Whew! Ok, the kiddo’s room is all painted (marathon session for me on Monday) and her new carpet is installed. I still have to install the trim, assemble some furniture, and generally just get her room back together, but at least I’m at a good pause point to get some more tech coverage from the Sea Otter Classic up. What, you didn’t think I was done already, did you???
This round is another eclectic mix, including some really interesting looking bikes from Hudski, Luma Cycles, Scarab, and others (so many drop-bar MTBs), plus a look at Praxis’s innovative HiT gearbox transmission, a device that automatically distributes sealant in your tubeless tires (yes, really), and some other neat bits that I thought were worth noting.
There will be one more round of coverage to come – probably Friday – and then it’ll be back to our regularly scheduled programming next week.
Oh, and just a few things I want to mention:
First, if you haven’t caught up on all of my Sea Otter tech coverage to date, you can find it all here.
Second, quit squinting at the little pictures and open this up in a web browser instead of your inbox! All of the pictures will be bigger and crisper, and they’ll also be available in full resolution if you want (just click on an individual image).
Third, if you’re enjoying n-1, tell a friend! I’ll even pay you to do it – well, sort of. Substack has a program where selling out referring your buddies can earn you bonus subscription months for yourself. Click the button below to spread the love, or if you haven’t yet subscribed at all, what are you waiting for, a written invitation? Oh wait, I guess that’s sort of what this is.
Anyway, without further ado, let’s dive into this next round of tech goodness from the 2025 Sea Otter Classic.
Hudski is a two-person brand that’s all about fun, as demonstrated by its new Dualist, which is designed to run your choice of 29” or 27.5” knobbies, thanks to dual flip chips at both ends that allow for quite a bit of geometry adjustment.
This head tube looks long, no? The Dualist isn’t designed to provide a sky-high bar position. It only looks really long because it’s built around a rigid fork.
Despite the value-oriented pricing (a complete Hudski Dualist is US$2,400), there’s a lot of tech that goes into its TIG-welded aluminum frame. Case in point: the clamshell-style bottom bracket shell is a two-piece forging. A series of pins and holes keeps the two halves aligned during assembly, while a central channel provides a perfect valley for the weld bead. This style of assembly also eliminates a lot of the complexity (and potential for error) associated with traditionally mitered tubes – not unlike Specialized’s SmartWeld concept, in fact.
See that little tab machined into the top of the bottom bracket assembly? It matches up with a corresponding notch in the base of the seat tube to ensure proper rotational alignment. Clever.
The rear dropouts are also forged, and include an unusual (perhaps unique to Hudski?) convertible UDH setup. Effective chainstay length can be switched between and 435 and 450 mm.
When it’s all welded up (and painted), the lines look almost like a carbon bike (minus the weld beads, of course).
The rear brake mount is attached to the thru-axle housing so everything slides back and forth as a unit. In other words, there’s no need (at least theoretically) to readjust the caliper if you adjust the geometry.
Even the head tube badge is fun. I’m really looking forward to bringing one of these in for a review.
Luma Cycles wasn’t on my radar before the Sea Otter Classic, but it most definitely is now.
Luma builds the Meridian with a cast titanium bottom bracket shell that includes integrated guides for the internally routed lines. This not only gives the lines a smooth path to everywhere they need to go, but also ensures they never come into contact with a rotating spindle.
A bolt-on cap provides a tidy appearance.
I quite like the barrel-shaped profile of the T47 threaded shell, too.
This particular frame didn’t feature fully internal routing through the headset, but Luma is still careful to smooth all of the internal edges of the tubes, anyway.
Want to run a mechanical drivetrain? That’s not only no problem on the Luma Cycles Meridian, but you could argue it’s even an aesthetic feature.
It’s not a traditional bolt-on head tube badge, but it’s still pretty cool.
The internal guides for the optional dropper post are welded in place and filed smooth.
