Just me or has the “new” stuff from Sea Otter this year been pretty disappointing…?
Maybe I’m just in denial about no new Crux yet but nothing has caught my eye. Maybe the size 50 Dubnitals? That’s about it …thoughts?
Sort of related to this as there were quite a few 32" bikes on display, but I have absolutely zero desire for a 32" bike. None. I’d go as far as saying I will actively avoid them. There’s no way they are going to feel great to ride if you have to lengthen the chainstay, front center, and wheelbase to fit those wheels/tires.
I also think it’s kind of funny Allied released a new “road bike” that is just a gravel bike. The geometry is almost identical to the Specialized Crux but with shorter reach.
I have a feeling this will be a funny comment to look back on in a few years. They’re objectively faster rolling in every test I’ve seen.
I’m not super hyped on a new wheel size but faster is faster and from what I hear the handling isn’t that much different. If 5’1" humans can deal with a 29er, I (5’11") can deal with a 32er.
Highly doubt it. I have zero desire for a “faster rolling” bike if it rides terribly. Heck, even most gravel bikes ride terrible when you start getting over 425mm for chainstay lengths or wheelbase over 1075mm. I’ve test ridden some of the current offerings and they all just feel like tanks. Not fun to ride. Going to 32" wheels you’re going to have to lengthen everything. Just can’t imagine they’ll be fun to ride in the slightest. I don’t care how fast they supposedly are, if it’s a brute to ride I won’t be buying it.
You are making huge assumptions without even riding one. Dismissing a new standard is a time honored tradition in cycling so I get it. It’s annoying.
Everyone that has ridden one has said it doesn’t ride all that different so guess we’ll see.
I said the same but after chatting with a few early owners of a 32, I now have a Ti Vassago Maximus on the way. I’ll let you know my findings.
Completely agree. I remember hearing word for word remarks about 29ers when they first came around…
The more pictures I see of 32" bikes the more they look like massive compromises just to try to sell more bikes.
Faster is faster… But I haven’t seen many test comparisons. The only one I’ve seen (PinkBike) they added weight to the 29er and the time was pretty much the same. I am “32 curious” (and have spent way too much money trying cool new things so not against tying them). But I don’t think we’ve seen definitively that 32 is indeed faster.
29ers too, for that matter…many smaller women (and men) still run highly negative stems that almost graze the headtube.
That is true
Yeah. IDK. I got my road bikes, gravel bike, and mtbs. They’re all different and all fun in their own way. One makes a poor substitute for any of the others in their respective milieus. That said, I’m not expecting 32ers to be dramatically different from 29ers of similar intent. I did survive going from a 26er to a 29er.
While it’s certainly not the end-all be-all, @jkarrasch has done some really thorough testing over a ton of different setups and seems to have some pretty strong data that they are faster.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DXHvnqDFqYO/?igsh=b2x5bWtxb3I2YWd1
I don’t doubt 32’s are faster in rolling resistance tests, if that’s what the data shows. I’m talking real life mountain bike racing and trails. The whole bike needs to be faster for the course.
If they are I’ll buy some for sure, but I think that kind of testing is limited right now. Some have posted on mtbr (that pros they know who are testing them) like them, but don’t like the weight. I guess we will see where this lands… but then again Nino was super slow to move to 29er, so there’s that.
Is it going to be 32 up front and 29 outback? That might help us shortys with step over height.
One his recent appearance on BonkBros he also indicated that the handling of the 32" custom bike he had been riding was excellent.
Lots of 32s at Sea Otter. Yep
Ive tested 29 v 32 Aspens on pavement, cobbles, and 4 different gravel spots. The 32s are pretty clearly faster on every single one and not to a degree where I would consider it a marginal gain for pros or that sort of thing. Also been 32" peyotes and Aspen STs.
There are some other pretty good tests I’ve seen out of Germany and France I think
I’m working on some more testing and for day to day riding, the 32 rides like a bike. Very fast in tight single track. I’m 5’9" fwiw.
Maybe 26 up front and 32 in the back. Will be like always riding downhill.
Have you by chance ridden on any xc or enduro type trails? Switchbacks, roots, tight turns, etc. Curious how they ride in those conditions. Things I’ve heard is that they feel better but are they faster too? Can you feel a difference?