New Demo Area Steps Up Product Offerings at the Sea Otter Classic

MONTEREY, Calif. (February 26, 2008) While the Sea Otter Classic has long been known as a “see-and-be-seen” event for athletes, the same could be said for manufacturers and their new products. Multiple companies like SRAM, Thule, Specialized, Clif, and Kenda will be releasing new, never-before-seen products to the public and media inside the Sea Otter Expo. Sea Otter has also taken a few extra steps this year to allow more Expo goers to test products. The Product demo area, located inside the Expo, will include several jumps, a pump track, as well as other bike handling skills attractions inside the BikeSkills Ride Zone. The demo area will be located proximate to both the acclaimed Fort Ord mountain bike trails and surrounding paved roads for those looking for an alternative to riding in the Ride Zone.

Event sponsor SRAM will be releasing many new products at Sea Otter. In advance of the event, here are a few details to savor about the new offerings from SRAM brands RockShox and Avid.

RockShox will be debuting the Reba fork with its new Maxle Lite option. The axle, which is more than 50 grams– or 40 percent - lighter than the current Maxle, maintains the same proven durability and functionality of the Maxle. Even better, the Maxle Lite uses the industry standard 20×110 dimension, meaning it’s compatible with other products on the market today. Refinements include: thinner aluminum axle body, lighter and more ergonomic lever, and an aluminum skewer.

Avid throws a splash of color into the mix with the Juicy Ultimate brakeset. Juicy Ultimate will be offered in both white and blue color options. These new Avid colors will compliment other SRAM products, like the new RockShox SID.

Go to the SRAM booth 700 at the Sea Otter Classic to learn more about SRAM, RockShox, Avid, and Truvativ plus see additional products yet to be released to the public.

Thule will be showing off several new additions to its line. Visitors to booth 745 will be able to see Thule’s new Ascent series of roof boxes; the Load-Off and Road Mate organizers from the Load N Go series; and three new bicycle racks: the Passage, a two or three-bike strap rack, the DoubleTrack; a two-bike hitch-mounted rack; and the new Echelon roof-rack based, fork-mounted bike carrier.

Specialized will be allowing the public to demo its entire bike line, including the Tarmac SL2 road bike and S-Works Stumpjumper and Safire mountain bikes, featuring BRAIN suspension technology on both the front and rear.

ALERT: Specialized Designs for Women will be launching its new website on March 1. Logon to http://www.d4wgear.com after midnight this Friday to have a look! Specialized has also designated March as Designs for Women month and in conjunction with the launch of the site, Specialized is running a contest to win a trip for two to one of its women’s-focused Riders Club trips.

Clif Bar, the environmentally conscious company and longtime Sea Otter sponsor, will be unveiling its new energy bar wrapper-recycling program called the Wrapper Brigade. In concert with Terracycle, Clif Bar will be taking all those used wrappers and turning them into useful objects like tote bags or purses. Clif Bar is asking that all visitors bring all the energy bar wrappers they can (any brand) to the Clif booth, number 227.

“We’re always looking for ways to reduce our footprint on the planet,” said Peter Berridge, Field Marketing Manger at Clif Bar. “The Wrapper Brigade is something our business, our partners and our consumers can do to have a positive environmental impact. Not only does the program protect the places where we play, it supports charities and makes useful items like backpacks and totes out of material that would otherwise be considered waste.”

New sponsor, Kenda, expects to show several new tires, most notably the new 650B John Tomac Nevegal, which makes use of a new rim size that falls midway between the more common 26-inch and 29-inch rims. Kenda is also expecting to show its new line of tubular road tires. Finally Kenda should also be debuting a new “stickier” compound in its Brian Lopes Blur family of tires. Come check it out at Kenda’s booth 705.

This year’s Sea Otter Classic showcases products and programs for life both on and off the bike. The newly relocated demo area will allow for more consumers to get their hands on more product than ever before. Visitors will now be able to view or try offerings from exhibitors ranging from bikes and brakes to recycling programs and energy bars.

For a full list of this year’s Expo participants, go here

Jackson Weber contributed to this release.

About Sea Otter Classic, Inc.
The 18th Annual Sea Otter Classic will be held April 17-20, 2008 at the Laguna Seca Recreation Area, Monterey, California, USA. The four-day “Celebration of Sport” is considered the world’s largest cycling festival, hosting nearly 10,000 professional and amateur athletes and 50,000 fans. The Sea Otter Classic benefits the Davis Phinney Foundation, which supports Parkinson’s disease research and wellness, and IMBA California, which organizes advocacy and trailbuilding efforts statewide and strengthens California mountain bike clubs. More information can be found at www.seaotterclassic.com or by calling 800-218-8411.

source: Sea Otter Classic News Service