The NEXT Big Trend in Bicycling? - Sea Otter 2023 

That Wolf Tooth guy is spot on about repairability. Very refreshing to hear that from a company rep!

All this "gravel is here to stay, cos the roads are dangerous..." is so sad. We really need to sort this out!

I like to think of Gravel bikes as more sensible road bikes.

This is the best approach to a trade show: ask disarming questions that allow vendors to share their true bike selves. Thought-provoking!

I ordered a titanium road frame over 11 years ago and ask the manufacturer to put 45c tire clearance on it and it’s finally in style lol

Gravel bikes are a rediscovery of what made 90's XC mountain biking so rad. It really was Cross Country at first, which then morphed into XC racing. At some point we added FS, then "all-mountain" came into play, then 29ers, then groomed downhill courses. They changed the point that mixed-surface riding wasn't as much fun and you drove to the trail instead of exploring.

I love the Wolf Tooth guy :) Glad because their products are great

Major props to Wolf Tooth, we could all use a little more right to repair in our lives 👍👍👍

So much truth spoken here! Exploring, not caring too much about weight, the dangers of main roads, fixing your own bike, having more of a generalist bike.. Really explains why I love my Kona Sutra!

I love what the folks here say, including the topics other than gravel bikes. Yes to steel frames, randonneur style riding, throwing stuff in a front basket, not worrying about bike weight, the right to repair, yes to everything.

Very interesting. Thanks! Many speakers talk about safety (or rather the lack of safety when sharing the road with cars). Hopefully someday we'll see some real changes in our way of life - the ubiquitous and all-powerful car culture, among other things... It's a lot of fun to ride off-road, but I don't don't think that's the solution to the dangers of sharing the road with cars (increasingly big and filled with "electronic distractions") for cyclists

The question about gravel bikes only pertains to the "industry". Cyclists have been riding gravel for 150 years now and just because the manufacturers are cashing in on renewed interest does not mean it's a "fad". Gravel riding IS cycling. Bike companies do not define the culture as much as they try to unless we let them.

Agreed. Gravel bikes are adventure bikes. I love that so much more riding opened up to me once I got wider tires and better geometry.

Bells, yes! I have a bell on my road bike and use it mostly on multi-use trails. The response from people is very positive. A bell is much more friendly that yelling out "On your left!" Bells are happy!

All hail the guy who said he wishes for people to stop worrying about weight on their bikes!🤘

People have been riding Gravel since before the invention of the original safety bike in the late 1800's so it's rather a long fad, it's just that the cycling industry is so wrapped up in racing it has no idea what the average person actually need their bikes to do and will continue to ruin the design through the lens of progress until we eventually come back around to where we are now

"Bikes are here to stay" - quote from someone in this video, I Love this! Wicked great 2 question approach and Awesome results. This is one of the greatest videos to come out of Sea Otter 2023. - M

My friends and I are all old men who ride steel bikes in Oregon and its great to see the old and young guys embracing fun, practicality and usability over tech, riding costumes, etc. Just get on your bike and blast around, do errands, ride over to friends houses, go swimming, take food, drink beer, whatever! First Rivendell then Surly started promoting steel bikes, fun and practicality over everything else and just so great to see it catching fire with young people. One question: Where are the bike gals and their opinions? Equal Opportunity brother!

I saved up my money from mowing lawns to buy buy a 1992 Shogun Trailbreaker 2. Designed MTB trails didn't exist in my area in rural Australia. I was about 8, and my friends and I rode our bikes everywhere. Sealed roads, fire trails, through paddocks, down walking tracks, on footpaths. Since then I've been chasing that vibe. Found it on a cheap gravel bike. Gravel bikes were always there - we've just rediscovered them.

I've tried gravel but have now gone back to a short travel XC bike. For decades the MTB was the go anywhere bike but drop bars are more aero so I understand the shift to allroad bikes. For me, one bike that will go anywhere, comfortably, at a pace I can live with, is what I wanted and I've found that gravel bikes are either over-geared or too harsh for where I ride. They also lose grip too easily off road (a lack of skill on my part no doubt).

