WEIRD and Interesting Bikes at Sea Otter 2023 

I love Surly bikes. I have three. A late 90’s 1x1, a 2007 Steamroller, and a 2020 Krampus. I cracked the Steamroller’s down tube at the at the bottom bracket a couple years ago. Welded it up with my MIG welder and went right back to riding it. Couple thousand miles later and it’s still going strong. Steel is real

I REALLLY like the look of that blue Ritchey with the cool bar end ratcheting shifter. The shifter looks a bit bigger too which I like.

Perhaps the best trade show video I've ever seen. The topic is interesting and the editing really moves it along. I imagine there was some good interviewing behind it all that we didn't get to see, too.

Thanks Russ, for including the Baja Divide bike. Nice to see what they look like after some real-world use. And . . how you don't need a shiny bike to have big time adventures!

@7:19 Having also been on a tour in the mountains of Laos and had my companion's vintage Cross Check CS break, only so see a dude in flip-flops with a cig dangling out of his mouth weld her right back to riding shape was a testament to steel. It's way real.

Flat bar gravel bikes. Do we say “that’s just a hybrid bike!”? I’m a fan of all bikes and of this channel in particular. And I think an old hybrid might do the trick for many people

That Brompton is bonkers. The paint on the Diamondback panders to Gen X nostalgia and I'm 100% here for it. It looks fantastic. My recently resurrected/restomodded 1993 Supergo MTB that I rode in college is now 1x10 with V Brakes. It is essentially an ATB that will be the tool for a brutal 52 mile gravel/trail ride in RI this Saturday.

The more I see Russell's shifter I feel like he has actually made a product that is flipping the bird at wireless shifting every time he shifts. Nice. Make sure you let us know when they become available.

I think "weird" is a little extreme term for the bikes. They all look pretty conventional to me. There was some interesting technology, like the 3-D printed frame, but nothing too out of the ordinary. It's interesting to see that Diamondback is still using that odd color of green. My brother has a road bike that color. It's probably 30 or 40 years old, with a chro-moly frame and down tube shifters. He's converting it into a town bike with a more upright posture.

Such a killer colorway on that saucy Ritchey!

@7:50 Steel is real (world)!

Fun interviews! Thanks for taking us along with you and Laura on your tour of the show! :)

That Ritchey is a thing of beauty!

I got in on the first gen doggler, love that thing! Its perfect for mtbers that occssionally want to do more miles. Also makes easy trails super fun.

Spokesman for Hudski looks like he could be Russ's brother, ha.

that diamond back is so nostalgic for me. I had a pink and grey mtb in 1990. love it!

some of the best sea otter content! thanks

Great to see you! Glad you all came by.

Thanks Russ! I'm going to have to get out there for that event! Thanks for featuring the Benno!

Excellent coverage. Could watch hours of this. Nice thing about the flat gravel thing is maybe folks can slow down a bit,wear shorts an old t-shirt and just coast down the roads more.

Nice job curating some really interesting bikes Russ! Thanks for the content!

Love my Gen 1 Diamondback EXP, but that throwback paint is bonkers! 😍

Yeah!! Good one Russ,love seeing the bikes!!🤗🥳

That Ritchey outback is beautfifull....

Flatbar gravel bike ... Hmmm .... I remember there was something back in the early '90s ... It just proves that the concept was good and valid. Love to see them in their updated form with new materials and components, though!

That Brompton looks great! I got a Lectric Lite folding bike to get my knee back in shape and once I get 2000 miles on it I think I will reward myself with a really nice folder.

Love that Surly story - please do a deeper dive on the bike, the ride and the rider.

The Bike Sauce's Ritchey for the win!

Great video! Did they have the Surly Preamble out there by chance? Considering it as my first surly and maybe entry level gravel bike

Russ, I gotta say that rep from Hudski is your doppelganger, if you haven't already noticed.

