Hey Y’all –

I wanted to give a quick post Sea Otter shout out now that I am back in the office.

The show was great this year with weather that was absolutely to die for. The majority of the DF5 Team was down there in full effect rousing the media and drawing attention to the booth. Also in attendance this year was Phil Howe and James Weigand. It was great to have Phil attend the show to meet the team and see the overall buzz that’s percolating around DB these days.

James was a badass to say the least. The newest member of the team was rocking the event like it was an old habit to him and he did it with professionalism and zest. We all very much appreciated your efforts James! James is apparently a hit with the ladies too so we'll keep him around.

New at the show for Diamondback was the 2013 Steilacoom RCX Pro and Pro Disc… 2 new offerings that will double the cross line. The bikes are breathtaking to say the least. The frames come with a lighter seattube with reinforcements near the BB and lighter seat stays in the rear. With an Easton fork and wheelset, a Sram Force groupo and SLK carbon components, the bike is sure to please those looking for a race ready steed right out of the box.

Bike Rumor was hot on the story and mentions both the Steilacoom and the Mason here.

Speaking of the Mason, the press was hot for the All Mountain hardtail. It somehow got pegged by a few as a freeride hardtail. This is a bit of an ambiguous term these days but the point is that the bike is turning heads… and rightly so. I’ve had the luxury of shredding this bike all winter and think we’re gonna kill it with this bike.

Here’s Richard Cunningham of Pinkbike’s take on the Mason and here is coverage from VitalMTB.

Pinkbike also got a few good shots that were posted in various Sea Otter updates including this shot of Kelly at the jump jam and this one of newest DF5 team member Charlie Sponsel’s DH rig.

We also took the opportunity of having the DF5 Team down at Sea Otter to get some much needed photography and with both Kevin Philbin (Kevmo) and Justin Olsen shooting for us, we got some real winners.

A few other shots were taken of the team while out and about as well including this photo of Kelly & Eric at Strength in Numbers (Anthill Films) Premier. Another bonus at the Premier was that local publication Freehub Magazine had a copy of their recent issue in the grab bags that everyone went home with. The great thing about this is that the cover shot features our own Billy Lewis on the cover shredding Stevens Pass. There are also shots of Porter and yours truly inside so we infiltrated the Trek event and got some solid exposure to industry insiders. High five!

Overall, the show went incredibly well. The buzz was good, the bikes looked great and the booth was dialed. Everyone worked really well together. 2013 is already off to a good start and is going to be a pivotal year for DB.