The one-piece rear brake mount presumably makes for more reliable caliper alignment than separate posts. Note how Luma machines in little standoffs, too.
Praxis was an unexpected star of this year’s show thanks to its ingenious HiT (Hinged Transmission) electronic gearbox design. Although it’s still in the prototype phase, it was a working prototype – so much so that Praxis even had a setup built into a custom Calfee.
The key to the Praxis HiT design (and the inspiration behind its name) is this hinged sprocket. Each section is actuated by a small solenoid, which can increase or decrease the size of the sprocket with shocking speed, and all while keeping the chain perfectly in alignment. Timing is key as even the slightest misstep in how the sections move can result in disaster, but Praxis seemed to have things already pretty well dialed given how well the demo unit was working at the show.
The Praxis HiT design not only requires millisecond-precise timing in terms of when the individual sections move, but also careful placement of where those sections are located. It’s critical that the chain be able to transfer from a larger-diameter sprocket to a smaller one (and vice versa) while still having every roller fully engaged on both sections simultaneously. Praxis says riding the HiT gearbox is like driving a car with a dual-clutch transmission, with near-instantaneous shifts and no need to back off the power at all.
Wondering about long-term wear? Yeah, me, too. This is just a 3D-printed demonstrator; the real components are apparently made of high-wear Delrin that supposedly holds up remarkably well (keeping in mind that the individual sprocket sections see almost no load when they’re pivoted back and forth)
Praxis says its HiT gearbox can be easily adapted to either motorized or non-motorized applications (the demo unit was externally powered by an electric motor just for demo purposes at the show). This prototype was configured with two hinge clusters, which yielded just four different gear ratios. However, Praxis says this same housing could also include up to four hinged clusters, which would then provide 16 distinct ratios.
If there was a theme to this year’s Sea Otter Classic, it was drop-bar hardtails as they were absolutely everywhere. This one was custom built for an employee or Rotor USA by Colombian brand Scarab Cycles, and it looked to be a massive amount of fun.
The custom paint was said to be inspired by the Utah desert.
I am so, so in support of the return of polished silver aluminum.
Delicate Arch is a freestanding natural sandstone formation in Arches National Park in Utah that rises 16 m (52 ft) above the ground. It’s truly stunning in person.
Ready for something a little different? The Tubeless Tire Rotator from Spinning Edge Technologies is a motorized widget that slowly rotates a front or rear wheel (normally when it’s on a bike) to help evenly distribute tubeless sealant to produce what the company claims is a perfectly sealed tire. The unit is powered via a standard USB-C port and can be set up to rotate in either direction at multiple speeds. There’s currently no timer function, but the company says there’s no reason why one couldn’t be added to the firmware.
Yup, that’s a paint roller you see there. Spinning Edge Technologies says it went that way because the rollers are readily available when they need to be replaced, and the fuzzy exterior won’t damage a rim or tire. Skeptical? Yeah, so am I, but I’m also sufficiently curious that I’m going to bring one in for a review.
The limited-edition wheels will be built around Qvist’s novel “double ratchet” hubs. The driver design effectively contains two star ratchet drivers that are stacked on top of each other and arranged perfectly out of phase to double the engagement speed without compromising tooth size.
Hunt optimized the shape of the 40 Limitless Gravel Aero rim for 40-45 mm tires. Might be time for an update given the move toward even wider tires.
Hunt’s own H_Ratchet hub features a more conventional star ratchet driver mechanism, which has become almost ubiquitous since DT Swiss’s patent expired.
Sitting at the Enduro Bearings booth was this wild dual-suspension aluminum mountain bike from upstart brand Arid Cycles out of Bend, Oregon.
What makes this bike interesting? For one, the frame is fully CNC-machined in two halves and then bonded down the middle. Second, I’m not sure company founder Ethan Eggert is even old enough to legally purchase alcohol in the United States. I sure as hell wasn’t this productive (or smart) when I was that age.