Threaded bottom brackets!!!

Thank you! Interesting viewpoints, great video

Two excellent questions. Many great answers. Thanks Russ.

I'm old so take that into consideration. Three speed internal hub gearing. Alt or swept back handlebars. V-brakes, they work! Steel frames with 26" wheels. Single speed bikes with 25mm tires, so much fun on the street.

Bells on bikes, yes! It's a friendlier method of saying clear the way and appreciated by pedestrians.

You crushed it Russ.great vid! Love all the points made and all the insider perspectives.

Great video, Russ and Laura. I saw a lot of familiar faces of people that I had some conversations with and some people and brands that I didn’t get to see or find. I really enjoyed talking to the guy from Passchier about his bamboo handlebars and told him about the Paul Comp/ Sierra Nevada Mone bike and raffle. He had no idea it was so close to his booth and he could literally see it. He went over and checked it out and was blown away by it. Then I was also reminded by your video that I forgot to talk to the guy from Old Man Emu/ Loam & Gravel. I spoke to him last year and he’s great guy. I completely missed their booth this year, but considering the size of the expo, it’s easy to do.

Can’t help imagining this video ending with you wrapping up your on-the-scene interviews by passing back to Laura, who’s seated behind the desk at the news room.

Round bottom brackets, bring back exterior cables, round seat posts on all middle range bikes.

Great reporting and bicycle trend coverage. Sorry I did not see you at the Sea Otter, I was in the back country watching out for injured contestants or those who chose to DNF or had mechanical problems and needed to be SAGed out. The Fuego and Gravilla XC events were tough.

Ironically where I live the rural rides are almost certainly more dangerous - not only are there ni shoulders much of the time, but if Bubba and his Truk want to take a swing at you there are no witnesses.

Mini Velo, Steel, DIY fixable bikes. Gravel seems to be a response to bikes trending toward racing in their designs and those bikes only being good at road racing. Wider tires allow more accessibility. Bikes 50 -100 years ago were mostly gravel type bikes cause of the riding surfaces available then.

What a fresh clip! Between you and Adventure Cyclist, cycling is enjoying a surge of innovation this season.

Great video Rus. Great questions and very interesting answers from some unique industry representatives 👍

Terrific show because you talked to real bike people and asked pertinent questions.loved hearing the responses about daily use and cost consciousness. There are really nice bikes there but I would not dream of buying one as they are too costly and probably not something I'd ride daily.

Nice man! More content like this my man.

I find where I am on your left makes people step left. A bike bell gets people to move over.

A few years ago I wanted an "adventure" bike. Something I can just hop on and go, no need to adjust it or tweak it like my MTBs. I was looking at Fat bikes but ended up with a gravel bike, with very wide tires from the manufacturer 2.2+. A go anywhere bike.

I think road and mountain bikes have gone too far to the extremes for a lot of people, plus not everyone wants to need to own 3,4,5+ bikes that all have specialized purposes. I like that "gravel" bikes (despite the stupid name, IMO) are basically representing what we used to just call a "bike". Like one of the interviewees said, as a kid you just had a bike; you didn't worry about whether that was the "correct" bike for what you had planned to ride.

I think there is an easy way to think about gravel bikes. They are very similar to the old style MTBs. but as MTBs became more capable, stretching the limits of what the industry can make they went on to tougher terrains. The fact tho is that not everyone, especially not hobby cyclists want to rip down the steepest and roughest routs where their life is in danger. For most trails the MTBs of 2020s are too capable and most people don't find it challenging therefore they brought back a bike that is faster because of the narrow drop bars and the geometry. however, they cannot handle a rough DH course of course. but again we spiral back because they are starting to introduce suspensions to gravel bikes meaning they are making them more capable just like the first MTBs... and in a few years they will be too capable for the terrain most people ride and they will turn back to something a little similar to old MTBs. So in that sense, gravel is forever ... :)