Flat bar gravel is just a hybrid. Conversely, gravel is just a drop bar hybrid. However, mid 90’s 26” MTB’s have always made excellent ATB’s with comfy saddles, upright bars (with a bit of sweep), ergo grips and semi-slick tires. All of these make sensible, practical, multi-use bicycles for just about anyone.

I did really enjoy this video. I've watched it twice and probably a few more times. Thanks for showing something besides the very pricey bikes, though they are great to see Of all the Sea Otter videos I've watched that Ritchie Outback was probably the most filmed. Great job showing the diversity of products.

That Brompton is fantastic...must cost a lot.

full steam ahead bring iit ON

That diamondback gravel bike is hella dope

That's not a flat bar gravel bike, indeed, that is a riser bar. I love riser bars. I loved them more when they had a little additional cross bar like the Bontrager 9 degrees. They are still awesome, so go Hudski!

Flat bar gravel bikes = my 1986 Rockhopper (which is still going strong)

Seeing that Surly Wednesday chsinstay cracked and repaired is why I ride steel. Seeing the hypothetical become a reality is a proof of concept.

Man Diamondback is killing it. That Gravel bike is rad, and the Yowie looks pretty killer too.

Some sweeeeeet bikes. I definitely couldn't hold my brompton like that with one hand so effortlessly.

This is what I love about "true" gravel. When it comes to road bikes I don't like them to stray too far from the traditional look, but gravel its like "whatever" i'll ride it.

Russ, I’m so ready for that shifter to drop…any idea when it might be available? I guess it’s more of a question of the pod since the shifter already exists.

Again and again, I see the practical value of Surly bikes. I wish i could afford one.

When is Sea Otter becoming a Patreon supporter ? 😊well done Russ!

I sure would like to hear stories of aluminum Mtb frames cracking because I sure have heard enough of steel ones breaking. If steel is so much better then why does it break more often. I would chance guessing it is because to save weight on a heavier material smaller diameter tubing is used than in aluminium.

Very, very, very interesting. Please give Box Components Prime 9 a look. Thanks.

I love Surly

Great to see a flat bar gravel bike. Seems like the drop bar hijacked this scene. The flatbar gravel bike is great when your ride consists of really varied terrain and you're not in a hurry but want to be comfortable.

You see any tracklocross bikes?

Unfortunately, the Diamondback brand has been ruined in Australia by a department store selling BSOs with the name on it.

What's that bar-end shifter on the Ritchey?

The Ritchey is outstanding. What channel is that from?

Does titanium flex more than steal? I was always under the impression it was stiff and chattery…

Thanks for all the coverage, Russ, it's been great. But so. much. *plastic*. I'm with the others here; steel is real (weldable).

Any chance there’s a Path Less Pedaled Hudski Doggler Review coming soon??

Is the guy with the ritchey also on youtube?

Surley cutting their chainstays (or breaking) like they cut their prebuilt bikes from now on, smh. ill ride something else. cool show thanks for vid

the one guy says "sleek as hell" how sleek is hell

A bit out of topic, but can anyone suggest to me any suitable 26 inch tyres for gravel riding? (Converting an older mtb frame) not enough clearance for anything bigger than 26 inches

Ummmmm a flat bar gravel bike is just an old MTB🙃 which is really cool. Hard tail hard front.

2000 usd is entry level? Am I too poor?

Steel is real. . . . . . . . . Real weldable.

Sub $2000 is not great today

Flat bar gravel bike = hardtail mountain bike plus more profit.

give me the SAD bikes at sea otter. cant just look at the good things

Gravel bikes. I thought this was gonna be another MASSIVE British video with all the hyperbole we've come to expect from over-educated under-employed Brits.

Doggler sounds like the name of Hitler's dog!

I am sorry-but if it does not have drops, it is not a gravel bike.

Great! Could you please Show more of those plus/fat offroad bikes? surly, bombtrack, whatever more is there 🥹