5 things we learned about the future of 32″ bikes (and other wheel sizes) at Sea Otter

After days of wandering seas of booths, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of new parts, wheels, wheel sizes, I’ve had half a second to process some of what just happened. And what could be coming next. After years of rumours followed by a wave of boutique big-wheeled bikes, Sea Otter was the first real coming out party for 32″ wheel bikes and components.

One thing is clear: This is happening. And 32″ might not even be the last new wheel size out there…

This is happening

Change takes time. Specifically, making all the new components need to change a wheel size takes time. Sea Otter showed that Maxxis isn’t the only big brand that’s put in that time. Fox had a fork on display that, while it was marked with the RAD prototype label, looked production ready. On an ARI bike that looked similarly trail-ready.

Now that all these major brands are heavily invested in developing products around 32″ wheels, this wheelsize is going to happen. Bikes will be released. Components will be available to match. Will anyone buy them? That remains to be seen. But this isn’t just boutique builders experimenting anymore. The industry is committed to seeing this new standard hit trails.

This won’t be for everyone

Sea Otter also made it extremely obvious that this new wheel size won’t be for everyone. Certain laws of physics are hard to sidestep. Salsa’s attempt to prove the opposite, showing a 32″ gravel bike that “fit” a 5″2′ rider, showed the physical size of a 32″ wheel is just going to be hard to work around.

There were some good looking 32″ bikes out there. Geoff Kabush’s hilariously-ironically named “Underbiking World Championships” custom 32″ Naked looked great. The ARI bike looks good. A couple of the Btchn’ bikes looked solid. But Kabush is over six feet tall and his Naked looked like a size small, from far away. His height just made the frame look proportional to the wheels. The Salsa shattered that carefully cultivated context with the reality of what big wheel bikes will look like for shorter riders. After years of XL bikes that always looked a little … off, there’s a part of me that wants to revel in the ungainliness of that Fargo. But my XL bikes always worked just as well as more aesthetically pleasing mediums. I don’t know, or can’t see how, the same will be true for smaller riders looking to get into 32″ wheels.