5 Bikepacking Highlights from Sea Otter Classic 2026

I spent this past weekend at the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, a massive bike party packed with races, rides, and the world’s largest consumer cycling expo. Despite having grown up near the venue and wanting to visit for years, this was my first time attending. It will definitely not be my last! I’ve already marked my calendar for next year.

My weekend started on Friday morning with a 30 mile lap of the gravel race. Having never done a bike race shorter than ~250 miles, I had no idea what to expect. Would I be the slowest person there? The only steel bike? Not at all, it turns out. The vibe was friendly, bikes were varied, and my finish time was solidly mid-pack. Next time I’ll try the 60 or 90 miler!

I returned on Sunday morning to wander the expo in the sunshine, seeking out my favorite brands and a few surprises. The exhibitor list was truly extensive, ranging from some of the biggest names in cycling down to small niche brands. Bikes, components, gear, clothing, fuel and hydration… It was so fun to see familiar names literally everywhere I looked.

I had a short list of booths I wanted to track down in my limited time, and I mostly succeeded, but still barely scratched the surface. I can’t wait to go back next year and spend more time wandering the booths. In the meantime, here are five bikepacking-focused highlights from the 2026 Sea Otter Classic.

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Salsa Fargo with 32″ wheels

I’ll say it: I’m not a fan of the bike industry’s constant push toward new standards. A cynical cyclist might say the goal is to give us all more things to spend money on. It seems like just yesterday 29″ wheels were considered new and big, and as a shorter rider I already feel they are borderline too large. I struggle with tire rub when loading my 29er up with bikepacking bags, and I don’t exactly feel nimble riding it on singletrack.

But the bike industry is pushing toward bigger wheels regardless of my opinion, and it’s one of the leading stories from this year’s Sea Otter. I’ll admit I was a bit surprised to see the classic Salsa Fargo at the leading edge. The new Fargo’s 32 inch wheels “offer better rollover, superior traction, allow for lower tire pressures, and carry more momentum” according to Salsa. To be clear, the original 29er Fargo is still available too, at least for now.

I’ve put many thousands of bikepacking miles on my size small Fargo and consider myself a bit of a Fargo connoisseur. So of course I had to stop by the Salsa booth and see this mega-wheeled monstrosity in person.

The 32″ Fargo looks about how I expected it to look. The exhibit build was a small frame, a familiar size for me and all the better to show off those massive wheels. The saddle was so close to the rear tire that I asked the rep if the dropper post was fully extended (it was). He took care to explain that sizing remains inclusive, and they preserved the front-end height from the 29″ version thanks to its suspension-corrected geometry (meaning the geometry was already a bit taller in front to allow for suspension sag).

Though I personally won’t be buying a “32er” any time soon, I can kind of see why Salsa is trying it out on the Fargo. You definitely won’t be running a seat bag or bulky handlebar bag on a small or medium 32″ Fargo, but these days you don’t need to. The recent surge in universally mountable, off-road-friendly racks and fork bags makes it easier for everyone to avoid tire rub, whether from 29 inch tires or 32 inch.

Surly’s new Sorceress mountain bike

Surly was one of the first booths I stopped at, and also one of the most welcoming. I felt like a total fangirl telling them about Black Pearl, my Long Haul Trucker. They gave me a nice overview of the Sorceress’s specs and features, showed off their demo builds, and took care to point out how the frame colors sparkle in the sunshine. Personally I love the Elderberry Tonic color, but the photos I took don’t do it justice.

They were clear that the Sorceress isn’t primarily designed for bikepacking — it’s first and foremost a mountain bike. The frame triangle space is limited, though the top tube mounts and double bottle mounts on the downtube (only on size M and up, unfortunately) are a nice touch. We talked tire clearance (up to 2.6″), fork (140mm travel), and wheel size (Surly’s height-inclusive convention of 27.5″ wheels on size XS and 29″ otherwise).

It’s cool to see Surly offering a more aggressive hardtail. For most bikepackers seeking front suspension for general use, the Karate Monkey probably remains the better choice in Surly’s lineup. But the Sorceress certainly can be loaded up, especially with today’s universal rack options. Given the drawbacks of bikepacking with full-suspension (limited frame space, mechanical complexity) the Sorceress might be just the thing for singletrack-loving day riders who also sometimes bikepack.

Old Man Mountain’s FLiP Cage and Manzanita Cradle

I’m a big fan of Old Man Mountain, specifically their blend of truly innovative gear and commitment to compatibility with other makers’ products. I’ve used and loved their Elkhorn and Divide racks on longer trips (reviews here and here), and I’ve tested the Axle Pack on short trips. So of course I had to stop by their booth and say hello.