After having really started riding back in 2009, the biggest change I have seen is the danger on roads. Car drivers are much more distracted now with phones and other gizmos in cars. That more than anything made people want to ride more on trails and paths more than roads. I was one of those people who first got a simple MTB, but wanted to go faster and ended up on a road bike. Just a few months later, I bought a road bike as a second bike to go faster and on longer charity rides. What I really wanted was a all-road/gravel kind of bike that had a bit more road geometry and weight, but still with bigger tires to absorb bumps on the road and light gravel trails. The only option then was a more expensive CX bike which I looked really hard at, but decided to pass on. Then I started seeing "gravel" bikes around 2018, I knew that was a bike I was looking more for. After getting a gravel bike in 2019, I really stopped riding my other bikes almost instantly. It was a long-road rider, commuter, trail trekker all in one bike. Something I couldn't do with first 2 bikes. Not sure why it took so long for manufacturers to figure out that they could simply just put bigger tires on road bikes and a bit more relaxed geometry have a whole new market. I have drop-bars on my gravel bike, but I also like my MTB flat handlebars with the "horns" on the end to give me a second hand position. That is something I don't see many people talk about much, They just go straight flat or to a road-drop bar.

Bless you Sir!

Thank you for interviewing Restrap. I saw their booth at Sea Otter. They have fantastic products, particularly the bike backpack.

Many have been riding the Pennsylvania gravel roads, logging and fire roads since 1984. As the paved roads have increased in danger folks have shifted to back dirt roads.

I just ordered my first gravel bike, it'll be here on May 8th. I'm 52, but I feel like a little kid counting the minutes until Xmas! (I currently mtb & bikejor but my roots are roadie) I can't wait to have a drop-bar again!

Great stuff thanks. Interesting comment on the smaller bikes. I’ve just moved form a 5 bed to a 2 bed place and from a double to a single garage and I’ve discovered bikes are BIG 😂

Great video 👍

I think as far as most of us ride the prices are WAY to high. I’d like to see bottom tube shifting back on road bikes and a resurgence of steel frames, rim rakes and simpler mechanics.

Hope you'll cover Box Components. Re: gravel. Depends on the surface of course, but dirt/gravel roads can be more forgiving, and they're usually quieter. All the best.

Just want to stop by and thank Russ for his review on the Surly Midnight special a couple years ago. That review helped me decide to build one. Glad I did. Spent a bloody fortune with GRX Di2 etc , but well worth it. Very versatile tough bike, fast on the roads with 700c 28-32mm and good on the gravel with fast MTB 27.5 XC tyres for gravel and MTB trails.

The fact that there are no women or POC or disabled riders interviewed really gives you a good understanding of the limitations of current cycling culture. Don't ask if gravel bikes are here to stay, ask how they are including more people in cycling and listening to their needs and building bikes and bike infrastructure for them.

I love the fact more people are rooting for sub 2k bikes in the industry and also that ATB is taking off like it is. When I bought my Kona unit X back in November of 22, I had no idea how much that bike would impact my riding style. The unit x went from curiosity to my main bike. I love nothing more then using the same rig for a 40 mile mixed ride with friends in the morning, afternoon or night. I also would love to see more slope/dirt jump style bikes at local single track or pump tracks. I absolutely love the ability to spice things up on a familiar trail with all the homies on single speed 26” wheels! Everyone is at the same handicap and you hit more features you would otherwise skip on a 29” mtb.

Totally agree with the guy on bells. Especially in rail trails and especially for speed riders that think they are Lance Armstrong and come up on you out of knowhere. Grav Grav should be called No Car Cars because I think that's the real appeal.

Tire clearance is here to stay! Across the board!

