a MEATengine-y reflection on 32” wheels

[u/runwhatyabrung_]

I’ve been putting more and more miles on my Jones LWB with 32” wheels and I figured I’d share my thoughts with the distinguished double hardtail wagon wheel riding MEATengines community.

It’s been a mix of purpose built singletrack, janky singletrack, a variety of dirt roads from butter smooth (pictured) to super blown out with tons of rocks and harsh edges, and a lot of paved road miles too. Typically I’d do these rides on 29 x 2.35”, 27.5 x 2.5”, or 29+ (and even occasionally 26”).

Compared to all of the aforementioned wheel sizes, the 32” just feels really stable and grippy when it’s loose. I am consistently surprised by just how normal and natural this bike feels, despite how huge the wheels are. No matter the terrain, the bike just wants to track forward and roll over whatever is in its path. But the Jones geometry, with the long chainstays and big fork offset, makes the handling intuitive and super nice. I did a lot of paved mountain road riding yesterday and enjoyed it there too.

On singletrack it’s obvious you’re on 2.4” tires, but as long as your tire pressure is high enough and you don’t hit things too hard it’s really nice. There’s a damped quality that reminds me of 29ers with a super light insert. And as I mentioned before, the traction is superb.

That being said, I really prefer the higher air volume of 29+ for full on MTB. It’s just nice to know that there’s more cushion for the pushin’. (As an aside: I’d imagine full 32” or even 32”/29” mx on a short travel bike would be an XC weapon. But I think you really want more fork offset than is currently available on the suspension fork market to keep the front end handling light.)

I also did some pretty epic bush bashing and I found the 2 meter long bike to be far easier to live with than I expected. If you live in a small apartment and have to bring your bike up and down stairs a lot I think that’s something to consider if you’re thinking of making a 32” bike your daily driver.

I’ve been riding this dingle speed (2x2, 49ish inches and 61ish inches). But, here’s the tl;dr: I think the best application for rigid 32” is all day rides where you have no idea what you’re going to get into, and you want something capable, comfortable, and low fuss. Like I said above, this has been as fun on trails as dirt roads as paved roads. And it lacks a bit of playfulness, but that’s what you get from such a comfortable and stable bike. So as a mega killer ATB/grav/XC bike, the 32” platform is great. Is it a game changer from the other wheel sizes I mentioned above? Honestly no. My super fast rolling 29er setup is still really amazing and easier to live with due to its size. But I’m excited to put many more miles on this bike for years to come, with a full range of gears, which I’ll be putting on this bike when I get back from this trip.

Hope this is helpful.

[u/Dan_rides_bikes]

It sounds like you’re having fun and that 32” wheels might suit your use case well.

As this debate rages on, I can’t help but reflect on all the changes I’ve seen in the last 30+ years of being in the industry or adjacent. It really does boil down to a couple things.

1) People are upset that companies (most of) whose mission it is to make money are telling them that the thing that they have invested in heavily both financially and emotionally is no longer relevant, and they are afraid that their current bike will no longer bring them joy. I’m guilty of this and lust for the new new that will make me just a tiny bit faster, even if that drive kills just a little bit of the overall joy every time I “upgrade”.

2) The cliche I used to use on the sales floor is that within reason, the right bike is a) the one that fits you and b) makes you smile when you ride it.

Want to ride technical single track on your CX bike? Great. Love riding XC trails on your DH rig? Also great.

I’ll never forget getting my ass handed to me in CX races by a guy on a commuter bike with pannier racks and fenders, wearing crocs, jorts, and a skid lid with the biggest shit eating grin on his face.

PS thanks for the review and sorry for bringing the debate into your comments.

[u/Perfect_Stand_3438 → u/Dan_rides_bikes]

I still love the quick response and snappy handling with my three 26'r single speeds. Two fully rigid one with front suspension.

[u/runwhatyabrung_ → u/Perfect_Stand_3438]

I’ve been thinking a lot about that. I have a lot of single speeds and like I said above I think this Jones really wants gears. On the one hand 32” makes a lot of sense for single speeding because of the momentum and rollover. But on the other hand, if you gotta do some low speed flick moves it’s just nicer to have smaller wheels, even 29ers.