MONTEREY, Calif. (BRAIN) — With Sea Otter Classic a week away, visitors will once again find Laguna Seca Raceway packed with exhibitors in hopes that consumers, numbering in the thousands, will make their way to the four-day expo — April 16-19.
"It shocks me every year," said Frank Yohannan, Sea Otter's founder, CEO and director. Exhibitor sales are up, named sponsors are up, dollars are up, athlete registrations are up, and campground signups have set a record. About 1,100 brands from more than 600 exhibitors are expected.
"I'm looking at the expo, and we're having our best year ever. I'm measuring it by dollars and how many brands we expect to come. And the dollar numbers are significantly up year-over-year," he said. The revenues were bolstered by a 5% increase in booth space cost.
But Yohannan noted that Sea Otter has been picking up the slack from Interbike for some time and to some extent it's picking up slack from Eurobike, thanks to the Sea Otter Classic held in Girona, Spain.
While worries over gas prices, inflation, the ongoing war in Iran and how those factors could impact attendance may worry exhibitors, Yohannan takes the long view. "I'm probably the only one — after 36 Sea Otters — but I really don't pay too much attention to that. We've been through the dot.com bust, 9/11, multiple wars, the big recession and we just kind of continue. To a large degree we're protected from the emotional part of the economy. Our rates go up year, so it costs a little more (for consumers) to attend, but compare that to a football game, a concert or any event," he said.
A four-day festival pass costs $125, kids under 12 are free. "I don't see today's economy having a negative impact on Sea Otter turnout. It's just not that bad," he said. Nonetheless, Sea Otter has dramatically upped its marketing and influencer campaigns this year to keep the event front-of-mind among consumers.
Otter things: e-bikes, e-motos, and runners
Yohannan is also paying attention to the e-bike market. The number of brands and e-motors exhibiting this year are up, he said. But Yohannan plans to pay close attention to so-called e-moto exhibitors who have long come to Sea Otter. With a push to get e-motos reclassified as motorcycles, Yohannan wants to gauge the industry's perspective on the issue. E-moto exhibitors are not allowed to demo their models at the event.
Exhibitors also pay attention to athlete registrations. They are slightly ahead of last year at this time, but Yohannan said late registrations are always a factor. He also pointed out that this year's race schedule could be picking up participants from other events. "We've been talking within the industry, and a lot of events are lagging a little bit," he said, making Sea Otter an attractive venue.
"Of course, gravel is a big piece of that. But the road bike events are just not what they were years ago. The circuit race is fine, and we're bringing back the crit and those numbers are okay. But what surprised me is our new trail-running event," Yohannan said. The trail run is set for Saturday, April 18. Runners can choose between a challenging 17K run or a family-friendly 5K version, with both courses navigating the scenic Fort Ord National Monument and ending at the raceway. Yohannan was surprised at consumer interest with more than 500 runners so far signing up for the event.
"A few months ago, I said if we get 250 or 300 for the first year at a cycling event that's OK. But we see the future of trail running as one of our outdoor events at Sea Otter continuing to grow and become a bigger part of what we are doing," he said.
Sleeping with Otter people
Another event — a first at Sea Otter — is a portion of the campground area dedicated to bike packing. Old Man Mountain, a Bend, Oregon, rack company, bought out an entire campground segment to host a bike packing festival. Sarha Timleck, sales director, said, "Think of it as a mini-festival within the larger festival." Old Man Mountain, founded in 1996 by Channing Hammond and later sold to Chris Kratsch and Katy Brice, plans to host bike packing movies, food and clinics at the site.
Two new exhibitors could also pique the interest of consumers and some industry product managers who will drop by to check out these companies.
Rivian, the EV automaker, will be at Sea Otter with its entry into the bicycle market through its spinoff company, ALSO, which recently unveiled its first high-end electric bike, the TM-B (Transcendent Mobility Bike). The TM-B is a modular, pedal-by-wire e-bike, that leverages Rivian's engineering and does away with traditional chains or belt drives. Riders, as they pedal, drive a generator that signals a 180 Nm motor how much power to deliver to the wheels. The Class 3 pedal-assist has a top speed of 28 mph and features regenerative braking, traction control and anti-lock braking.
Another Chinese brand that first entered the European market several years ago, Amflow, exhibits at Sea Otter for the first time. Amflow marries technology developed by DJI, a Chinese global leader in drone manufacturing, to e-mountain bikes with its Avinox motor and drive system. The motor weighs about 5.5 pounds with 105 Nm of torque and 850W of power. Competitors Shimano and Bosch are paying attention to brands, mostly European, that have spec'd the system. A small number of retailers sprinkled across the U.S. market have been selling Amflow bikes and its motor.
