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| Schwalbe 32"er proto. (Image courtesy of Schwalbe Tires) |
A reader of the blog recently tipped me off to news on Schwalbe's site regarding their testing and development of 32" MTB tires.
According to the site, Schwalbe LAB has developed a radial tire which has "set a completely new benchmark for performance"
Citing more stable handling, more grip over rooty, rocky terrain, and higher cornering speeds, the results sound hauntingly familiar to the benefits of 29"er tires over 26" MTB tires.Scwhalbe also reports that their own laboratory measurements confirm 32" tires offer "measurable advantages in rolling resistance."
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| Image courtesy of Schwalbe Tires |
Schwalbe also states, "32-inch tires are a promising technology with real and tangible advantages - across market segments and beyond purely performance focused tires." Perhaps Schwalbe is coming out with a range of tires to suit all riders across genres? Perhaps we can see gravel oriented tires as well?
Schwalbe doesn't see any 32"er tires coming out this year, but does hint that 2027 will be the year they will release these big hoops of rubber upon the masses. Could this mean OE orders and bicycle brands developing different styles of 32" wheeled bicyles? This would make sense given the time it takes to go from prototype to a finished bicycle model.
At any rate, this would seem to seal up the deal and make 32"ers a virtual lock to be something we will be able to buy from many outlets within the next year, year and a half. Now all which remains to be seen is if riders will respond by actually purchasing these wagon-wheelers.
Extra Bonus: Here is a link to a French online site featuring a 32'er the journalists designed, built, and tested in cooperation with a French MTB brand.
I like all of this...
ReplyDeleteWe are slowing getting back to tire size based on rider height.
ReplyDeleteI am looking at the 32s, and all I can see is shorter cranks, slacker head angles to help reduce toe overlap. I just hit me with that one picture. It may force shorter cranks on more people.
ReplyDeleteIMO, the industry missed the mark with 29+. Tires such as the Bontrager XR2 in the 29x3 flavor on carbon 40mm rims offer(ed) all of these proposed benefits with more cush. IYKYK....faster, better rollover and much smoother than standard 29" tires by a long shot. Too may people turned their nose up after trying them because they weren't mounting them on a sufficiently wide enough rim.
ReplyDelete@MtbikeJockey - Was it "the industry", or was it the consumers who "missed the mark"? There were plenty of bikes. (I happened to really be interested in the Salsa Deadwod FS and Trek FS Stache 29+ bikes) But as I recall, 29+, (and to a degree, 27.5+) just did not pull the numbers like other 29"er models.
DeleteI was still covering 29" bikes online back then and manufacturers were telling me the support for plus bikes just wasn't there and that tire manufacturers were seeing more support for 29" X 2.8" and narrower.
So, it all eventually went away due to a lack of sales, which maybe you could blame on marketing, but in the end, if stuff doesn't sell well, it quits being made.