With the Unbound gravel race taking place this weekend, many brands will be using the occasion to roll out their latest gravel tech. And it’s fair to say Scott will be drawing more eyeballs than most, as both defending men’s 200 champion Cam Jones and 2025 Tour Divide winner and Unbound XL podium finisher Robin Gemperle will be riding a new prototype Scott Gravel 32in bike. That’s right, big wheels are hitting the big time.
‘This bike makes you feel like you’re levitating over the surface,’ Jones said. ‘I’ll be experiencing a road race while everybody else is racing gravel!’
Jones’s bike for Unbound 200 is kitted out with prototype wheels from Industry9 and 50mm width Schwalbe RX 32in tyres. The groupset is a mash-up of Shimano XTR with a GRX crankset with a 4iiii power meter and 160mm crank length – shorter cranks being another trend in road and gravel – and Shimano Dura-Ace shifters. There’s a Syncros alloy stem too with Enve Aero Road 370mm wide carbon bars.
Gemperle, meanwhile, has gone with SRAM components, built around a Red XPLR AXS groupset, while he’s fitted alloy Syncros bars with 360mm width. He’ll be riding the same 50mm width Schwalbe RX tyres as Jones.
The two riders have been experimenting with 32in wheels for some time, with Gemperle saying, ‘The project having found its final shape cements the feeling that this big boy is the size gravel racing and especially Unbound Gravel was waiting for.’
We’ve been sceptical about 32in gravel bike wheels in the past here at Cyclist, but with the latest wheel craze taking over XC MTB racing, it was only a matter of time before it found its way to gravel too.
If you’re looking to tee up Scott’s 32in gravel bike for your next adventure, however, you’re out of luck. Scott says the bike is purely a prototype and won’t be released to the market. Still, we’d wager it won’t be long before 32in gravel bikes are a common sight out on the trails.