Maxxis's launch of the 32 x 2.4 Aspen tire earlier this year signaled that the bicycle industry is taking the new wheel size seriously. Yet, nearly a year after the tire's announcement, no major brands have released a bike made for them. Custom framebuilders, however, have literally and figuratively picked up the torch of testing the fit and performance aspects of using new, larger wheel and tire combos.
Josh Weinberg
Escape covered two entries to the 32-inch space at the Made custom bike show earlier this year. Both the Neuhaus hardtail and Btchn's gravel bike incorporated the new wheel size in pragmatic ways, balancing ride characteristics and geometry figures like chainstay length, stack height, and bottom bracket drop. This weekend, at the Dresden edition of Bespoked, three more builders have displayed their takes on the new wheel size. And they span the material gamut from carbon to steel and titanium. Let's take a look at 32-inch builds from Ballern, Black Sheep, Bike Ahead Composites.
Black Sheep 32-inch Speedster
Colorado-based Black Sheep Bikes is no stranger to experimenting with wheel sizes. With everything from 24-inch fat bikes to 36-inch gravel bikes in its eclectic catalog, unconventional wheel fitments have become one of the titanium builders' trademarks. For Bespoked, owner James Bleakley dusted off a frame designed initially for 32-inch wheels that he built in 2019. Back then, he was using wheels from unicycle.com and heavy tires, which reportedly increased the overall bike weight significantly and made the ride experience dull.
Now rolling on Astral's 32" alloy Outback rim and the Aspen tubeless tires, it sheds nearly 5lbs (2.25g) from the full build weight and "spins up super fast" according to Bleakley.
The frameset is essentially the predecessor to what became Black Sheep's Speedster titanium hardtail model, which features twin cantilever top tubes, sliding dropouts, and accommodates from 120 mm to 140 mm of front suspension. This was a special version, with a fully removable rear end and a custom Deathplosion fork made with six titanium "leafs" for vibration damping.
Following its review in Mountain Bike Action, the Black Sheep team rode this bike as a 29er due to the lack of reasonably durable and lightweight mountain bike wheels and tires at the time. Thanks to the adjustable rear end, a wheel swap made sense. Now, however, the bike has been cleaned up, brushed off, anodized, and has a new life as part of the emergent 32" trend.
Bike Ahead Composites The Frame Projekt 32"
Like many other brands, Würzburg-based Bike Ahead is exploring 32" wheels in its own unique way. With carbon manufacturing capabilities, the brand can reportedly respond quickly to trends. For its 32" The Frame Projekt, it took just two months to design and produce a functional prototype.
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