Sights & Sounds of Vitus at the 2023 Sea Otter Classic

The head tube of Kyle Strait's Natural Light themed Escarpe

The 2023 Sea Otter Classic is done and dusted, with a little extra emphasis on the dust. We launched two custom painted bikes, watched some great racing, and met about a million wonderful current and (hopefully) future Vitus owners.

We couldn't have hoped for it to go any better.

In case you missed it or, if you're like us and just want to relive this year's Sea Otter in all its glory, we've stuck together a little photo recap of the week. Enjoy.

The Vitus Bikes booth at the 2023 Sea Otter Classic.
The snazzy interior (we even had a floor).
Kyle Strait signing autographs
The Natty Daddy himself, Kyle Strait, signing autographs after the unveiling of his custom painted Natural Light themed Vitus Escarpe slalom bike.
Kyle taking photos with the next generation of shredders.
Details on Kyle Strait's custom bike
Kyle's custom bike photographs so, so well.
The main link was even anodized blue
Everything was colormatched to the Natural Light can, even the linkage.
The headtube of Hap's custom Rapide
The detail on Hap's custom Rapide FS is amazing.
Top tube details on Hap's Vitus Rapide
In case Hap ever forgets what bike he's riding.
The big reveal
The moment Hap's pop art inspired Rapide FS was unveiled, with painter Curtis Bullock looking on in the background.
The Aviators team bike
The Austin Aviators team-issue Vitus ZX-1 EVO.

The Highlights

A SIDE SHOT OF KYLE'S CUSTOM PAINTED ESCARPE

Kyle Strait's Natural Light inspired Escarpe

Kyle Strait, a.k.a "The Natty Daddy," now has a bike custom painted in the livery of his namesake beer.

On Friday afternoon we popped the top on a custom painted Vitus Escarpe slopestyle build painted to match Natural Light's recently revived throwback can. It turned out super rad.

Kyle stuck around after the big reveal to sign some autographs and hang with fans. It was a great way to kick things off for the weekend.

Hap Seliga's Vitus Rapide

Hap Seliga's Pop Art Inspired Rapide FS

Hap Seliga, our fearless leader in the US, loves two things: bikes and art. So when we set out to paint him a custom bike for this year's show it was pretty clear what needed to be done.

We partnered with the wonderful Curtis Bullock, a.k.a @savethepostalservice, to paint Hap a mountain bike inspired by the pop art greats. The result is one of the most whimsical downcountry bikes you might ever see.

The end result is absolutely beautiful and proved to be a serious eye catcher for just about anyone who passed by the Vitus booth.

Some of the Austin Aviators with their team-issue Vitus ZX-1 EVO

Austin Aviators Team-issue Vitus ZX-1 EVO

We had the very first Austin Aviators team-issue Vitus ZX-1 EVO race bike on show at the booth, marking the first time the team or the public had seen the squad's official new bike.

The particular bike on the stand in our booth is destined for team rider Michael Pincus, who happened to not be on the squad the Aviators sent to race at Sea Otter this year. But the riders who were there — Aubrey Drummond, Joyce Monton, Connor Sallee, Eamon Lucas, Gregory Vanderpool and Travis Longfellow — all got to see their new ride for the first time.

All in, the 2023 Sea Otter Classic was a huge success. We met loads of riders, watched our athletes throw down in several events, and, best of all, got to see in person how warmly the cycling community has welcomed Vitus in the US. We're already looking forward to next year.

Didn't make it to Sea Otter this year? Catch Vitus at one of our other events or bike demos.  

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