Welcome to Velo’s Sea Otter Classic coverage, where we share our favorite things we’ve seen at the 2024 show. Bikes, components, everything racing, and more: if we think it’s cool, you’ll see it. See the rest of our coverage here.
Sea Otter Classic might still be a hub for mountain bike tech and racing, but there are plenty of new releases in the road and gravel bike world.
What are those newly released bikes? Below you’ll find the details on the new FiftyOne Sika, Parlee Ouray, Jamis Renegade, Blackheart Road AL, Sava Dream Maker road bike, and a pair of road bikes from Felt.
Jamis Renegade Carbon
Jamis hasn’t updated its carbon gravel bike in nearly 10 years. But they popped in to show off this, their new Jamis Renegade Carbon. (Photo: Alvin Holbrook/Velo)The bike receives external cable routing, 1x or 2x drivetrain compatibility, 21 mounts for bottles and gear, and dropper post routing to boot. (Photo: Alvin Holbrook/Velo)The Renegade Carbon gets tire clearance for 50 mm tires. Here it is shown with a 44 mm wide tire. (Photo: Alvin Holbrook/Velo)Perhaps the most interesting part is that Jamis will offer the bike in a top-spec SRAM Red XPLR AXS build with Zipp 101 carbon wheels to match. The price? $8,999 USD, though a base build starts at $2,399 with Apex AXS. That sounds like incredible value. (Photo: Alvin Holbrook/Velo)
Sava Dream Maker
Sava isn’t a new brand, and the Dream Maker isn’t a new bike, but this is likely the first time you’ve seen one. It will be available in the US soon for the first time and you’ll definitely want to learn more about it. (Photo: Will Tracy)The Dream Maker is an out-of-the-box aero design from Chinese brand Sava, which is making inroads into the US market this year. (Photo: Will Tracy)The Dream Maker comes complete with Sava-branded mid-section carbon wheels. (Photo: Will Tracy)The Dream Maker hits an approachable $5,000 USD price partly by equipping Shimano 105 Di2. (Photo: Will Tracy)The front end steals the show with the Dream Maker. The cutouts between the fork and handlebars allow for smoother airflow around the knees, says Sava. (Photo: Will Tracy)From the side, the bike looks much more traditional than from the front. The way the cockpit rises is reminiscent of the Cervélo S5. (Photo: Will Tracy)Sava claims the handlebar design also helps dampen vibrations in addition to the aero benefits. (Photo: Will Tracy)Accessory mounting points are built right into the bar for an extra clean look. (Photo: Will Tracy)There was no bike quite like this at the show. (Photo: Will Tracy)All the cables route internally through the handlebars into the headtube. The tops of the bars aren’t the most comfortable however. (Photo: Will Tracy)(Photo: Will Tracy)(Photo: Will Tracy)Rather than go the direct-to-consumer route, Sava wants to sell through bike shops in the US. (Photo: Will Tracy)
Parlee Ouray
Things have been a bit quiet from Parlee in recent years. After the pandemic years and some financial woes, the brand has now returned to Sea Otter with an exciting new all-road bike called the Ouray. (Photo: Will Tracy)The Ouray features a single-piece monocoque frame laid up by hand in the EU. Parlee has chosen to leave the frame “nude,” proudly showing off the quality of the carbon layup. It’s hit with a coating of 303 Aerospace wax for protection, which weighs just grams compared to the 100+ grams of paint. Custom paint is available if you prefer, however. The frame weighs under 900 grams. (Photo: Will Tracy)The Ouray has full internal cable routing. The cable hole is plugged here because it’s built up with wireless Sram eTap AXS components, but you have options. Parlee keeps things simple with T47 BB and UDH standards. (Photo: Will Tracy)A 31.6mm round seatpost is among the other open standards Parlee adopts on this bike to help future-proof it as much as possible. (Photo: Will Tracy)The dramatically sloping top tube allows for a longer seatpost, building in more compliance. The flat top tube and dropped seat stays improve compliance says Parlee. The front brake fits