The bikes of the 2023 Sea Otter Classic

There were a lot of bikes at the 2023 Sea Otter Classic, and while MTB always seems to be the main focus, there were a lot of impressive road and gravel options. It is hard to pick a favorite, but here is a handful that stood out during our four days of booth hopping.

With all of the beautiful bikes at Sea Otter, this No22 Great Divide might have been the showstopper. To be honest, all the bikes in the booth were impressive, and I love the integration of modern techniques like 3D-printed components.

This Miami Blazers Canyon Aeroad that is on display at SRAM was stopping everyone. The new race team is riding in style, that is for sure.

The Pinarello X1 Disc is a solid offering with Shimano 105 drivetrain and endurance geo. At $3700, it’s a great price for such a striking bike.

The Filante SLR is Wilier’s aero road race offering. The gold paint is what really sets this bike apart.

Wilier also brought their Rave SLR gravel bike. Ivar Slik won on this bike, and I’m sure the Italian manufacturer will point to this bike as the reason why. (Photo: Alvin Holbrook/CyclingTips)

I’m not normally a fan of camo paint in any application, but I can make an exception for this one. (Photo: Alvin Holbrook/CyclingTips)

Diamondback brought their new Haanjo gravel bike. This one was custom-painted by Tec-Gnar out of Price, Utah with a paint scheme straight out of the 1990s. (Photo: Alvin Holbrook/CyclingTips)

Splatter paint and disc brakes. I’m happy to see it. (Photo: Alvin Holbrook/CyclingTips)

The old-school Diamondback logos mesh neatly with the splatter paint and paint-matched Rockshox Rudy suspension fork. (Photo: Alvin Holbrook/CyclingTips)

I can’t get enough of that ’90s logo. (Photo: Alvin Holbrook/CyclingTips)

Felt showed off their new Breed Carbon gravel bike in myriad builds. (Photo: Alvin Holbrook/CyclingTips)

The bike looks well-finished overall. The top tube features a bag mount, while the downtube has two different bottle mounts. There’s also a bottle mount near the bottom bracket and one mount on the seattube. Hydration matters, folks! (Photo: Alvin Holbrook/CyclingTips)

The Breed features plenty of frame protection, including a bottom bracket rubber protector and a fully-encased rubber chainstay protector. (Photo: Alvin Holbrook/CyclingTips)

No internal cable routing to be found here! Stay tuned as we’ve requested a Breed Carbon for review. (Photo: Alvin Holbrook/CyclingTips)

This was the first time I saw the 50th Anniversary Ritchey Outback frame in the flesh, and it looks great. The polished alloy and leather touch points add some old-school appeal. (Photo: Alvin Holbrook/CyclingTips)

Leather tape, gum brake lever hoods, bar-end shifting, and polished components starkly contrast most of the other bikes at Sea Otter. (Photo: Alvin Holbrook/CyclingTips)

The Outback 50th Anniversary frame received old-school font. The half-moon blue fade works nicely with the steel frame’s fastback seatstays. (Photo: Alvin Holbrook/CyclingTips) 

Vitus was showing off their new Venon Evo. It is an all-road bike that is offered in a handful of gravel builds as well as road-oriented builds too.

The Venon Evo gravel builds are all 1x, while the road builds are 2x. 

The Vielo + Classified R+1 is a partnership to make the ultimate modern road bike. Vielo’s vision of engineering frames optimized to the benefits of a single chainring pairs perfectly with the Classified’s virtual front mech. Best of all, Vielo has also adapted a dropper post, because why not?

The R+1 now has all the benefits of 1x, with the increased gearing range from Classified’s powershift technology.

Vielo was showing off the new WTB collab. The Vielo + WTB V+1 is a modern off-road racer with an eye on the past. Inspired by the Repack gang of the early ’80s, each frame is hand-painted to produce a do-it-yourself vibe.

Colorful and loud, this V+1 will never be missed.

One of the most displayed bikes this year was the Ritte Esprit. I got to take a quick Sunday morning spin on one, and it didn’t disappoint, nor did the 17-mile drive scenery. 

The Ritte Esprit can be built with these Ritte integrated one-piece cockpit or a traditional cockpit. The frame features a T47 threaded bottom bracket, 27.2mm seatpost compatibility, and tire clearance for up to 35mm. 

Haley Cycles is all about custom titanium. The Haley Race Disc is a road race geometry, oversized Ti tubeset with an Enve carbon fork. It has internal routing, flat-mount disc brakes, and room for 32mm tires.

This particular build also got the Absoluteblack Hollowcage upgrade. 

It looks like the Rotor team was out doing some top-secret testing. I wonder what they are working on next? Maybe I’ll get to see something road-specific at Eurobike.

The best ride award at the show goes to this crew.