A year ago, 32-inch wheels were a curiosity for very tall riders. Then the UCI cleared them for World Cup XC racing in November 2025, and in 2026 they went from test mules to a world title and World Cup podiums. If you’re shopping for an XC race bike this winter, it’s worth knowing what happened, because the next generation of race bikes is already showing up on start lines.

Quick answer: 32-inch XC bikes are real and winning. Andreas Seewald won the 2026 XC Marathon World Championship on a 32" KTM prototype. Gwendalyn Gibson took second in a World Cup XCO on Trek’s 32" prototype. Alessandra Keller and Filippo Colombo both reached World Cup short track podiums on 32s. Trek, Scott and Thömus all have 32" XC bikes close to production, and Stoll already sells one.

Who’s been racing 32-inch XC bikes

Here’s how the season went, in order.

When Race Rider Bike Result
March 2026 Cape Epic, Stage 3 Felix Stehli and Marc Pritzen Stoll P32 Stage win
Summer 2026 World Cup Lenzerheide, XCC Alessandra Keller Thömus Lightrider R32 WC prototype 3rd, the first 32" bike on a World Cup podium
Sept 2026 XC Marathon World Championships, Trentino Andreas Seewald KTM prototype with a Fox 32" fork World champion, about 3 minutes clear
Sept 2026 World Cup Soldier Hollow, XCO Gwendalyn Gibson Trek 32" prototype 2nd, her first elite XCO podium
Oct 2026 World Cup Lake Placid, XCC Filippo Colombo Scott Spark 32" prototype 3rd

A few more riders raced 32s at Soldier Hollow and Lake Placid, including Colombo’s Scott-SRAM teammate Fabio Püntener. Not every result was a podium. The XCO winner at Soldier Hollow, Martina Berta, was on 29s.

The marathon win is the one that stands out to me. A 95km course with more than 3,800 meters of climbing is the kind of race where you’d expect a heavier, bigger wheel to struggle, and Seewald beat a field that included 2025 champion Keegan Swenson by several minutes. On short track and XCO, the results are good but not dominant. That fits what I expected: the bigger wheel helps most on long days and rough, rolling terrain, and the tight, punchy sections of a modern World Cup course are where riders still have to work around it.

What the riders are saying about 2027

At Lake Placid, World Cup riders were asked whether they’d race 32s next year. Evie Richards, Savilia Blunk and Gwendalyn Gibson all said yes. Others were more careful. Samuel Gaze said the industry is moving that way but he’s happy on 29s, and several riders, including Martina Berta, said they couldn’t talk about it yet. Read between the lines and expect a lot more 32s on the start line when the 2027 season opens.

The 32-inch XC bikes coming next

Trek Procaliber 32 (hardtail). Trek showed a carbon 32" hardtail at a NICA event in late October. It was built with SRAM XX SL Transmission, a Reverb AXS dropper, Maxxis Aspen tires and an unreleased Fox fork made for 32" wheels. A European retailer briefly listed a “Procaliber 32 9.5” before the listing came down, which points to a production model with more than one build. No price or date yet.

Trek’s 32" full suspension race bike. This is the bike Gibson raced. It uses a flex-stay rear end without Trek’s IsoStrut, and a prototype RockShox SID fork built for 32s. Leaks suggest it could arrive as a Superfly 32, but Trek hasn’t confirmed the name. Trek posted it in what looks like production paint, so I wouldn’t expect a long wait.

Scott Spark 32. Scott’s bike is built on the new 2027 Spark RC platform, with the hidden shock and the swingarm that runs under the bottom bracket. It’s raced with a prototype RockShox SID Flight Attendant fork and in-house 32" wheels. Scott calls it an evolution of the Spark platform but hasn’t given a release date, and says the configuration could still change.

Thömus Lightrider R32 WC. The bike that got the first podium. It’s a full suspension bike with 120mm front and rear and an unreleased DT Swiss fork. Thömus has opened reservations for a limited run of 50 pre-production bikes, without a final price or delivery date.

Stoll P32. The one you can actually buy. The Swiss brand’s carbon full suspension bike comes in 100mm or 120mm versions, with a claimed 1,750g frame, and went into production in early 2026. It’s sold in Swiss francs, so check current US availability before you get excited.

Prototypes to watch. KTM’s world title bike, Cube’s World Cup prototype and BMC’s “Project Fahrenheit,” a cut-down Fourstroke shown at the 2025 Andorra World Cup, are all still prototypes. Decathlon’s Rockrider is rumored to have one too.

Forks, wheels and tires

The parts are catching up. Fox has a 32" XC fork that won a world title under Seewald, plus a separate Fox 34-style fork on Trek’s hardtail. RockShox has a 32" SID, including a Flight Attendant version. Neither brand has formally launched them yet. DT Swiss has an unreleased fork on the Thömus.

For wheels, Reserve launched its 30|XC 32-inch carbon wheelset in October at $1,799, with a claimed 1,911g. For tires, Maxxis sells the Aspen in 32 x 2.4". Bikerumor weighed one at 812g, only about 44g more than the 29" version, at $96 a tire. Pirelli has 32" tires on Trek’s race bikes but hasn’t released them.

Should you wait for a 32-inch XC bike?

If you’re buying a top-end XC race bike this winter and you plan to keep it a few seasons, I’d wait to see what Trek and Scott launch. The big brands are clearly committing, and the first production bikes look close. If you’re tall, 32s will probably make even more sense for you, the same way 29ers did. If you’re on the smaller end, I’d wait longer and see how brands handle small sizes, because a bigger wheel is harder to fit into a small frame.

If you just want a great XC bike now, a 29er isn’t going obsolete overnight. The 29" bikes from 2026 are the most refined they’ve ever been, and the Epic 9 is a good example. And used 29ers are about to get cheaper as racers upgrade.

I made the case earlier this year that 32-inch wheels made more sense for gravel than XC. After this season, I’d revise that. Gravel was the easier place to start, but XC got there faster than I expected.

FAQ

Are 32-inch wheels legal in XC World Cup racing? Yes. The UCI confirmed in November 2025 that 32" wheels are allowed in World Cup XC racing starting in 2026.

Who makes 32-inch XC bikes you can buy? Stoll’s P32 is in production now. Thömus is taking reservations for 50 Lightrider R32 WC bikes. Trek’s Procaliber 32 looks close. Zinn and DirtySixer make 32" bikes aimed mainly at very tall riders.

Are 32-inch tires much heavier? Not much. A Maxxis Aspen 32 x 2.4" weighed 812g, about 44g more than the claimed weight of the 29" version.

Sources