Arid’s third-generation Spade prototype features a six-bar linkage of its own design called Orbit Bar. The system supposedly allows independent tuning of every critical parameter (such as axle path, anti-rise, and anti-squat) while also taking up very little room.
The Spade prototype is a highly modular design with lots of interchangeable bits for flexible tuning. For example, this bike was set up with a 30% shock rate progression, but anywhere between 20 and 40 is possible depending on which mounting chips are installed.
Want a different chainstay length? Just bolt on some different dropouts.
Even the rear triangle can be tuned by swapping (or even removing entirely) the bolt-on seatstay bridge.
Colorado component company MRP was showcasing the second generation of its Lift drop-in fork damper upgrade. The biggest change from the first-generation dampers is a wider range of compression damping adjustment, which supposedly makes the damper work better across a broader spectrum of terrain applications. Though not customized to the degree of what you might get from a dedicated outfit like Push Industries, MRP still offers the Lift V2 in five different tunes (based on rider weight) so you can get a near-custom tune at more of an off-the-shelf price.
MRP’s Noken cap increases the volume of your positive air chamber to supposedly provide a more linear and coil spring-like feel.
Alternatively, MRP also has the Ramp Control cartridge, which creates a two-stage air spring for separately tunable end-stroke behavior.
Not sure if you’ve heard, but Colorado’s trails are full of rocks that are just dying to shred those low-hanging rear pulley cages on modern wide-range rear derailleurs. MRP’s Cage Guard promises just a bit of protection to hopefully prevent a very expensive walk back to the trailhead.
MRP wouldn’t reveal a whole lot about its enduro fork prototype, though it appears to use 38 mm-diameter stanchions and has about 170 mm of travel.
One trend I’ve been very happy to see is fork brands incorporating ports for easy oil bath servicing.
Ministry Cycles founder Chris Currie was wandering around the Sea Otter Classic venue with a more production-friendly version of his innovative Psalm 150 trail bike. Instead of the fully CNC-machined and bonded aluminum frame of the high-zoot version, this one uses a CNC machined rear triangle and more conventional TIG-welded front end. I’m rooting for you, Chris. Let’s get this thing across the finish line!
I reviewed the “everyday” version of the Eaglebear Black a couple of weeks ago, and found it to be a super fun and well thought-out flat-bar gravel bike for not a lot of money. Shown here is the burlier trail variant with higher-volume 27.5” tires and a short-travel KS suspension fork. Still looks fun.
Remember what I was saying about drop-bar hardtails at this year’s Sea Otter Classic? This is the Droptimator from Sage Cycles.
Talk about two brands that were made for each other. Tern showed off a special Airstream edition of its Vektron folding e-bike. The compact dual-20” wheel format and folding frame makes it easy to stuff inside an Airstream camper, and the silver finish is a nice aesthetic match, too.
The bike isn’t any different functionally from a standard Tern Vektron, but the power of branding being what it is, the Airstream crowd is apparently snatching these things up like crazy. Brilliant.
Nothing but the straight scoop on the bikes and gear you actually want to know about
Great to see MRP is getting news on their V2 damper. *checks tracking number from MRP for the 2nd time today*. They machine and assemble nearly every part of the damper in house. Love to support local small brands and hoping my new MRP V2 damper is worlds better than my tired Grip2.
I’m not usually a great fan of gravel frames but I do like me that Luma. The attention to detail & workmanship is to be admired. The hatch on the BB and cable guides are really good ideas & well done.
Great to see MRP is getting news on their V2 damper. *checks tracking number from MRP for the 2nd time today*. They machine and assemble nearly every part of the damper in house. Love to support local small brands and hoping my new MRP V2 damper is worlds better than my tired Grip2.
I’m not usually a great fan of gravel frames but I do like me that Luma. The attention to detail & workmanship is to be admired. The hatch on the BB and cable guides are really good ideas & well done.