Sea Otter Girona: 32-inch craze, 14 gears, new e-MTBs – The Sea Otter highlights

​14-speed derailleur from the Far East – Whaleroad R7

Admittedly, the name is a bit odd. But we’ve already spotted the new 14-speed gravel groupset at the Cykl stand (see below). Until now, even 13-speed systems – such as those from Campagnolo – have been considered something of a rarity in a world dominated by SRAM and Shimano’s 12-speed offerings. The argument is that, with a 418 per cent gear range, the R7 is designed to offer the finest possible gear spacing without relying on a double chainring. The Asian company aims to set a new benchmark here whilst remaining affordable. The groupset is already completely wireless. The battery in the rear derailleur is simply charged via USB-C, and an app is also in the pipeline.

The ultimate E-MTB: Eiros Empor-E – 18.5 kilos, 19,000 euros

They’re certainly taking a chance: Eiros, a small carbon bike manufacturer based near Barcelona, has unveiled a new e-MTB fitted with a Mahle M40 motor just ahead of the Sea Otter Festival. Weighing in at just 18.5 kilos, the Empor-E is said to be the lightest e-MTB in its class, despite featuring a Mahle M40 full-power motor, 800 watt-hours and enduro components. Eiros is drawing on its many years of expertise in carbon fibre production for supercars, aiming to achieve the dream weight on the scales with an e-MTB limited to 100 units. In doing so, Eiros is sparing no expense. In addition to the cranks and cockpit, even the seat post clamp and brake mount are made of carbon. Each of the just 100 exclusively equipped bikes is expected to cost around 19,000 euros.

Avona 32-inch: Is gravel cycling suitable for shorter riders too?

At the stand of the relatively new German brand Avona, we spotted a 32-inch gravel bike. The bike looks very much like a production model, but has not yet been officially unveiled. Unusually, the Avona is also available in particularly small sizes for riders from 1.65 metres tall. The design appears to be aerodynamically optimised. Avona has clearly put a great deal of effort into the details when it comes to components such as the chainring, seatpost and even the in-house Faserwerk wheels. No wonder: behind Avona lies a wealth of technical expertise from development engineer Jonas Müller (formerly of Arc8, BMC, Santa Cruz and DT Swiss).

Ducati enters the e-MTB market

Almost every small brand is showcasing an e-MTB with an Avinox motor at Sea Otter. But also in attendance is a true giant from the motorcycling industry: Ducati. Unlike in the past, the new Ducati bikes are no longer developed by Thok but are entirely independent products. The 160 R (All Mountain, Mullet) and 170 RR (Enduro, Full-29) e-MTBs feature numerous flip chips on the shock, seat stay and chain stay, allowing the geometry to be adjusted to suit the rider’s preferences. As well as the e-MTBs, Ducati’s range includes its own road bikes and gravel bikes. These are somewhat less technically striking, but look particularly elegant thanks to the woven carbon fibre laminated in Italy by motorcycle supplier Diamant.

Cykl: A titanium revolution thanks to 3D printing?

Company founder Antoine Lemur – of all people, a carbon specialist – is banking on titanium. The Frenchman set up his own company in 2022 to produce bespoke titanium gravel and road bikes, and has set himself an ambitious goal with his new project, ‘Faast’: Thanks to a combination of welding and 3D printing, the frame is set to be as light – and, above all, as aerodynamic – as a carbon frame. The bike’s organically shaped titanium design is certainly an eye-catcher. The bike is currently still at the prototype stage.

32-inch concept bikes: KTM, Megamo and others

There are also a whole host of exciting 32-inch concept bikes on display at Sea Otter Europe, though most of them are still making an appearance at the festival in their unfinished, prototype form. The star of the mountain bike line-up is the new KTM Scarp in 32-inch. With the prototype of the new cross-country bike, Long-distance ace Andreas Seewald He had already become world champion a few days ago and was able to pull on the rainbow jersey.

Megamo from Girona is also presenting two 32-inch concepts. The Catalan brand’s cross-country full-suspension bike still looks a bit more like a prototype, whilst the 32-inch gravel bike was spotted several times at the festival and, apart from a few details, already looks very close to production.