We saw the new goods from Ellsworth at Eurobike last year (and it looked great!), but this one caught our eye at Sea Otter. It’s an employee’s Dare DH bike with a custom orange and blue anodization built up with color-matched rims, bar, stem and other small bits to resemble the General Lee. Thankfully, there’s no rebel flag on it.

Jump the bridge and land hard on some more new stuff from all sorts of booths and brands…

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Mountain bikes with 650B wheels were definitely the predominant theme at Sea Otter this year, there were plenty of other cool things for city dwellers, commuters and those that get to traverse a bit of dirt before becoming a city dwelling commuter.

Swobo has added variations to their existing bikes, a highlight being the Folsom. It’s essentially a coaster brake equipped adult BMX bike for playing in the concrete jungle. The frame is an oversized round- and box-section alloy tubed skid machine with a matte black finish, just like when you spray painted yours in the garage as a kid. The complete bike is just $589.99, framesets are also available. New for 2013 is that the frame’s belt drive compatible and has removable cable guides.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, we have a couple e-bikes and a slick new belt-driven Breezer…

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The carbon/aluminum hydrid rim.

They aren’t first to the carbon clincher market, but Mavic believes they have solved the heat issue that plagues the segment.

By mixing the best properties of aluminum, carbon and resin, the French wheel maker says they have finally been able to create a carbon clincher that meets their standard. As usual there is a lot of talk about special resins and proprietary technologies, but as always, the proof is in the riding. We got to take a pair for a few days before they needed to head out to Sea Otter for some initial testing. Read on to find out our first impressions…
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It has been 31 years since Sigma and German electronics pioneer Klaus-Peter Schendel introduced Cycle Coach, one of the very first cycling computers, though Sigma’s first product was a brake light switch for bicycles that was never developed. Offering their first heart rate monitors in 1998, the market wasn’t quite ready and less than 5k were sold. Today, computers are fortunately smaller, easier to use, and boast a ton of features illustrated by the new Sigma Rox 5.0, 6.0, and 10.o. Expanding the Rox line up, the new computers offer just about everything you could want from displayed on your bars including GPS, speed, distance, cadence, heart rate, training data, and power depending on the model.

Does Sigma have a GPS competitor in the Rox? Find out, next.

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Around Sea Otter there were a number of lube companies showing off new products. The most interesting of which was Muc-Off’s C3 ceramic lube. It puts a ceramic coating on your chain and includes a small keychain-sized black light that makes the lube glow. This lets you check your application and ensure full coverage. Two versions are offered, wet and dry, each in two sizes.

Slip past the break for more…

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DW Link Incorporated, the company established by suspension designer Dave Weagle, is suing Giant Bicycle, Inc.,  and Giant Manufacturing Co., Ltd., for patent infringement and breach of contract. Here’s a summary of events that led to the suit, based on court documents:

Weagle’s patents for his DW Link suspension platform were filed in 2003/04 and granted throughout in 2006 and verified upon reexamination in 2007. In 2004, according to the documents filed in California courts, Weagle met with reps from Giant and discussed licensing his suspension design as well as creating a new platform called “G+ Technology”. In the meantime, Giant launched their Maestro suspension design in 2005, which allegedly used the DW Link design.

Immediately, DW Link sent notice to Giant that the Maestro suspension infringed on his patents, at which point the parties entered negotiations, but Giant held off on signing a licensing or development agreement until the reexamination by the USPTO concluded…

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As a small outdoor company based in San Francisco’s Mission district, Boreas Gear has already made a name for themselves since their creation in 2010, with the Bolinas backpack winning a 2012 Outdoor Industry Award. Already relatively well established in the backpacking world thanks to their lightweight designs and unique suspensions, Boreas is relatively new to the biking world even though their Lagunitas and  Bolinas have been out for just over a year. One of the coolest features of the two bags is their patent-pending Super-Tramp variable suspension design.

Check out how Super-Tramp will keep you from getting sweaty, after the break.

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There is certainly no shortage of new ways to listen to music while riding, which must be a sign that it’s something a lot of people like to do. Jamming to your favorite tunes while riding is great, but it always brings up two major issues: not being able to hear what’s going on around you, and the potential to irritate everyone within earshot. O-tus has the answer to both, with their Safe Sounds near-ear speakers. Designed to simply velcro onto your helmet above your ears (or inside your helmet for full face DH lids), the tiny speakers promise big sound without drowning out the background.

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If you’re unfamiliar with Adaptrac, just imagine riding your bike and being able to instantly change your tire pressure, as you ride, without ever getting out a pump. Crazy, right? Just over a year ago, Adaptrac launched their on board tire pressure management system at Sea Otter. This year, to show off Adaptrac’s possibilities for the fatbike world, Brandt Weibezahn who is the man behind both Adaptrac and Devise Cycles, decided to build a wild full suspension fatbike complete with a linear suspension design, built in c02 expansion chamber, and a custom Maverick fork.

We get a closer look at the Zeppelin after the break.

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Whether it is their new shoes, lights, or now pumps, Serfas continues to expand their product line with premium products. In order to offer a pump worthy of being top of the line, the new FMP-969 and 900 pumps are crafted from CNC steel and aluminum parts designed to keep that mount of plastic to a minimum.

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