2024 Sea Otter Bikes (Part 1) - BIKEPACKING.com
Full article written by Logan Watts; you can find the full article on Bikepacking.com here
“We already published a fairly extensive Dispatch about the HotSalad Sierra Roamer using press photos and details a couple of weeks ago, but I’m pretty chuffed I got to see and shoot it in person. This is the seventh annual PAUL/Sierra Nevada collaboration, and I’d wager to say that it’s the best fundraiser raffle bike Paul and Sierra Nevada have helped put together to date.
The Sierra Roamer frame came from the hands of B Vivit, the framebuilder behind HotSalad Bicycles. B has been featured on the site before. Miles photographed her and the titanium klunker she had on display at MADE last summer in Portland. As Miles summed up in that writeup, B’s been in the bike industry for a long while, honing her skills as a mechanic before becoming an instructor at United Bicycle Institute in Ashland, Oregon. Naturally, she moved into framebuilding and eventually worked at Seven Cycles in Boston before relocating to Portland, where she helped build frames for Simple Bicycle Co. Later, she set out on her own and created HotSalad Bicycles. The Sierra Roamer is a manifestation of all that experience and seems perfect in every way, despite being delightfully quirky.
Each year, the PAUL/Sierra bike raffle is held with all proceeds going to a non-profit of their choosing. For 2024, they’re supporting The Roam Collective’s mission to celebrate and elevate representation in the mountain bike community. With that in mind, B Vivit set out to create a modern tribute to mountain biking legend Jacquie Phelan and her historic bike, Otto. Back in the 1980s, Jacquie Phelan (aka Alice B. Toeclips) raced undefeated for six consecutive years in women’s mountain bike events aboard her custom-built “Otto.” Not only that, but she did so wearing polka-dot tights and soundly beat most of her male competitors. She was a force of nature in both racing and advocacy for the sport. Not only was she co-founder of the National Off-Road Bicycle Association (NORBA) and a charter member of the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA), but Jacquie led a tireless crusade to open doors for women in cycling, which was and still is a male-dominated sport. In 1987, she founded the Woman’s Mountain Bike And Tea Society (WOMBATS) to encourage women’s and girls’ participation, and in 1984, she held the first women’s off-road skills camps and clinics known as “Fat Tire Finishing School.”
Otto was built by Charlie Cunningham and was among the first modern lightweight aluminum frames and the first of a few raced off-road with drop bars. Otto went unbeaten for six seasons with Phalen at the helm, and it ironically drew criticism from traditional framebuilders, who believed durable frames had to be made of steel. Otto held up for over nine consecutive seasons.
B Vivit’s tribute to Otto doesn’t focus too much on sentimentality. Instead, it’s a lovingly concocted blend of old-school charm and modern elegance that oozes creativity. The swooping top tube and bridge-less seat stays are wonderful details, as are the custom anodizing and curved stem. The frame is nicely finished with top-shelf components donated by White Industries, PAUL Component, Velocity USA, SimWorks, Ultradynamico, King Cage, Forager Cycles, and WTB. You can still put your name in for it, too. Head over to the Roam Collective website anytime before May 16th, where every $5 you donate gets you an entry to win and helps make mountain biking more inclusive and accessible.”