I’ve been wanting to see the FLiP cage in person ever since adding it to Bikepack Baggregator and diving into its pros and cons. It’s the only system currently on the market that functions as both a quick-release fork bag and a standalone cage, perfect for those who like to mix and match gear depending on the trip.

The FLiP cage + Hemlock bag pairing feels very solid in person, definitely a mechanism I would trust in the backcountry. As a standalone cage the FLiP looks very functional, if a bit unusual, with strap retainer slots and a removable foot. The Hemlock bag itself still feels light despite the extra hardware.

I also had a chance to check out OMM’s brand new Manzanita Handlebar Cradle, which is the most personally tempting handlebar system I’ve seen in awhile. They explained that it’s built on the foundation of Salsa’s EXP Cradle because Salsa is sunsetting that product line but wants the concept to live on. I have an old EXP cradle and honestly it’s not my favorite – kind of heavy and bulky – so I’m happy to say the Manzanita is lighter and looks like a big step forward.

The Manzanita’s biggest appeal: its accessory mount platform frees up a ton of bar space. Their exhibit setup included both a light mount and a GoPro mount (which I use for my kLite headlight) atop the cradle itself, plus a GPS device mount and a spot for a bottle cage on the clamp arms. I could use all of those!

OMM also put some nice thought into lowering the frustration factor of packing up. The companion dry bag includes little “coat hanger” loops that hang from nubs on the cradle while you’re fastening the straps. Simple yet brilliant. You can also use any other dry bag, with or without this feature. Overall the Manzanita exemplifies the specialized attention to detail that sets great modern bikepacking gear apart from the rest of the pack.

Ortlieb’s QR Seat Pack and Fork Pack

Ortlieb’s festive booth drew me in with its fully loaded show bikes and wall of colorful panniers. I haven’t used their bikepacking bags, but my older touring panniers are Ortlieb Back Rollers and their quality is top-notch. I’ve been curious about their quick-release fork bags (a competitor to OMM’s Hemlock mentioned above) and their stabilized QR seat bag.

Both bags were lighter than I expected for QR-mount solutions, which are generally heavier than strap mounts because of the extra hardware. After feeling them both I wouldn’t hesitate over the weight. The fork bag QR mechanism is minimalist and easy to actuate, and the bag itself is simple and low profile.

The QR Seat Pack has substantial structure on both top and bottom, joined by a compression strap, so the 13L size requires less tire-to-saddle space than I expected. A sag-proof, sway-proof 13L seat bag is hard to come by! I don’t normally recommend seat bags that large since they can be hard to pack tightly enough, but this one looks very forgiving (there’s a 7.5L version too). It’s even designed with dropper posts in mind, including a single seat post strap in a high position that preserves travel, and a collar to protect the stanchion.

I had expected these Ortlieb bags to feel a bit heavy and overengineered, but when seeing them in person I was pleasantly surprised. My personal experience with Ortlieb mainly comes from my Backroller Panniers, which are indeed heavy and a bit clunky. But it seems Ortlieb understands the touring versus bikepacking distinction and has carefully designed each category to fit its intended use.

Topeak’s new Zi:RAK

In Topeak’s booth I was immediately drawn to their intriguingly named new Zi:RAK rear rack. It’s a universal mount rack that combines axle mounting for road and gravel bikes (or eyelets or seat stay straps for others) with an integrated seat post clamp, similar to the recently launched Restrap Switch rack.

Also reminiscent of the Switch, it lacks a traditional rack deck in favor of an optional proprietary cradle (a bit like the Aeroe Spider, though the implementation is quite different).

The side verticals have 3-pack mounts, following another big bikepacking gear trend of the last couple years. In this respect the Zi:RAK follows in the footsteps of classics like OMM’s Elkhorn, Tumbleweed’s T Rack, Mica’s Rat Tail, and other minimalist cargo cage racks.

What sets the Zi:RAK apart from all those others, including the Restrap Switch, is the versatility offered by its pannier bar add-on. This lets riders flex between traditional panniers and a more minimalist cage setup with the same rack, a money saver if you’re someone like me who does both touring-style and bikepacking-style rides. In this respect the Zi:RAK reminds me of the much pricier (and lighter) Tailfin Pannier Rack with its optional universal Pannier Adapters.

That’s a wrap for my Sea Otter highlights. These were some of the most bikepacking-focused booths at the expo, but the festival is massive and I left feeling like I barely scratched the surface. I can’t wait to go back next year!

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