Welcome to Velo’s Sea Otter Classic coverage, where we share our favorite things we’ve seen at the 2025 show. Bikes, components, everything racing, and more: if we think it’s cool, you’ll see it. See the rest of our coverage here.

One of the best parts of attending bike shows as influential as the Sea Otter Classic is the ability to see in real-time what interests normal cyclists the most. From an observational perspective, it’s wonderful.

Gear that deserves attention usually gets it, and every brand seems to draw interest from the swaths of bike nerds coming through the gates. That is, unless there’s a massive giveaway, in which case everyone will crowd in for a free hat!

Throughout the show, we had the chance to talk with people in the bicycle industry from all over the world. Where is cycling going in 2025 and later? What is everyone thinking about tariffs? And why are there so many drop bar mountain bikes here? Here are the five things we learned from the Sea Otter Classic from industry, consumers, and more.

1) Gravel bikes are the source of the bike industry’s innovation

Who cares about what (or who) killed the spirit of gravel when it’s impacted the rest of bike culture the way it has?

I’ve seen and heard some social media hot take factories ask whether or not gravel cycling — both the bikes and the pro sport collectively — has jumped the shark. I don’t think that’s the case, at least as far as bikes are concerned. Gravel bikes have had too much of an effect on the rest of the industry to go away. The Sea Otter Classic is an excellent example of it.

Sea Otter Classic may have become the premier North American bike festival for both the industry and fans alike, but it is also a celebration of dirt and all that it comes with. Gravel bikes have opened the door to mountain bike brands to add gravel bikes to their repertoires, some going for long and slack, with others going for something far more racey. And frankly, the gravel bikes were everywhere at Sea Otter because of it.

I’d even go on to say that gravel bikes have changed how we approach road bikes, too. The movement for wider tires on a gravel bike has happened at the same time as the movement for wider tires on a road bike. While I won’t say that WorldTour teams are racing bikes with 35 mm tires because of gravel bikes, I will say that I believe the general public’s acceptance of wider tires on a road bike is partially due to their experiences on a gravel bike.

Yes, I am connecting many of the changes to road bikes over the years to our embrace of gravel bikes. It gave roadies and mountain bikers a common ground to celebrate cycling. Sea Otter wouldn’t be as big as it is today without it. -Alvin Holbrook

2) 50 mm tire clearance is the new 45 mm clearance (aka, not enough)

Not even three years ago, 45 mm tire clearance on a gravel bike was seen as a just-right number for a gravel bike. Anything else was massive and deemed the bike for adventure first and foremost. In 2025, however? 50 mm is the new 45 mm.

The recently released Allied Able gravel bike may have moved its production outside of the US, but its key selling point – 57 mm tire clearance with traditional drop bar handling and looks – seems to supersede any loss of identity that comes from being made in Arkansas.

That overall enthusiasm for the bike seems largely due to the number of gravel bikes struggling to keep up with consumer desires for wider tires. Numerous recently launched gravel bikes (and more to come) will get 50 mm tire clearance in their adventure-ready configuration, while the racey gravel bikes get 45 mm clearance. While I am personally skeptical that everyone benefits from a gravel tire bigger than 50 mm, it is clear that folks want the luxury of having more space.

People want more bikes like the Allied Able. They want a gravel bike with handling and fit geometry and looks that mirror a current gravel bike, but with the ability to run bigger tires in a fit of curiosity. As a result, 50 mm tire clearance has become the expectation, not a bonus. -AH

3) And honestly, where are all these drop bar mountain bikes coming from?

(Photo: Alvin Holbrook/Velo)

We won’t discriminate if you bring a bike to the group ride (or the show) that’s different from what we’re expecting, but we gotta ask: where are all these drop bar mountain bikes coming from?

Granted, not all of these drop bar bikes are mountain bikes, at least not to their creators. Lee Cougan representatives insisted that the new Innova Supergravel isn’t a mountain bike. Its top tube, which says Rampage Innova, is the name of a soft-tail MTB released in 2023 that is no longer on the Lee Cougan website. This bike might ride great as a big-tire gravel bike. It sure looks fun to ride. But its 100 mm travel Fox 32 Stepcast fork and geometry chart shared with a mountain bike indicates that this might be… a drop bar mountain bike.

No. 22 brought this nicely outfitted iteration of its Drifter Adventure gravel bike. This one, spotted at the Skratch Labs booth, is hiding some sweet stuff, and that’s not including what’s inside the Skratch bottles! (Photo: Josh Ross/Velo)

No. 22 brought this version of its Drifter Adventure bike. It too has a suspension fork, drop bars, and big tires. It even happens to have a modest dropper post. Where is the line drawn in this case? Is it with its shorter travel fork, or is it with geometry that is more familiar to drop bar riders? And if it’s the latter, at what point does geometry hold back the rider off-tarmac?

There are numerous other examples, including a bike from Sanitas Cycles or a one-off hardtail from Scarab at the Rotor cranks booth. Is this a trend or a fad?

No idea, but we’re seeing more and more of these bikes than ever. -AH

4) Sea Otter is for the small brands

There was a time when Sea Otter was an ideal place for major brands to make announcements. Journalists from all over the world are there to listen, and consumers are, presumably, paying attention too. Then Sea Otter built success.

More and more, our coverage at Sea Otter is so comprehensive that it’s almost impossible to catch everything. We run more than double the stories each day compared to a normal week. That’s great for readers, but if you are a company announcing something big, it’s less great.

The result is that we are seeing brands start to play little games with the schedule. Sea Otter exists at a time when it’s tough to avoid so it’s not like there’s a month delay but Wahoo announced new bike computers and a radar right before the show. Garmin announced a “dash cam” right before the show and another notable launch was the Allied Able gravel bike also right before the show.

Those are brands that think it’s possible to command eyeballs without any other draw than a new product. They are probably correct.

The point of all this is that Sea Otter is more and more left to the small, weird, and interesting. We get comments all the time about how all the coverage is big brands. Sea Otter is one of the times that’s not true. My coverage included boutique clothing brands, and some small nutrition companies. Alvin mentioned an aero bike you haven’t heard of and a bunch of smaller gravel bike companies.

My big takeaway is that Sea Otter is shifting and it’s fun to see the little guys get a chance to shine. – Josh Ross

5) Even if tariffs are taken away, a lot of damage is already done

One of the most poignant quotes from our story on how tariffs will affect your next bike purchase came around surety, or lack thereof. The ability to forecast years in advance makes it easier for brands to deliver products at a reasonable price point. Uncertainty stifles creativity and inhibits brands from investing far enough in the future to make cool stuff. Why invest in the best factories in the world if they’ll get a 100+ percent tariff out of nowhere?

That type of certainty got a few folks in the industry to tell me anonymously that they might raise prices preemptively, and keep them there regardless of what happens with tariffs. One said, “I mean, you have to be realistic here. Unless there is a reason for us to lower prices, it makes no sense for us to lower prices regardless of whether or not there are tariffs. Frankly, why would we?”

Theoretically, that slow price increase would help offset any tariff price increases that come out of nowhere. And if a tariff isn’t set in place, then they could just pocket the slight upcharge.

Is this greed, or is this a company charging what it thinks people are willing to pay for a product or service? You tell me. Some recently released products have already seen a small price hike despite the White House announcing a 90-day tariff pause; I would be shocked to see those products drop in price without impetus from the market. -AH