Last week, a significant portion of the bike industry descended upon the Laguna Seca Raceway outside of Monterey, CA, for the 2026 Sea Otter Classic. As usual, large and small brands alike were there to show off their latest products, drum up future sales, and generate some buzz. And, if the last year has taught us anything, it’s that few things are more buzzworthy than the number 32. So, I set off with the mission of checking out all of the 32” wheeled mountain bikes I could find at the expo.
As you’ll see in the gallery below, there were quite a few big-wheeled bikes around Sea Otter. And, perhaps more importantly, there were quite a few 32” wheels on display from major manufacturers, along with production and prototype 32” suspension forks, and an exponential increase in the number of 32” mountain bike tires. These are extremely important pieces of the puzzle that will allow brands and consumers to more easily build 32” bikes.
Still, the majority of the 32” MTBs at Sea Otter were things we’ve already seen and reported on recently, mostly made by smaller — and more nimble — boutique brands. A couple of moderately-sized brands, like Ari and Revel, were also keen to show off their prototypes and spin up the hype machine. But the biggest players are still holding out. We know they’re working on them, but they aren’t showing their 32” cards quite yet.
Regardless, here are all of the 32” mountain bikes I spotted at the 2026 Sea Otter Classic.
Wolf Tooth Components’ Actofive I-Train 32
I’d argue that the Actofive I-Train 32 on display at the Wolf Tooth booth was the star of the 32″ show at Sea Otter this year. It is probably also in the running for the most expensive bike on display at Sea Otter, too. This bike belongs to Mike, one of Wolf Tooth’s owners, who happens to be fairly tall, and he bought it to ride and also to show off Wolf Tooth’s new Mark Zero range of components. It’s built around a CNC-machined aluminum frame and set up with 120mm of suspension in the rear using an Intend Hover Monocoque shock and a 130mm travel Intend Samurai 32 fork.
It’s rolling on a set of Berd Hawk Gold wheels using the brand’s string spokes, making for one of the lightest 32″ MTB wheelsets currently available (reportedly in the 1200-gram range). The 32″ Schwalbe Rick Race Pro tires aren’t officially released yet, but they were spotted on several bikes at Sea Otter. They appear to be a fast-rolling XC tread, probably about 2.4″ wide. Mike kept things exotic with Intend brakes, an Intend stem, and a Morse Ti bottle cage. Of course, the build also featured Wolf Tooth’s Mark Zero XC pedals, rotor lockrings, seatpost clamp, headset, and top cap.
The Madrone Jab derailleur isn’t something you see on bike everyday, but it was featured on a couple of display bikes at the Wolf Tooth booth. Likewise, the Actofive CNC’d cranks are another not-too-common item that cranks up the bling factor another notch. This bike is like a rolling piece of art, and according to the folks at Wolf Tooth, weighs less than 30 pounds.
Wolf Tooth Components’ BTCHN Alpina
On the other side of the Wolf Tooth booth, they had a BTCHN Alpina on display, which launched about a month ago. This bike’s textured finish is unique and very eye-catching, which made it harder to focus on the color matched Wolf Tooth parts attached to it. But this bike is showing off Wolf Tooth’s color shop, with the headset, seat clamp, bottom bracket, Waveform pedals, dropper lever, rotor lockrings, and UDH bolt all matching in Olive. This build also features the BTCHN Titanium BullMoose handlebar.
The BTCHN Alpina at Wolf Tooth was one of many that was equipped with a Wren inverted fork, which, until recently, was one of the few options for the larger wheel size. Similar to the Actofive described above, this bike was using a Madrone Jab derailleur, but this one was paired with the brand-new White Industries x Moots titanium cranks. Astral’s Jester 32″ wheels make an appearance here, with the new 2.4″ Aspen AT in the rear, paired with the more aggressive 2.4″ Dissector in the front.
White Industries’ Sour Pasta Party 32
Speaking of the White Industries x Moots titanium cranks, White Industries had this beautiful Sour Pasta Party 32 steel hardtail at their booth. I covered this briefly in the cool paint jobs article the other day, because this brings me back to Klein’s signature fade paint jobs of my youth. It seems the main point was to draw attention to the brand’s new cranks, which I think it succeeded in doing, for me anyway. Like the BTCHN bike above, this Sour was also equipped with a Wren inverted fork, although it had the stanchion guards removed. It was also rolling on a set of Astral Jester alloy 32″ wheels, but this time with the new Vittoria Peyote 32 x 2.4″ tires.
White Industries added a little pop of color to its new titanium cranks to match the upper half of the frame’s fade paint job. Otherwise, this bike was set up with Shimano XT Di2 wireless shifting, the latest XT 4-piston brakes, a PNW components dropper, handlebar, and grips.
Ari’s Full Suspension 32″ Prototype
If you happened to see our coverage on Fox’s 32″ prototype 34 SL fork the other day, then you undoubtedly saw the Ari prototype full suspension frame that it was attached to. While it lacks the bling factor and refined aesthetics of the Actofive bike mentioned at the top of this article, this is the only other full suspension 32″ model that I saw at the show. It’s also somewhat of a bold move for Ari to be showing off its 32″ prototype to the public and media, but it absolutely drew a bunch of attention, which was obviousy the point. According to Ari, it has a full CNC aluminum construction, they made it in four sizes, S – XL, and they are still in the midst of testing and tweaking the design.
The travel numbers were not disclosed, but it appears to be XC-oriented, with between 100-120mm of rear travel using a flex stay design. It’s fair to assume that’s being paired with ~120mm of travel in the fork, but that’s speculation, too. