Depending on who you ask, 32″ inch wheels are either about to take over mountain biking as soon as this spring, or a bunch of overblown hype that might never happen.
It’s hard to say because there are still just a handful of bikes around, mostly prototypes and handmade customs. Or there could be a ton of them waiting in warehouses. Who knows? The internet is rarely good at middle-grounds or reason, so we decided to ask some very reasonable humans who might have some actual insight. Insight not just into what’s happening, but what happened last time.
We talked to three icons of Canadian cross country – Catharine Pendrel, Geoff Kabush and Sandra Walter – to find out what they think of the 32″ future and what we can learn from how the change from 26″ to 29″ (and to 27.5″ then back to 29″ again) played out last time.
Is it all Hype? Are there real advantages? Will this happen anytime soon? And will shorter riders be left behind? Let’s find out.
First words: Hype or cross country beast?
Before we get into the details, is this even a discussion worth having? Or just a bunch of marketing being over-sold as a performance advantage.
“I don’t think we can ignore it,” says Catharine Pendrel, adding that of the few riders she knows with time on the big hoops, “Their feed back was very positive.”
Sandra Walter is more cautious, with good reasons that we’ll get into below.
“I think it’s still too early to tell,” Walter says. “I honestly wasn’t paying too close attention to the 32″ talk last year, but I guess it’s becoming a thing.”
Geoff Kabush has had time on 32″ wheels. While he can’t spill the beans on which bike, his long-time sponsor Maxxis is perhaps the brand doing the most to push this new standard. Or, at least, as the first and currently only brand to make a 32″ tire (others have committed, but there’s no rubber on the ground) the brands that’s been most brightly in the spotlight.
“Going from 26″ to 29″ was pretty dramatic and I’d say 29″ to 32″ is significant but just slightly less so,” Kabush shares. “There are definitely some very noticeable differences in riding dynamics. Big whips might be a little harder for the kids.”
Kabush is quite specific about what the new wheel size can offer, and what might hold it back.
“The advantages to…
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