Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes — Clothing and Accessory Selects from Sea Otter 2026

Welcome to Velo’s Sea Otter Classic coverage, where we share our favorite things we’ve found at the 2026 show. Bikes, components, accessories, and more: if we think it’s cool, you’ll see it. See the rest of our Sea Otter coverage.

Let’s step away from the 32-inch bikes, the Chinese bike brands’ reduced prices, and other new bikes. All of those things are obviously exciting, but Sea Otter runs deep. There is so much else to digest that it is hard to get your arms around it.

Nevertheless, around the show, we found a few trends and products that caught our eye that aren’t jumping out. In particular, I found a select few pieces of clothes, shoes, and accessories that jumped out as worth some attention, whether that is from testing the advanced of the show, or seeing these things in real life.

Shoe galore

A huge subplot of the show I was the momentum I am seeing in shoes. Shoes are an interesting cycling component in general, with the need to have many different design styles to accommodate different feet, but they are also key fashion statements. The aesthetics are unavoidable.

What’s more, shoes are always going to be a wear product, to a certain extent. For committed riders, I find shoes last about two years before they inevitably break down, whether it is through stretching, strap issues, or broken soles. There are many ways a shoe can start to lag.

Conversely, there are also many innovations coming out of the shoe landscape all the time so updating footwear, although expensive, is a nice way to retain good sensations on a bike.

New clothing from Pearl Izumi and Q36.5

Clothing is in an interesting place. I have had several conversations with folks in the clothing industry who are very aware and worried about the economic shock that is coming from Chinese brands significantly undercutting prices while still retaining the style and functionality of premium Western brands.

Brands like MBO, which had a robust display at Sea Otter, are getting closer and closer in look and quality to the big brands that have captured the attention in recent years as elevated fashion has entered cycling through brands like MAAP, Attaquer, and Rapha. For Western brands, there is a palpable sense that clothing will need to have unique arms, recognizable technical features, and fit to retain their market share of the premium price point.

A great example of this is Q36.5, a brand that has always been performance-driven at the expense of some aesthetic flourishes. It’s in the name, Q36.5 is built to provide a kit that keeps a rider’s body comfortable, approximately at 36.5 degrees Celsius.

Accessories, tools, and a new travel case

There are two major contenders for the crown of product that made me go, “I cannot believe this is already not ubiquitous.”

Ultimately, the number one product that jumped out for me was the Ergon saddle positioning tool. Other tools like this exist, but this is one that rolls a few features into one simple tool that can make a huge difference for people who are bouncing between different bikes and are picky about things like seat tilt, saddle height, and their saddle position relative to the bottom bracket.

Similarly, lights, locks, and bags are hard to always find a way in to share the story. Sometimes it’s obvious when there is a key reinvention or a new ingenious design, but most of the time these key products are hard to get into, other than these round-ups.

Yet, it is nice to share when something jumps out as a nice evolution of a product from established brands. At the show, there were three of these kinds of products, one new and two old, that I found pretty delightful.

While this light is a few months old, it is still the best-looking light I saw at the show and one that seems to provide a great balance of function and style. (Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins/Velo)

Eyewear

Lastly, glasses. Never enough for a full story, but there is always something new coming down the pike.

They aren’t the lightest glasses in the world, but they do have extra-reinforced titanium arms to provide a secure, stretch-resistant construction. All of this does cost a pretty penny, however, with a $310 MSRP. (Photo: Logan Jones-Wilkins/Velo)