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| Image courtesy of Continental Tire |
First of all, don't get too excited. These will not be available until April 2027. However; it is definitely noteworthy to see Continental doing a 32" tire.
Continental didn't divulge too much technical information on these tires just yet. They did not even hint at width, or whether or not there would be multiple widths of the 32" Dubnital. They only mentioned it is for XC MTB and Gravel.
Like the image Conti shared, there are a lot of shadows which need to be enlightened. But also, one should take note of this development in light of Continentals history with new sizes of bicycle tires in the past.
Particularly with regard to 29" tires. Conti was slow to develop wider, more aggressive 29"er tires when other companies were already in the marketplace with them. I was told by a high placed Conti rep at the time that the Germans were slow and conservative when it comes to new ideas. Certainly it would seem this has changed somewhat with their tease of a 32" Dubnital.
Another German based bicycle tire manufacturer, Schwalbe, has also announced future availability of 'gravel sized' G-One RS Pro and G-One RX Pro level tires in the 686 (32") x 50mm and 55mm sizes.
These are a prime examples of when a respected leaders in the bicycle tire field show a premium product in a new size indicating the bicycles with these tires as OE spec are coming. Continental and Schwalbe are not banking on aftermarket sales to pay for the research and development, tooling, and marketing of a new 32" tire. No, they have already sold a big order to some company, or companies, which are footing the bills.
It's looking more and more like 2027 is going to be the Year of the 32" Wheel.
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| Trenton Raygor in the white jersey here from T.I.v12. Image by Celeste Mathias |
I was cruising Facebook, as I often do, and came across a great post by Trenton Raygor.
Trenton was the race director for the Day Across Minnesota event (DAMn), and the Filthy 50 event, which happened just a week ago.
Trenton has "retired" from RD duties and was attending the Filthy 50 as a rider with his two sons. In the post he wrote eloquently on the subject of where Gravel had been and where it is at now. In a word, his thoughts might be summed up by saying that Gravel is "healthy".
Trenton's take is a good one because it is based on experience. He was there at the beginnings of Modern Gravel, and he saw its early growth. He participated in the seminal early events, and he created a couple of classic ones as well. I also know Trenton is passionate about the genre', and he cares deeply about it. His desire to tell the story of gravel is strong, though you may not know this about him. So, when I saw his post, and how he so succinctly expressed his ideas tying together gravels past and it's present, it gave me hope for gravels future.
Apologies to The Who, but The Gravels Are Alright.
2 comments:
It took a long time for 700C rims (a road size) to appear on mountain bikes as 29". I wonder if it will take as long for 32" (a gravel/mountain size) to appear on road bikes. Probably never for racing bikes due to UCI rules but maybe someday for endurance bikes or very large frames.
@Stuart - I think you are right on with your thoughts on 32" for road bikes. One other thing to think about is the tires. Without a true road tire I think it would be difficult to say 32" would ever be a road bike standard.
Gravel and MTB will happen. That much is certain. How long it hangs around is anyone's guess at this point. My gut feeling is it will flash and then fade away, much like Plus sized wheels have, or like fat bikes did.
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