The 2026 Sea Otter Classic has come and gone, but it left a big impression – especially when it comes to 32″ wheels. The hype behind the new-ish wheel size has been building exponentially, and while it’s still very much in the development phase, there was plenty to see at the show.
Going into the show, it seemed that most of the excitement had been geared towards 32″ wheels for mountain bikes – and there were plenty of 32″ mountain bikes on hand as a result. But after our discussions around 32″ wheeled gravel bikes, it seems like even more brands may be viewing gravel as the ideal use case for the larger hoops. That makes sense when you think about it, as 32″ wheels claim to offer a longer contact patch with increased traction in loose conditions, faster rolling, and don’t have the same concerns when it comes to building around full suspension frames like 32″ MTB.
Salsa Fargo 32 & Fargo Ti 32
Salsa waited until the first day of the show to break cover on two new 32″ versions of the Fargo gravel/adventure bike. The steel Fargo 32 and the titanium Fargo Ti 32 frame sets will launch this fall, available in sizes small through extra-large to accommodate riders from 5’2″ to 6’7″. Yes, size small. Salsa claims to have figured out the geometry to fit very small riders on 32″ wheels without toe overlap.
Full geo has yet to be announced, but the frames will provide 2.4-inch tire clearance and utilize standard boost spacing with a 73mm bottom bracket shell. An aftermarket alternator plate will reduce the chainstay length by 17mm.
Development of their 32″ platform began in 2024, with Salsa determining that launching the Fargo model first made strategic sense for their product lineup. Expect the official release to be this fall.
Teravail will introduce two new tire treads alongside the Salsa frame release: the Camrock and Cannonball models, both featuring two casing options. All 32-inch tires will include an updated SuperStructure casing that provides improved strength-to-weight ratios.
According to Teravail’s testing, 32″ tires offer 14 percent more surface contact area compared to equivalent 29″ models. The Camrock tread is currently available, while the Cannonball will become available in June or July.
Additional wheel options include late summer availability of the Circos wide wheels with updated carbon layup specifically designed for 32-inch applications. These wheels feature front and rear-specific profiles (29mm front, 28mm rear) and layup configurations, available in 28 and 32-hole drilling patterns with DT350 hubs, including impact-resistant wider rear lip designs.
BTCHN Geared & SS Gravel
BTCHN has gone all in on 32″ wheels with a single-speed bike that was shown at MADE, plus mountain bikes and a new geared gravel bike shown at Sea Otter.
Called the Bandito Ti, the geared gravel bike will actually be steel for the production run. That production will be run in batches with M, L, and XL frames. While the SS bike has sliding dropouts, the Bandito features a UDH hanger and appears to have a bit more traditional geometry than the MADE show bike.
We didn’t get any details on the wheels, only that they are prototype 32″ gravel wheels from WTB.
Faction 32″ Gravel Bike Concept
At this point, Faction Bike Studio is no stranger to 32″ wheels and followed up their 32″ Big Ben Concept at Eurobike with this Atlas Gravel build.
The concept bike serves as a testing platform to evaluate how oversized wheels affect real-world performance and geometry requirements in drop-bar bicycle applications.
The frame accommodates 2.1-inch tires while achieving 435mm chainstays, demonstrating that larger wheels can work with relatively short rear-end geometry.
The Atlas features a bonded carbon tube and aluminum lug construction and includes a TRP/Classified Vistar Powershift drivetrain, Easton 32-inch carbon rims (which are not Havens as it turns out – the wrong decals were applied…), and Schwalbe 32-inch x 50mm tires, which are unmarked, and different than the 32″ Schwalbe gravel tires shown on the…
Stinner 32″ Prototype Gravel Bike
Stinner is one of the brands, like Salsa, that has decided to start with gravel bikes for 32″ wheels instead of MTB. According to Aaron Stinner, it just makes more sense to start with gravel since there are so many questions surrounding the standards and designs of 32″ mountain bikes. As Aaron puts it, the industry is still “feeling through the dark” to find out what works.
As a result, the gravel bike prototype is made from straight-gauge titanium tubing, which Aaron states is easier to iterate with. The ride quality of the tubing is known without having to worry about butting profiles, so he can focus on determining if the geometry works.
The first batch will be a limited run of 20-25 bikes in M-L or XXL. The bike is shown with a prototype Stinner carbon MTB fork that fits 32″ wheels, but isn’t designed for it, pointing out that by narrowing the gap between the tire and the fork crown, it would open up the ability to fit more riders by building a lower front end.
The bike also features Stinner carbon prototype 32″ rims wrapped in Schwalbe Rick Race Pro tires. Tire clearance is said to be 2.4″, and the frame will run Boost 148mm spacing with an MTB chainline.
Boyd’s Colorful 32″ Rims
Boyd had a handful of anodized 32″ rims on display, including two CCC models meant for gravel with a 26mm internal.
The rims were also being used in the Vittoria booth to display the 32 x 2.4″ Peyote tire, including the new model that claims to be 90% renewable & recycled. It looks like our 32″ future is going to require a lot more rubber, so that’s probably a good thing…
