{"id":157954,"date":"2025-09-24T18:02:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T18:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/157954\/"},"modified":"2025-09-24T18:02:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T18:02:11","slug":"are-we-on-the-cusp-of-a-32in-wheel-revolution-this-is-what-pro-xc-racers-are-riding-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/157954\/","title":{"rendered":"Are we on the cusp of a 32in wheel revolution? This is what pro XC racers are riding in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cross-country is one of the most popular disciplines in mountain biking, with the racing becoming ever more technical, making for exciting action and a greater tech focus.<\/p>\n

The current crop of cross-country mountain bikes<\/a> are more capable than ever, with manufacturers largely increasing travel and making room for wider tyres.<\/p>\n

We were at the UCI World Cup in Lenzerheide to find out what the emerging tech trends are.<\/p>\n

There’s a feeling that the industry is on the cusp of a new tech revolution, with 32in wheels<\/a> knocking at the door and other prototype components scattered around the pits.<\/p>\n

32in wheels<\/p>\n

It appears the next big revolution to hit the cross-country scene is 32in tyres, with KTM the latest brand to test the wheel size out at the UCI World Cup.<\/p>\n

The Austrian brand’s Project Sixty Four was tested in Lenzerheide and is said to be part of a development collaboration with Mavic.<\/p>\n

In a post on Instagram, KTM says the wheel size is for “every rider, no matter their size. Not just for the giants among us”.<\/p>\n

So it seems 32in wheels will be coming to bikes of all sizes.<\/p>\n

\"WeWe spotted Maxxis’ 32in tyres at Eurobike. Jack Luke \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

Maxxis launched a production version of its 32in Aspen cross-country mountain bike tyre at Eurobike this year,<\/a> signalling a shift in the industry.<\/p>\n

\"CroppedBMC’s 32in XC bike prototype spotted in Andorra. Piper Albrecht<\/p>\n

We have also seen BMC test a full-suspension 32in cross-country bike<\/a> this year at the Andorran round of the UCI World Cup.<\/p>\n

It’s likely we’ll see more brands hop on this trend in the next year, but we’re yet to see the tech used in competition. <\/p>\n

Hardly any hardtails and more travel
\n\"EvieRiders are leaving their hardtails at home. Nick Clark \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

The track at Lenzerheide is feature-rich, with drops, technical rock rolls and plenty of washboard roots.<\/p>\n

However, the majority of the track takes place on the hardpack terrain you\u2019d expect from a bike park, where riding a hardtail mountain bike<\/a> is advantageous.<\/p>\n

Walking around the pits, we couldn\u2019t find any hardtails with race numbers on, though.<\/p>\n

\"TrekBikes such as the Epic WC and Supercaliber were designed to be hardtail killers. Andy Lloyd \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

Softail bikes, such as Specialized\u2019s Epic WC and Trek\u2019s Supercaliber<\/a>, have been designed to take their place, although even these seem to be taking a back seat for teams using electronic suspension dampers.<\/p>\n

These dampers, such as RockShox Flight Attendant<\/a> and Fox\u2019s Live Valve Neo<\/a>, automatically adjust to the terrain to either provide a supportive pedalling position or open to provide full travel on descents.<\/p>\n

Riders seem to be seeing benefits from the systems, with many opting for longer-travel full-suspension bikes.<\/p>\n

So many batteries
\n\"ShimanoShimano riders are finally riding Di2 groupsets. Scott Windsor \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

Electronic tech has been slipping into cross-country mountain biking for a little while now, with drivetrains and suspension dampers the main focus.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, it was common to see Shimano-sponsored riders using mechanical XTR groupsets on their bikes, with many preferring it to the old XTR Di2.<\/p>\n

It now seems racers have embraced Shimano\u2019s new XTR M9200 Di2 groupset<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The groupset has finally gone wireless, with the battery sitting within the derailleur at the rear and in the remote on the bar.<\/p>\n

\"NinoDropper posts appear to be gaining in popularity. Nick Clark \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

We have also seen more riders embracing dropper posts<\/a>, with many SRAM-sponsored riders using the new and lighter RockShox Reverb B1<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While we saw Bosch testing its ABS system on downhill bikes<\/a>, we\u2019ve yet to see that technology cross over to the world of cross-country.<\/p>\n

Wider rubber and inserts
\n\"GiantGiant’s Anthem prototypes were fitted with 2.4WT Maxxis Aspen tyres. <\/p>\n

As with almost every discipline in cycling, wider tyres have been creeping into the cross-country pits, with many riders opting for the higher grip levels and increased compliance offered by larger rubber.<\/p>\n

With the science saying that narrower tyres are less efficient on lumpy surfaces, more riders have been seen riding 2.3in and 2.4in tyres this year.<\/p>\n

\"JennyWider tyres provide better traction with the ground. Nick Clark \/ Our Media<\/p>\n

Wider tyres are not only more efficient, they also provide more grip, enabling riders to put down power on the climbs and take more aggressive lines on the descents.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve also seen more riders opting to use tyre inserts<\/a> because they give some chance of getting around the course to the pit zone to replace a wheel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cross-country is one of the most popular disciplines in mountain biking, with the racing becoming ever more technical,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":157955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-157954","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/157955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}