Certainly, the biggest buzz at Sea Otter from 16-19 April was the entrance of new brands from Chinese firms. Amflow-Avinox was first and foremost the biggest booth at Sea Otter, and it was the biggest story of Sea Otter without question. The new high-power, high-torque motors hit the market like a Tesla in Cobra mode.
Market disruption
Amflow has arrived and is selling directly, adding a reported 200+ retailers and a very disruptive new all-carbon RP Pro, very well equipped at $6,799 (€5,780), and the PR at $4,999 (€4,250). Both were sold out on the US website as of Sunday morning. But equally as disruptive is the slew of premium brands shipping their own Avinox models. From such strong brands as Propain, Pivot, Crestline and Forbidden, which were all in, to the over 60 brands having Avinox-equipped models in development, most were reporting robust sales.
Market reached the bottom
The Sea Otter traffic and the mood of the US market created a lot of enthusiasm among the brands. Last year, US President Donald Trump’s tariffs had everyone on their heels, struggling to find the cash flow to cover the new tariffs and scrambling to increase prices to cover the extra fees imposed by the US government.
This year, everyone had raised prices, and there was hardly any mention of the ‘tariff’ word among attendees, as the majority of brands had just gotten over it. The inventory levels have returned to normal, with most of the excess inventory flushed from the market. It felt as if the big brands have ‘right-sized’ their firms, most having reduced staffing levels to adjust to the new market size and are returning to profitability.
Sea Otter, which owns the US market, has become a leading event for industry leaders, evolving into a real competitor to the title of “global cycling event” — once held by Eurobike. CEOs from almost every leading brand were in their booths, vendor meetings, press launches and big dealers from the US, anyway, were checking out the new models. While the final attendance numbers are not yet available, organisers expected 74-75,000 fans, a record for the event.