either a 160mm or 180mm rotor for huge stopping power. The rear brake mounts accept either a 160mm or a 140mm rotor. (Photo: Will Tracy)All-road once meant 32mm tire clearance. Today, that standard has crept way up, blurring the line between road and gravel bike. The Ouray is no exception, clearing 38mm tires. (Photo: Will Tracy)Multiple water bottle mounting points provide options. (Photo: Will Tracy)The Ouray will ship in five stock sizes. There is no custom geometry available, unlike some other Parlee models, but Parlee does build up each bike with parts chosen to fit each rider, including cockpit size, drivetrain, and saddle. (Photo: Will Tracy)
FiftyOne Sika
Like Parlee, FiftyOne is another brand known for its custom bikes but was showing off a still-impressive new stock model called the Sika. (Photo: Will Tracy)FiftyOne is based out of Ireland. The Sika is priced at $4,500 USD for the frameset plus cockpit and seatpost. (Photo: Will Tracy)The Sika comes in six sizes and uses universal standards like a T47 BB and UDH. (Photo: Will Tracy)The Sika is a sub-700 gram frameset in a size large and can easily be built to around the 6.8kg (15-lbs) mark without any exotic parts. (Photo: Will Tracy)The wildest part? The Sika fits a 40 mm tire as claimed. (Photo: Will Tracy)The seat stays are a unique aspect of the Sika. (Photo: Will Tracy)The bike hides all the cables internally for a clean, aero look. (Photo: Will Tracy)FiftyOne is making the cockpit for the Sika as well. (Photo: Will Tracy)The seatpost is included with the frameset and is painted to match the frame. (Photo: Will Tracy)Pre-orders are now available for the FiftyOne Sika. (Photo: Will Tracy)
BlackHeart Road AL
Your eyes do not deceive you, those are welds! Yes, a new aluminum bike aimed at a budget level price point is here from BlackHeart. (Photo: Will Tracy)The BlackHeart Road AL in all its glory. (Photo: Will Tracy)The BlackHeart Road AL takes the geometry of the brand’s Road Ti model but builds it in 7005 double-butted aluminum to hit a lower price. Despite that material change, it’s claimed to be over 100 grams lighter than the titanium version. (Photo: Will Tracy)The bike features internal cable routing, for those using groupsets with cables, at least. (Photo: Will Tracy)The frameset costs $2,000 and includes an Enve In-Route carbon fork. You get to choose from 137 Cerakote color options and can have the fork color matched for $200. SRAM, Shimano, and Campagnolo build kits are available. (Photo: Will Tracy)Alloy doesn’t mean you have to give up modern features like an integrated cockpit. (Photo: Will Tracy)
The New Felt FR Reaches the US
This is the Felt FR, and it’s one of the first in the U.S. Felt positions this as the brand’s race road bike, with bikes set to hit dealers this May. (Photo: Alvin Holbrook/Velo)The FR might be a race bike with internal cable routing and a sub-900-gram frame, but it also gets some user-friendly stuff like a round 27.2 seat post, a SRAM Universal Derailleur Hanger (UDH), and a T47 threaded bottom bracket. (Photo: Alvin Holbrook/Velo) It also receives this ‘Born and Bred’ branding, referring to its roots in California. (Photo: Alvin Holbrook/Velo)
Felt VR
Meet the Felt VR, the brand’s all-road or endurance road bike. It’ll fit a 38 mm tire. And with this Shimano Ultegra Di2 build and Reynolds AR46 wheels, it comes in at just $6,500 USD. (Photo: Alvin Holbrook/Velo)When was the last time you saw a handlebar or stem without some sort of branding on a new bike? Felt’s one-piece carbon bar doesn’t have any branding to note. (Photo: Alvin Holbrook/Velo)Interestingly, both the VR and FR bikes receive this downtube port in black. It’s blanked out for these electronic models, but bikes with mechanical shifting have cables route externally to the downtube. (Photo: Alvin Holbrook/Velo)The VR takes a standard 27.2 mm seat post with a sleeve to dampen road vibrations or a standard 30.9 mm dropper post should you want to. (Photo: Alvin Holbrook/Velo)
The BlackHeart Road AL in all its glory. (Photo: Will Tracy)
