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e*thirteen Radial Tires e*thirteen has new radial casing tires in their Grappler (29”, 27.5”) and Grappler RS (27.5”) models. The tires will be available within the next month and will retail for $79.95 USD. The casing has 6 layers under the tread, 4 under the sidewall, a woven protection layer in the sidewall, and an apex at the bead. Their goal was to give the tire more support with the thicker apex and more layers, while still angling the plies so you get the supple, damp feel of a radial. The layers are placed at a 65° angle, which they...

That's mind boggling. I was excited to read about it this morning and when I arrived at Sea Otter today I was genuinely confused when I tried the brake and it went all the way to the grip. I then tried every bike they had on display sharing booth with Ohlins, and every bike had the same issue. I mean, what?!

Brembo are cowards. You can’t launch a brake and then have no fucking oil in the lines. What are they scared of?

New Dual Slalom Course - Yay or Nay? Dual Slalom has been kind of controversial with its new location and minimal effort put into the course. Instead of the traditional combo of groomed, deep bowl corners and rhythm lanes mixed with some natural turns, this year is 100% natural, grass turns without a jump or berm in sight. The location, off the DH shuttle road, prohibited any digging due to utility and infrastructure elements underground apparently. Does it feel like a "pro" race? Not really. Is the racing going to be good? Definitely. Today's pro qualifying was exciting and fast...

Yoshimura Fun Yoshimura wins the comedy award with their Honda generator powering the rotating stem cap display. They also had a pedal pin counting contest and a Gamux on display.

Talk about energy. I'll tell you, if you ever have used bikes parts to deal with, or want to scare yourself on an XC bike, Sanjay is your guy.

All they had to do was this ...

Brembo GR-PRO I got to see the new Brembo GR-PRO brakes in real life, and while the master cylinder is larger, and the red doesn't help hide their size, the brakes do look incredibly clean. Quick hit notes from chatting with them: There are three lever adjustments: reach adjust is tool-free, and then you have tooled lever ratio (3 positions) and dead stroke adjustments. The leverage ratio affects how quickly the power engages during the initial lever stroke, but power builds consistently throughout the stroke in each position. They found that Specialized Gravity riders all run slightly different lever ratios...

Stablead Stablead showing off their suspension. The frames are for display only and aren't planning on being released. Tom Rogers is the man behind the squish with consultation from guys like Brian Lopes. Besides the product, the most surprising thing in their booth was none other than the infamous Sanjay Sanbhag who hadn't been to Sea Otter since he was "hitting the dirt jumps on a road bike."

Fairdale Elevator Taj's Fairdale Elevator. A breath of fresh air among the never-ending display of electronic tech.

Our new favorite ebike, hands down.

CushCore Tire Installation Tool CushCore's miracle-working tire-install tool. It's only Thursday and they've performed the demo a billion times. Thankfully though, plenty of on-lookers come through and said, "we've seen the video." Watching it in person, there is some muscle required and their tire lever helps makes quick work of the initial bead pop before the tool can go in.

Bike park mode for the Eden over at the Spank booth. This one is set with 188mm back (190mm front) using a 250x70 stroke shock set up in Mx wheel configuration.

The Shredline Eden. Full details coming next week. I'll try to answer questions each evening as I'm at the show and have zero service there. If you are at the show stop by EXT, Spank or Gates to see one or find us walking around. This variant is set up at 164mm rear (170 front) using a 230x60 stroke. The Eden can be set up in six different travel modes, two wheel sizes and high/low settings.

I thought that Frameworks bike was some whacky trail bike at first. Then i zoomed in and got stink face.

Cane Creek Invert Cane Creek showed off their new upside down enduro fork, dubbed The Invert. Price is $1,599, it features 160, 170 or180mm of travel via different air springs, comes stock with 15mm axle but can also run 20mm available separately. 160, 170 or 180mm travel Air spring only High-speed Compression, Low-speed Compression, Low-speed Rebound 45mm upper tubes 38mm stanchions Bleed screw in top cap 586.5mm axle-to-crown height (170mm) 200mm brake mount, 220mm adaptor available Claimed weight: 2795g (180mm travel mode with guards, hardware and full steer tube) $1,599 Development started 3 years ago and they're currently taking deposits...

Hey all, I can finally take off my very sneaky blue tape camouflage to reveal that yes, I’m reviewing the new Nomad. Because I’ve spent so many years on the old Megatower, I’m framing this as a Megatower vs. Nomad comparison. Especially interesting for me because of the rumors that the Megatower is going away and the new Nomad does not take 29” rear wheels. I only have a couple rides in on the new bike, but so far the geometry feels really good and the bike feels solid and stout. Weirdly I haven’t been able to figure out the...