Bikeradar gallery

Sea Otter: best of the rest

Whereas the Dolomites are big and bold, the Torrent is a tad more subtle.

  • Brown's one-off polished 69er also sported a Shimano 90mm press-fit bottom bracket.
  • Trek product development honch Travis Brown was pedaling around Sea Otter on this prototype 69er
  • Specialized appeared to be concentrating mostly on getting people on demo bikes at Sea Otter
  • Specialized suspension development guru Mike McAndrewsleft his shock dyno on display
  • Crankbrothers showed off its new Cobalt mountain bike wheels.
  • The 'Y'-shaped rim attaches the paired spokes so that the outer wall is solid and airtight
  • The new Cobalt rear wheel rides on a large-diameter alloy axle and four cartridge bearings.
  • The Joplin seatpost is supposedly more reliable since Crankbrothers took over its production
  • Mongoose debuted two new gravity models , the Boot'r and the Pinn'R.
  • The Boot'R linkage is similar to other Freedrive models but has been optimised for longer travel
  • The Boot'R's new seat tube has a bigger opening to make room for the RockShox Vivid coil rear shock
  • The new Mongoose Boot'R was put through its paces at Sea Otter by team rider Andrew Neethling
  • The Mongoose Pinn'R is geared a bit more towards freeride as evidenced by its single-crown fork.
  • The Pinn'R's Freedrive suspension system looks tricky but the wheel path is just a high-single pivot
  • Manitou reintroduced its heralded Dorado nameplate for the 2009 model year.
  • Manitou_Dorado_MRD_adjusters.jpg
  • Naturally, Manitou incorporated its excellent Hex-Lock 20mm thru-axle system.
  • This fork was just a prototype but the upper legs were clearly going to be reinforced with aluminium
  • Plastic guards are a must on inverted-design forks.
  • Post-mount brakes on the new Dorado MRD should make for easy brake adjustments.
  • Tifosi showed off a couple of new models, including this stylish bit that doesn't have a name yet
  • The big lenses on Tifosi's as-yet-unnamed model scream 'Hollywood'.
  • Even with its big style , this new Tifosi model still sports vented lenses to prevent fogging.
  • The new Tifosi Torrent is essentially a downsized version of its Dolomite model.
  • Vented lenses provide a bit of airflow.
  • Whereas the Dolomites are big and bold, the Torrent is a tad more subtle.
  • Brian Lopes recently switched from GT to Ibis for bike sponsorship and his carbon Mojo was on hand
  • Lightness for a gravity rider? Lopes' XTR crankset is fitted with a carbon fibre outer guide ring.
  • Lopes' bikes are typically easy to spot with their Marzocchi forks.
  • Borrowing from motocross, air pressures are written in permanent marker directly on the fork leg
  • A mid-cage XTR rear derailleur and road-sized cassette keep things nice and tight.
  • Naturally, Lopes needs a way to get his bikes around: presenting the Sportsmobile Lopes 55
  • Marzocchi showed up at Sea Otter with a number of new forks of its own.
  • The new Marzocchi 44 ATA Micro includes the recently introduced 15mm thru-axle system
  • Syncros' line is mostly carryover for '09 but with new graphics for a fresh appearance.
  • Bars and stems are similarly finished for a nice unified look.
  • Syncros did, however, expand its rim and wheel line with new 29
  • The Schwinn Coffee townie bike also has a women's-specific mate called the Cream.
  • The Coffee blends style and function for errands and short trips.
  • The Schwinn Coffee sports the SRAM i-Motion 3-speed internally geared rear hub
  • Salsa showed off a new set of top-mount brake levers called the Halter Tops
  • The ubiquitous Salsa Lip Lock collar carries on pretty much unchanged but with new colours
  • Kenda had a prototype 'cross tire on hand at this year's Sea Otter Classic.
  • The new Fox Transition helmet offers top-notch style and protection…
  • …at a surprisingly reasonable price.
  • Cane Creek's Double Barrel rear shock is functionally unchanged from last year but adds a few sizes
  • The new SixSixOne pads feature high-tech inserts from d3o.
  • Surly's Big Dummy is ready to haul serious loads…
  • …with its integrated Xtracycle rear end.
  • SwissStop showed off its new Race Pro pad inserts which supposedly improve wet and dry braking
  • The resurrection of Swobo continues with its range of bikes and gear.
  • The Swobo booth was busy throughout the show with spectators coming by to purchase various goods.
  • VDO's Z-Series computers are feature-packed and look to be high quality.
  • The VDO Z3 PC Link model can even download ride data for later evaluation and analysis.
  • The Thule Doubletrack hitch-mounted carrier has much of the functionality but is cheaper than the T2
  • SRAM's Greg Herbold and Oakley's Steve Blick show off some retro purple goods…or is it coming back?
  • The folks at Niner seem to think so as this purple-and-green 29er was making the rounds at Sea Otter
  • Among the custom purple bits on the Niner was a bright Thomson stem. Want one?
  • Even Industry Nine got into the act with these purple hubs and spokes. Say it isn't so!
  • Redline is already ready for 'cross season with its Conquest Pro.

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Whereas the Dolomites are big and bold, the Torrent is a tad more subtle.

© James Huang