The 32" Watch: Yakking About Big Hoops

Yep..... Another Guitar Ted Podcast just dropped. You'd think we both had nothing else better to do. (Correct) So, anyway, maybe you'd like to check out our ramblings on these monster sized hoops. Click Here

So, as far as this whole new wheel size becoming a thing or not, here is a nugget of wisdom I gleaned from my time covering the cycling industry. It is a "sure thing" something is going to be marketed heavily if this one thing occurs. 

The one thing? Original Equipment Manufacturer orders. Often abbreviated to "OEM" or even "OE", this means some factory is receiving an order from a company/brand to make something in mass quantities. 

In other words, to give you a clearer picture, Fox is not coming out with a 32" suspension fork unless some company/brand orders thousands of them. Same goes for tires, or rims/wheels. Anything specific to a standard ordered by a company/brand, in this case, 32" wheels, is a tip-off as to what is going to happen. 

We know Maxxis is coming out with several 32" tire models. We have a strong indication via insiders that a Fox suspension fork is coming out. Manitou will have a 32"er suspension fork by mid-2027. I posted about Schwalbe's tire plans last week. It isn't a question anymore. 32" tires/wheels will become available to purchase world-wide in the very near future. 

Expect a ton of marketing to show up this Spring showing the benefits of these wheels. Expect a ton of push-back on site comment sections and on social media. I suspect we all will be pretty tired of the hype by mid-Summer. 

Rich Dillen's Vassago 32"er (Image courtesy of Rich Dillen)

 If I had to say, my opinion is bikes with 32" wheels will become available in shops and online by the Fall. More options will hit from then onward until Spring 2027. Some second tier brands will be certain to have them in their line up. Maybe......maybe one of the big four - Trek, Specialized, Cannondale,or Giant will also, but my bet is they all are going to come later, if they come at all. I'm not saying one of these four mainstream brands will not make a 32"er, but it is certainly possible one or more of them will make a 32"er, or several versions of them. I just think they will be amongst the latter offerings. 

And you will see gravel, recreational, and eBike versions with giant hoops on them. More than just MTB's will be 32"ers. Anyway..... There is a lot more detail to this. Listen to the episode. Let me know what you think in the comments.    

Real World Feedback: 

Of course, it's all blue sky until the reality of what a 32"er actually can or cannot do is discovered by riders. I was fortunate enough to have had Rich Dillen message me after his recent ride in a local short track event. 

Image courtesy of R.Dillen by Pisgah Paparazzi

Rich has a blog where you can check out his takes on the 32" wheels, but suffice it to say that after about 45 minutes of him messaging me he pretty much convinced me of this wheel size and its benefits. 

I won't belabor the points he made here, (again - See his blog for more), but suffice it to say that even if half of what he said is true 32"ers will be the preferred single track bike in the Midwest. 

 I know many will scoff, and many won't give 32"ers a chance. Look......I get it. I went through all of the skepticism surrounding 29"ers too. They said 29"ers were dumb, a fad, and worse things about those who rode them. 26"ers weren't going anywhere. But look around your local bike shop or peruse your favorite online MTB purveyors. How many new 26" wheeled MTB's do you find for sale in 2026?

I'm not saying 29"ers will be supplanted by 32"ers, but the 32"er is not going away anytime soon either. Naysayers will come and go, but once people get onboard a 32"er and find out what it can and cannot do, then the results will determine the outcome of this wheel size. And again, based upon this real-world feedback, things seem to be looking good for the 32"er. 

Nuff said.....