I'd say the one trend I would really like to see take off in the U.S. would be better, safer and expanded bike infrastructure and outreach. To the point where we can see a ton more women, young and old people, of every persuasion, and most importantly kids, all feeling safe enough to ride their bikes almost anywhere they want. So that the next time you go out to interview folks at Sea Otter it's not just 30+ yo guys in the industry that are only able to answer that question. Saying this as a middle-aged guy with a family, I want my wife and kids to be able to feel comfortable riding out in the world like I do and did growing up.

So stoked to hear all these folks saying stuff I agree with and what I believe in myself. I do see an underlying issue that they said all the main points about cycling today, REDICULOUS prices, proprietary components, no versatility, etc. I love my steel road bikes, but seriously at this point it's a no brainer my next steel vintage bike will be gravel based. PLUS building up bikes with old components is the best way to recycle too.

Another great video!

Love the guy who said cycletrucks. I'd love to get one but that's currently such a small niche even in the small niche that is cargo bikes

I love gravel but back in the early 2010s Midwest crit racing here in Michigan and Indiana was really taking off then it disappeared. It's hard to find a more spectator friendly version of cycling and it's the most adrenaline packed racing by far.

Loved the interviews! Yes, the consensus is that gravel is here to stay. I agree, and maybe one day it won't be called gravel biking, but the fundamentals of the medium will endure.

My teenagerbike was just a bike. Trygg Golden Flash. It had a 5 cog cassette, not dropbar and halfskinny tyres (I guess something like 35 or 40mm). It was a typical allround and gravelbike. Of course the allroundsegment will stay. We can call it gravel, allround or whatever. One segment that has got less focus recently is semicompact mountainbikes with semismall wheels. MTb with 26" wheels. Those wheels are actually very good and so small that I can lay down the backseat in my car and put the bike in without removing a wheel.

Going from a hard tail to a drop bar off road has made a huge difference to my cycling. I hate riding long distances on roads and a mountain bike with suspension is totally wasted on me. It’s great that there’s so much choice out there now and if you really do your research most riding styles are within reach.

Worked with Peter years ago! Cool guy, glad he’s still repping bromptons.

A sausage feast. This reflects badly on the state of women in cycling in the US when a video of 10 minutes can interview countless shop owners/ employees and there is no view point from half the population of the world.

When my wife and i traveled we found it tough to ride on trails with stones, so we got new tires to be more all purpose. This is going to be the trend for seniors who don't want to load a bike onto a vehicle, an all purpose bike is always going to be more useful.

Great interviews Russ, Party Pace is here to stay!!

+1 bike fishing. Take time to enjoy your surroundings and not focus on how quickly you can complete a mtb trail or if you’ve improved your Strava time

Hearing all those people talking about not being save on the road makes me really sad! 😢

The city and suburban roads in the Northeast are so bad and rough that a gravel bike makes way more sense on those surfaces. Once you try a thick tire on busted Boston-area pavement you never go back to old school 700c wheels

multi surface - great description from your wolf tooth guy & common theme- gravel to get away from the cars👍

I actually bought a cheap adventure/gravel bike. Not for our dirt roads, for the horrible paving practices away from huge metro areas in Texas. State All Road. Another reason is the steel frame. I’m mid 60s and need less high frequency vibration. So “gravel bikes” or “adventure bikes” are probably here to stay. Maybe by another name. Interesting interviews. Take care!

I've been seeing a "Panasonic ATB" sitting outside my local coffee joint, and just looked it up today: 1986, not really a gravel bike, no drop bars and 26 wheels but definitely looks likes like some of these, well, ATBs that are coming out now

Yes!! Cargo bikes, I love my Omnium V3. I ride it daily, and my dog's favorite words are, "do you want to go for a ride?" In the last week I rode the Barry Roubaix on it then Scout and I did an overnight on the Greenbrier River Trail.

Great interview. Thanks. Whatever the name of the bike. Keep it affordable and fun

Gravel is amazing, 5 years for me, away from cars, gives me the freedom to explore, the ability to ride pretty much anywhere which is the calling for many of us.

