The 32" Watch: Maxxis Speaks, The Industry Hedges

Singular Albatross 32'er. (Image courtesy of Singular Cycles)

 Note: I know it is "April Fools Day", but this is a serious take on 32"ers. In fact, I despise April Fools posts. I hope you enjoy today's article. Hit me up in the comments section with any thoughts you may have on 32 inch wheels. 

Last week the Taipei Cycle Show took place in Taiwan, global home to several cycling industry brands and manufacturers. Many watching from the sidelines were curious as to what would be new, especially in terms of 32" wheels. 

While there was some new product shown and teased there, it was mostly underwhelming from a consumer viewpoint. Mid-tier frames and suspension forks were shown, but this only reinforces the idea that perhaps 32" bikes are going to be relegated to only being entry level hard tail MTB's. There were rumors of tires, but nothing beyond the already ubiquitous Maxxis Aspen and a few other tires were shown. Promised new treads were spoken about, but nothing showed up in reality. 

As seen on social media

This week a story was posted on the "Bicycle Retailer and Industry News" site which was reported from the Taipei show. The BRAIN report quotes Maxxis employees in the article and some of what was revealed is interesting. 

It seems there are new tread patterns coming from Maxxis and even a gravel tire is in the works, according to the article. Maxxis has been rumored heavily in recent months as having several tread patterns in the works for 32" wheels. The article says April 16th is the date when the covers will come off Maxxis' offerings, which kicks off Sea Otter, so look for all the news to be blasted across the internet then. 

A Maxxis employee interviewed for the report seemed to indicate gravel as a sector where 32"ers will be focused as far as development in bicycles. Of course, further MTB development is also forecast as well. 

Comments: 

That gravel is a sector where 32" wheels will make somewhat of an impact is fairly noteworthy. It makes sense in many ways, but there is always the specter of limited fit options and weight which may hinder enthusiasm for the wheel size. There will definitely be something for gravel aficionados to get excited about at Sea Otter, but how the market actually responds to any of this is still a big unknown. 

I noted industry wonks in a couple of Taipei Cycle Show videos I watched being sort of lukewarm about the impact of 32"ers. Industry issues in MTB are still being felt as inventory gluts in certain segments are still being worked through. Consumer enthusiasm for buying new stuff is still not very good. One online publication even puts forth the notion that 32" wheels have come at "the wrong time" and should be put on pause.  

Perhaps Sea Otter will boost enthusiasm on the consumer side and industry folks who are hesitant to mark this as "The Next Big Thing" will suddenly change their attitudes. In my opinion, shops are hurting across the country. Many won't want to stock something as unknown a quantity and which represents a big risk financially. There will be questions about the sustainability of such a wheel size. Maybe it will be like fat bikes - People ran out and bought them like crazy for a few years, and then the bottom fell out of that market. Or perhaps it will be like 650B/27.5"ers which were touted as the "Next Big Thing" in 2011 but are nowhere near the popularity today which was promised by purveyors of the wheel size fifteen years ago now. 

We will see. But one thing is for sure - 32 is creating a buzz unlike anything seen in this decade so far. Will it hang on? Will consumers float this wheel size into the future? It'll be an uphill battle, in my opinion, but we shall see. 

Image courtesy of Scwalbe social media

Bonus Material:

One of my dear blog readers sent me a link to a test/review of the bicycle you see here in the image from Schwalbe's social media. 

It is a great comprehensive look at 32"ers and in particular, from a drop bar perspective. Now.....they call this gravel riding in Germany, but it sure looks like average MTB trail riding terrain in my eyes. Your mileage may vary, but "gravel" ain't "gravel" unless it is crushed rock road. 

At any rate, give this link a shot. It's in German, so you have to hit your translation function in your browser, which even then will make the read a bit challenging, because German to English is not a smooth transition! 

But the gist of it will come through. Most interesting to me was the last bit concerning the UCI gravel series and 32"ers. Looks like they are banned from competition for now. This may seriously affect things in Europe. But seeing as how the UCI has little to no influence on the US market it shouldn't be an issue for events here unless there are further developments which would make 32"ers illegal.