<img src=" width="1536" height="1024" alt="(All photos/Cory Benson)“>
OK, so 32″ bikes are showing up at the top level of cycling races. And actually winning races now, too. It’s a thing, now.
First, it was a Cape Epic stage in March on dual Aspens. Then, Sea Otter’s DH race in April on a mullet 32″ Maxxis Aspen & 29″ Conti Cross King combo. Next up, the 356-mile Unbound XL win on 32″ Schwalbe G-One RX gravel tires. And today, the first elite UCI XC World Cup short track race on 32″ wheels ended with a podium on Schwalbe Rick Race Pro tires.
But you can’t win races without the right tire suited for the racetrack and the current course conditions.
Earlier this spring, Maxxis rolled out five new 32″ tires to create the only comprehensive tire line-up in the business. And we’ve got a hold of them all and are starting to test ’em out.
How much do 32″ Maxxis tires actually weigh?
gravel: Aspen ST; cross-country: Aspen ST, Aspen & Aspen AT; and trail: Forekaster & Dissector.
Now that we have all the 32″ tires that Maxxis offers, we can see how much they actually weigh. And they are surprisingly not all that much more than 29″ tires. Maybe at most 40-75g more than their 29er analogues? That’s not much weigh penalty to pay if Maxxis’ claims of 7% lower rolling resistance hold water.
- 697g Aspen ST 32×2.15″ Hypr-X gravel, 120tpi EXO
- 810g Aspen ST32x2.4″ MaxxSpeed, 120tpi EXO
- 812g Aspen 32×2.4″ MaxxSpeed, 120tpi EXO
- 880g Aspen AT 32×2.4″ MaxxSpeed, 120tpi EXO
- 1109g Forekaster 32×2.4″ MaxxTerra, 60tpi EXO
- 1186g Dissector 32×2.4″ MaxxTerra, 60tpi EXO
How big are they really?
Let’s just say when I pulled a regular 29/27.5 mullet wheel setup off the Amflow PX that we’re testing, the front and rear wheels are noticeably different in size, but it’s not extreme.
When I leaned my 32″ Dissector against them, the difference is pretty surprising.
Comparing like 2.4″ trail tires…
The 27.5 tire is 28.15″ tall (71.5cm), the 29 tire is 29.72″ tall (75.5cm), and the 32 tire is 32.48″ tall (82.5cm).
That makes the 32″ tire 9.3% larger in diameter than 29″, or 15.4% bigger than 27.5. While 29″ is just 5.6% larger than 27.5. That translates directly into the same 9.3% longer rollout or higher speed at the same gearing. That means you would need to drop 3-teeth on a chainring to maintain the same gear ratios, likely opting for 2 fewer teeth to go faster, or 4 fewer and make climbing easier with the slightly heavier wheel+tire combo.
First Impressions: How do 32″ tires ride?
Look, it’s late on Friday. And I still haven’t spent enough time on each of these tires, nor have I ridden enough different wheels yet, to really come to a final conclusion yet. But I can share a few first impressions…
The less-knobby 32″ tires feel marginally more sluggish compared to the same tire in 29er guise. But honestly, my average speeds don’t suggest it being any slower. In fact, the opposite. When I rode with other people on 29″ bikes, it seemed like I didn’t have to push as hard as usual to maintain the same speed as them.
Hmmm…
On the more aggressive knobby trail tire setup, especially on steeper trails, I couldn’t even notice any sluggishness at all. Climbing forest roads & singletrack, riding steep, wet, loose & rough enduro tracks, I expected to have to work harder to maneuver the bigger front wheel in my 32/29″ mullet all-mountain setup. But I didn’t. It felt like I had a lot more grip that I should with this middle-of-the-road tread and not supper sticky MaxxTerra rubber. Rollover seems easier, even having reduced my Wren inverted fork travel by 2cm. I was surprised how familiar the suspension still felt. And I look forward to more time on the trail tires, both on this full-sus mullet trail bike and my simpler 32-specific XC hardtail.
These are interesting times.
The post Just In: 5 New 32″ Maxxis Tires For Gravel, XC & Trail, Because They’re Winning Races Now! appeared first on Bikerumor.