The first brand new bike that I got as a child was the Tunturi Retki 6 a drop bar gravel bike with 650b wheels and that was in 1985 😊

I raced on 23mm tires last summer hahaha

Great video and the 2 questions were simple but I love every response. More cargo bikes, more environmentally friendly bikes, more bikes with swap out components, all the things that WE as cyclists, would want to hear. How do I find out where the Sea Otter shows are located? Looks like my kind of Vahala.

I started using a bell on my bike, when I was trying to pass a lady with her dog on the bike path, but my mouth was as dry as a sand dune to yell out on "Your left!", after 73 miles with no water, lol. I learned my lesson.

I’m currently gravel biking in the Philippines and lots of XC hardtail’s that are like ATBs around here.

Re: the Redshift guy talking about less emphasis on weight. I have a single speed road bike that's pretty stripped down and weighs 15lb with pedals and cages (don't hate, it's fun. I also have a heavy gravel-touring bike and an 80s ATB), but it has a heavy Redshift stem on it because the comfort gain is worth way more than the imperceptible weight penalty.

1:30 I feel offended by that statement. As a Swiss i know exactly how 100g feels! It’s exactly one bar of chocolate. That being said, i completely agree with the red shift guy. We should be obsessed with weight. That applies to bike weight and body weight alike.

3:30 I've had bells on every bike for 60 years

Can we just call them All-Road bikes already?

I'd like to see the term gravel bike go away and just call drop bar bikes that fit fatter tires or have some added suspension "all road" or "all-terrain." Then again, a Toronto-based bike co at Sea Otter was displaying an aero road bike that can fit 40c.

It's the evolution of road cycling driven by traffic.

5:03 mark hit the nail on the head, why I bought a gravel bike.

Come from CX background and it was preferred bike due it can do so much riding terrain and still be fast or slow as you want to be comfortably.

i've been graveling since 2011....so far so good..

I think the gentleman who wished we would stop worrying about grams missed the flipside of that discussion, which is that we should stop worrying about aero. Aero can seem cool, but most of the numbers reported in any article about aero marginal gains usually quote studies done at speeds that most recreational can't really hold. (Also, while you shouldn't be a weight weenie and worry about saving 60 g on a carbon stem, quality rims, tire and inflation choice can save a bunch of weight while improving your ride quality.)

Love the people that don't go straight to selling their product. No, I still don't want a Brompton or an e-bike

Yes to rim brakes! :-)

One trend I would like to see in cycling: take your litter home with you (or collect some along the way like I do). There is a steep road climb in my area, and there are little energy drink bottles discarded on the verges just after the top of the climb (obviously thrown by other cyclists). Is gravel here to stay? With all the potholes on our roads in the UK, I would not risk riding a narrow tyre bike, a gravel tyre width would be my absolute minimum (and there are many unsealed surface routes to add into a ride).

I briefly worked at a typical shop not long ago. I remember the sales person (who doesn't ride, like the other sales people) saying that gravel is just a fad. He didn't even know about the miles of trails and dirt roads in the immediate vicinity.

We’ll done! Loved the cycling thru interviews with bike folks. New trend I’d like to see: More women voices throughout the industry. And represent half of the market guys!!

This was a cool idea

Gravel bikes, I ride an old Moulton APB, which allows me to ride road and trail. The flexible multi purpose bike of whatever styling is here to stay for a long time.

dude @2:10 , mechanics in my area are not happy to help me with anything haha

I avoid roads because the cars make me nervous. Technical single-track is beyond my capabilities (as a 70 year old with limited mobility). The rail trails and canal paths (i.e., Delaware and Raritan Bike Path) allow me to get lots of miles in relative safety. I see and enjoy nature while getting much needed exercise.

Gravel is here to stay. Lots of great gravel and otherwise unpaved roads to ride on. And thanks to the phone the roads are not safe. My '68 Cinelli is in many ways a gravel bike. Clearance for fat tires, relaxed geometry. The low gears of today's bikes are awesome.