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The first day of the Sea Otter Classic has never failed to deliver a smorgasbord of new bikes and gear, and the 2024 edition was certainly no different. I only managed to cover maybe a quarter – a fifth? – of the venue on day one, but what a day it was.
Included in this first round of coverage is a closer look at BMC’s latest-generation Roadmachine all-road/endurance road bike, Pinarello’s production-ready Dogma XC short-travel full-suspension XC race bike, and the new Sika all-road/endurance road bike that was just announced by Irish brand FiftyOne a couple of days ago.
Remember Fezzari? That company rebranded recently to Ari, and it previewed a new Suncrest ultralight road bike that’s meant to go head-to-head with the Specialized Aethos. And finally, Titici is an Italian brand that’s apparently been around 1961, but this year’s Sea Otter was the first time I’d come across it, and judging by the looks of its incredibly striking Alfa aero road model, I’d like to know more.
Speaking of more, I also spotted an intriguing motorized bicycle repair stand, some slick-looking new shoes, and a stunning custom paint job.
There certainly will be an awful lot more to come from Sea Otter, so stay tuned in the coming days!
Ever heard of Italian custom frame builder Titici? Yeah, neither had I. But man, was this Alfa aero road bike striking.The seat cluster treatment is particularly unusual, but also super distinctive.Titici says this was a way to improve frame aerodynamics while also providing excellent rider comfort. I have no idea if any of that is true, but it does look neat.The top tube is ultra-flat – just 7 mm – and is designed to flex like a leaf spring when hitting bumps.It's probably a good thing that the top tube is designed with some flex in it because the matching carbon fiber fork looks quite stout.The bulbous head tube features fully internal routing using FSA's ACR system.Blind thru-axle holes. Tasty.FiftyOne just announced its new Sika endurance road/all-road bike the other day, and it was good to see one in the flesh at Sea Otter.This seatstay style is sort of a calling card for FiftyOne.The Sika isn't meant to be an all-out race bike so the front end features a more relaxed fit. Cabling is still fully hidden, though.I'm not sure if this fork crown shaping is meant to offer a smoother ride or something, but it's at least visually interesting.Why not just use a standard English-threaded bottom bracket shell? Because this style of T47 allows builders to push the chainstays further apart and flare the down tube and seat tube more, and also leaves more room inside for the oversized spindles and internally routed lines.BMC's revamped Roadmachine is as pretty as ever, particularly in this bold blue hue.Even without the logo on the down tube, this could easily be identified as a BMC. High marks to the company for the strong and consistent design language.As with the previous-generation Roadmachine, BMC is again offering Roadmachine X versions that max out the tire clearance and add a suspension stem for light-duty gravel.Can you even say you've got a new road bike if it doesn't have built-in down tube storage? Unlike most of the ones I've seen, though, the one on the BMC Roadmachine is built directly into the bottle cage.Pop off the hatch/cage and you'll find a convenient little burrito bag that neatly slides into the down tube.Even better, however, are the molded-in carbon tubes that guide the internally routed lines to keep them from rattling or getting tangled up with whatever you want to store inside the frame.Out back is an integrated rechargeable rear light. It's brighter than I'd expected it to be – enough for daytime use, seemingly – but the run time is a little disappointing.A chain watcher is integrated into the bottom bracket shell, too.I do love me a blind thru-axle hole. So clean.BMC's MTT suspension stem was developed in conjunction with Redshift Sports.Ari – the rebrand of the company formerly known as Fezzari – previewed a new ultralight road bike called the Suncrest. It also has clearance for 700x35 mm tires, so it could also potentially pull double-duty for mixed surfaces.The Suncrest hasn't been officially announced yet (nor will it be available for a bit), but it's apparently being billed as a competitor to the Specialized Aethos.Like the Aethos, the Suncrest features an ultralight frame (just 670 g, supposedly), mostly rounded tube profiles throughout, and a fairly classic silhouette.I don't know about you, but I'm liking the lines on this one.The headset cable routing, on the other hand ...The slender fork legs promise a smooth ride, but as always, the proof is in the pudding.UDH, natch.Up top is a wholly normal 27.2 mm-diameter round seatpost secured with an external aluminum collar.Going along with the new Pinarello Dogma XC is the Dogma XC Hardtail.As is typical for Pinarello, the frame is highly asymmetrical. Pinarello says its to counteract the different forces seen on either side of the bike, but ... I remain skeptical. It certainly stands out, though.Pinarello's new Dogma XC full-suspension XC race bike isn't new, but this was the first opportunity I had to see it in the flesh, and in production builds.I don't know if there's a functional advantage to how Pinarello builds the rear end, but it is most certainly interesting. Each half is separately molded and joined with a toothed half-spindle at the main pivot, not at all unlike a Campagnolo Ultra-Torque crankset.Pinarello says this additional bracing boosts bottom bracket stiffness. I can think of one notable Instagram account who would love to see about making a teeny tiny frame bag to go in there.The forward shock mount can be moved to accomodate a slightly different shock length to tweak the rear travel.The linkage arrangement is very, very tidily designed.Heard of "Safa Brian"? Check him out on YouTube, but only if you can stomach some hair-raising descents at warp speed.This custom paint was done by "Ornamental Conifer" – the sort of pen name for LA-based painter Nicolai Schlater.Schlater has apparently painted custom helmets for none other than Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo.The matching helmet is icing on the cake.Spanish outfit Ezoord was on hand at this year's Sea Otter Classic with a super heavy-duty electric repair stand purpose built for e-bikes. The lifting mechanism in this model is rated to handle bikes weighing up to 80 kg (176 lb).The semi-triangular base is interesting in that it's mounted on locking casters. Need to move things around? That's no problem here – and certainly way easier than if the stand was bolted to the floor or attached to a heavy steel plate as usual. Also note the pedals for raising and lowering the bike.There's another set of controls on this panel here. There are three preset heights, and the system will also automatically lower the bike all the way to the ground with built-in sensors.The clamp lacks any sort of quick-release function, but it seems quite sturdy (aside from the 3D-printed crank, which makes me worry a bit). The jaw liners are interchangeable to suit different tube shapes.Udog has expanded its range of shoes again with a new dial-type road model called the Cento.The Udog Cento continues on with the company's trademark Tensione system, which wraps all the way around the bottom of the midfoot area for what Udog claims is a more secure-feeling hold. Udog is using its own dials, too, with a particularly large-diameter rubberized knob for easy operation. Also note the additional protection around the toe so tire scuffs can be cleaned off more easily.The carbon-reinforced nylon plate is a pretty straightforward-looking piece with sliding cleat holes and pass-through ventilation.Udog has also added a new white colorway for its Distanza gravel shoe. They probably won't stay this gleaming white for long, but they'll look sweet when they're new!
