The fact that Maxxis keeps creating new 32″ tires has unleashed a seemingly endless feed of unreleased prototypes to discover, and this clearly rideable 32″ Fox 34 SL fork is a perfect example. We’ve heard that all the big suspension brands have 32″ XC forks in the works. But the big names haven’t really shown their cards yet. Now, thanks to Maxxis’ partnership with the frame testing content creators at QuarterHP, we’ve got a solid glimpse at possibly the most advanced mainstream 32″ fork we’ve spotted yet.
Oh, and there’s obviously a short travel 32″ Ari Signal Peak alloy XC bike and some as-yet-unannounced 32″ Industry Nine Solix carbon mountain bike wheels in here, too!
Prototype 32″ Fox 34 SL cross-country suspension fork
Let’s start with that fork.
Nothing is official, but that is obviously a new Fox 34 SL suspension fork with a 32″ wheel in it – unmistakable with its new hollow “generatively designed and optimized” wrap-around arch. It also features the generative-designed curvy machined shaping on its 7000-series crown. And there’s the same blue 3-position Grip SL compression damping selector lever hanging off the top of the right leg.
That makes this black-stanchion fork a Performance Elite level, easier to hide under the radar than Kashima-coated Factory stanchions. But those windows in the crown are a dead giveaway.
An alloy ARI Signal Peak 32″ prototype
Everybody and his brother are working on prototype 32″ mountain bikes. If the scandalous bike rumors are true that all new cross-country race bikes from next year on are going to 32″ wheels, every bike maker needs to be out there prototyping and testing their next models now. The industry doesn’t talk about it that much, but it takes a few years to properly design a new bike model. And switching wheel sizes is as extreme as creating an all-new bike platform, if not a more so.
Remember how long it took to come to the modern long, low & slack geo that now dominates everything 29er from XC to enduro bikes? So yeah, we hope more brands are testing these giant 32″ bikes thoroughly before the put them out in the market for consumers!
So this aluminum frame design looks a lot like the current 110mm of travel from the carbon Signal Peak that we reviewed last spring. Ari doesn’t currently make an aluminum version of the cross-country bike. But even in raw silver, this one looks really well refined, and I’d love to see it make it to market in more affordable alloy. Ari does sell an alloy Cascade Peak full-sus trail bike that starts at just half the price of the carbon Signal Peak. Maybe the added rollover benefits of the bigger 32″ wheels will push this model over the line into the trail category enough that Ari will keep an aluminum frame option?
Prototype Industry Nine Solix carbon wheels?
Last of the ‘hidden in plain sight’ amongst the images in the Maxxis press kit announcing their new 5-tire range for 32″ wheels, we find a set of colorful Industry Nine Solix(?) wheels with carbon rims. It’s not the first 32″ i9 wheelset we’ve seen. Both Vassago & Neuhaus Metalworks have shown off rigid 32″ singlespeeds built around Industry Nine wheels. But these look a bit more mainstream, even with the bright anodized orange aluminum hubs & spokes.
All of these 32″ prototypes are pretty much confirmed by the business model of the content creators at QuarterHP.
They have highly polished YouTube, podcast & other social media channels built around the idea of detailed bike frame tests, all using standard high-quality components to “control the variables”, isolating just the frame on test. Maxxis is one of their paid supporters, hence the tires, and why we have these photos in the first place. Another is Fox suspension. So are the purple Hayes Dominion brakes. QuarterHP always tries to test bikes with their standardized supporters’ parts.
So, likely when ARI provided a 32″ frame to test, QuarterHP wasn’t going to test it with anything other than Fox suspension. We all just got lucky that Fox appears to have rideable 34 SL forks ready to test.
Looks like we need to get on the waiting list to test one for Bikerumor, too. And reach out to ARI & Industry Nine again, as well.
rideFox.com, ARIbikes.com & IndustryNine.com
