel Accessory
These protectors are a simple solution to the problem of traveling with a disc brake bike. The plastic cover is fixed in place with a metal rod and threaded end cap. The whole thing has an impressively solid feel and should keep your rotors nice and straight while packed into a travel case. There are two versions, with the smaller one designed for 160-140 mm rotors, while the larger one fits up to 205 mm rotors.
Panaracer
New Look, New Tires, & Updated Sidewalls
New for 2024, Panaracer refreshed its GravelKing lineup.
While the SK, SS, EXT, and Slick have been around for a while the new X1 features a new tread pattern and sidewall design—each is tubeless compatible.
Panaracer offers these in a standard casing, a “Plus +” option for the burly gnarly gravel terrain, and an “R” race version featuring the brand’s lightest casing and is designed for going fast. The new tires save 100-gram (claimed) over the previous models.
Prologo
New Handlebar Tape
Prologo was showing off an intriguing new handlebar tape that we first spotted being used during the classics by several teams. The design helps to improve rider comfort while reducing hand fatigue through increased grip provided by the unique 3D pattern. The price is around $50, with availability early this summer.
The brand also showed a new saddle designed specifically for XC racing named the Scratch NDR. The saddle isn’t quite as short as other stub nose saddles (like the popular Specialized Power), but it is shorter than traditional. It also features a very wide nose area. While it might have been designed for XC use, I suspect this saddle will also be popular among road riders, especially those who prefer to sit further forward.
Ritchey
Unreleased Frameset
Ritchey displayed an unreleased frame named the Montebello. The frame’s prototype was tested at the 2023 Paris-Brest-Paris, a 1200 km randonnée. The bike is a modern take on the classic randonneuring bike, with classic lines, plenty of tire clearance, mounts for fenders, and a front porter rack. And if that sounds like an all-road or endurance bike to you, it’s because everything old is new again.
Sava
Carbon Bikes and North American Distribution
If you have ever searched Amazon for carbon bikes, chances are you’ve come upon Sava before. The brand’s bikes seem well-equipped and offer tantalizingly low prices. But are they real or vaporware? We were surprised to see them at the expo so we stopped by the Sava tent for a look.
After chatting with a Sava brand representative we learned the company set up distribution for the US and Canada (based out of Ottawa, Ontario) and is building a dealer network. We checked out a few models and will get one for test riding and evaluation in the coming months.
Scott
Safa Brian x Ornamental Conifer Foil RC
While there isn’t new tech here with this Scott RC Foil (except the Syncros Capital SL Aero wheels), it does belong to descending madman Safa Brian who teamed up with Ornamental Conifer for this one-off paint job. Unfortunately, you can’t buy this color from your local dealer, but it is a stunner.
Smith
New Mid-Range Helmet and Lenses
The new Smith Triad is priced at $190 and is the brand's first new road or gravel helmet since 2021. It continues to use the Koroyd tech that the brand has been known for, it also features MIPS and an optional crash sensor integration from Aleck. The Triad uses 19 total vents and weighs in at 290 grams.
Smith also updated its photochromic lenses, which shift from clear to gray when exposed to sunlight, with its ChromaPop lens coating.
New to the 2024 line Smith’s “Motive” new shape uses a two-piece lens design around an adjustable nose bridge. The $175 sunglasses come with replacement lenses, a cloth bag, and a travel case.
Titici
A Wild Aero Bike
I can’t say I had ever heard of the Italian custom frame builder Titici before seeing this wild aero bike in the Prologo booth. The bike uses a very unusual seat cluster where the seat goes entirely past the seat tube and instead attaches to the top tube. This is said to provide an aerodynamics benefit and increase rider comfort.
The bike also features an incredibly thin top tube designed to flex like a leaf spring to further aid in rider comfort.
Vittoria
New Gravel Tires and Liners
Tire brand Vittoria always brings something hot and new to Sea Otter. Last year the brand launched the Corsa Pro tires (it went on to win all three men’s Grand Tours, World Champs, and a bunch of other races). This year the brand returned with refreshed gravel and XC mountain bike offerings.
Vittoria is making big investments in sustainable manufacturing and products, opening a new carbon-neutral factory, new processes that reduce energy use, and incorporating more natural and recycled materials. The first of its bold new direction is the Terreno Pro model. With its easy-to-spot natural color, the new Terreno Pros are made with natural rubber and use recycled fishnets and cotton for the casing. (Though the color is reminiscent of 1990s Tioga Pyschos, this material has no additives and will not be prone to cracks.) The new Pro T60 features a 10% (claimed) rolling performance improvement over the Terreno mix and better puncture protection.
The new Terreno Pro comes in two new tread patterns named T60 (above) and T50 (below). The new naming convention should help clear rider confusion about where and when to use Vittoria’s models since riders use existing Terreno Dry, Mix, and Wet tires in conditions of all sorts. Think of it as a sliding scale within a category or riding discipline (with 0 meaning as smooth as it gets and 100 as all-out gnarly). The new T60 and T50s will be available in the new Pro casing or a lower-cost Endurance version in late May.
Also new for gravel is an Air-Liner Light Gravel. These 45-gram (claimed) tire inserts fit tires 42 to 50mm wide and should be available around Unbound time.
Zipp
New Super-9 Tubeless Disc
The newest Zipp disc wheel is the first disc featuring a hookless tire interface (that I'm aware of). It’s not really a surprise that Zipp would go this direction, given the brand's commitment to hookless with the rest of its high-performance wheel range.
The new disc also features an integrated TyreWiz 2.0 tire pressure sensor to help riders dial in pressure. It weighs 1,050 grams, features a 23mm internal rim width, and is optimized around 28mm tires (the recommended minimum size).
There is a 3D-printed cover that conceals the TyreWiz, and the wheel ships with a pump chuck adapter for inflation.
As Deputy Editor, Tara Seplavy leads Bicycling’s product test team; after having previously led product development and sourcing for multiple bike brands, run World Championship winning mountain bike teams, wrenched at renowned bicycle shops in Brooklyn, raced everything from criteriums to downhill, and ridden bikes on six different continents (landing herself in hospital emergency rooms in four countries and counting). Based in Easton, Pennsylvania, Tara spends tons of time on the road and trail testing products. A familiar face at cyclocross races, crits, and bike parks in the Mid Atlantic and New England, on weekends she can often be found racing for the New York City-based CRCA/KruisCX team. When not riding a bike, or talking about them, Tara listens to a lot of ska, punk, and emo music, and consumes too much social media.
Test Editor Dan Chabanov got his start in cycling as a New York City bike messenger but quickly found his way into road and cyclocross racing, competing in professional cyclocross races from 2009 to 2019 and winning a Master’s National Championship title in 2018. Prior to joining Bicycling in 2021, Dan worked as part of the race organization for the Red Hook Crit, as a coach with EnduranceWERX, as well as a freelance writer and photographer.
A gear editor for his entire career, Matt’s journey to becoming a leading cycling tech journalist started in 1995, and he’s been at it ever since; likely riding more cycling equipment than anyone on the planet along the way. Previous to his time with Bicycling, Matt worked in bike shops as a service manager, mechanic, and sales person. Based in Durango, Colorado, he enjoys riding and testing any and all kinds of bikes, so you’re just as likely to see him on a road bike dressed in Lycra at a Tuesday night worlds ride as you are to find him dressed in a full face helmet and pads riding a bike park on an enduro bike. He doesn’t race often, but he’s game for anything; having entered road races, criteriums, trials competitions, dual slalom, downhill races, enduros, stage races, short track, time trials, and gran fondos. Next up on his to-do list: a multi day bikepacking trip, and an e-bike race.
