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Sea Otter gallery: E-gravel, full-suspension gravel, tires, and helmets

We scope out new gravel technology from Niner and look, plus Vittoria's Graphene 2.0 tire technology, XC racing stars, and more.

April 12, 2019 Dan Cavallari

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Look — It should come as no surprise that Look lent its racing pedigree to its first gravel bike. Unlike many utilitarian gravel rigs on the market, the 765 Gravel RS is primed for the racecourse. It’s light and isn’t littered with mounting bosses, aside from the water bottle cage mounts (You can attach four water bottles, and a bento box on the top tube.) The seat stays feature Look’s 3D Wave technology, which essentially allows the seat stays to flex for vertical compliance. The 765 Gravel fits a maximum of 700x40c tires, or 650bX2.1. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Look — Slap a battery on it and call it good, right? Wrong. Look’s E-gravel bike features a Fazua motor that’s integrated sleekly into the battery. The two components slide into a plastic sleeve that in turn locks into the down tube, essentially hiding everything to make this look like a “normal” bike. If you just want to pedal unassisted, you can remove the motor and battery and replace it with a mock battery compartment that doubles as a storage container. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Orucase — One of the drawbacks of Orucase’s various bike shipping cases is the lack of padding to protect your bike from itself. The company has now solved that problem by developing the padding kit. Each section of padding is tailored to a specific area of the bike, and they can be trimmed to fit your bike’s dimensions. The fork pad is reversible to accommodate both rim brakes and disc brakes. It should be available in early summer, and while pricing has not yet been set, Orucase is shooting for a $130 pricepoint. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Orucase — The B2 builds on the popularity of the original Airport Ninja case with some nifty features like a steel base frame and wheels for easy rolling. The B2 features a rhombus shape to help visually mask its actual dimensions (approximately 66 inches fully expanded). It’s tapered so the top is thinner than the bottom, again to hide the true dimensions. It packs down small when it’s not in use so you can throw it in the trunk of the car or stash it in the attic in between trips. It should be available in early summer for around $550. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Mint — The newest color offerings from Mint Socks weren’t on hand at the show, so the company got creative with an art gallery. Each canvas represents the new designs for upcoming sock offerings. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

DSCF0349 — Lea Davison’s Felt hardtail, which she raced in the Thursday morning XC race. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Vittoria — Vittoria recently launched its graphene 2.0 tire line, and we caught a glimpse of them on Lea Davison’s Felt hardtail shortly after her top-10 finish at Sea Otter. Graphene essentially fills in the voids in natural and synthetic rubber at the molecular level. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Lea — Davison (L) nabbed a top 10 finish on a blustery day at Sea Otter, while Savilia Blunk crossed the line first in the U23 race. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Vittoria — Vittoria removed the carbon black from the sidewalls of the Mezcal race tires to create a super-thin, responsive casing that allows for aggressive cornering. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Hanna — Hanna Weinman, 12, started riding when she was 5 years old; now the Taos, New Mexico native is punching well above her weight in open women’s enduro category. She’s a two-time national champion and has beaten racers twice her age. She’s sponsored by Angel Fire resort and Vittoria Tires, among others. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Kask — Kask’s newest mountain bike helmet, the Caipi, is a weight weenie’s dream. There’s no MIPS or other features that expand the footprint of the helmet. The breakaway visor is non-adjustable. It’s well-vented, simple, and spec’d with Kask’s leather chin strap. It costs $169. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Kask — Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Niner — Niner teased the Magic Carpet Ride (MCR) last year at Sea Otter with a 3D-printed prototype. Now Niner is closer to production for its full-suspension gravel bike. The MCR should be available in Fall 2019. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Niner — The MCR features Niner’s CVA suspension, but it’s tuned specifically for gravel riding. That essentially means the suspension is designed to soak up high-frequency chatter. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Lazer — Hot on the heels of the launch of the $100 Coyote trail helmet, Lazer showed off its Impala. It’s a slightly higher-end helmet with MIPS availability for $140 or non-MIPS for $120. It has an adjustable visor and a camera mount built in, and it’s about 30 grams lighter than the Coyote. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Bontrager — Bontrager collaborated with Bureo, a company that recycles fishing nets to create various plastic products. The Bat Cage is Bontrager’s attempt to source sustainable materials for its accessories. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Ellen — Ellen Noble cools down after her race at Sea Otter. Photo: Dan Cavallari | VeloNews.com

Ellen — Noble rocketed to the top of the UCI XC circuit following strong performances a junior and U23 rider.

An American in France

What’s it like to be an American cyclist living in France? Watch to get professional road cyclist Joe Dombrowski’s view.

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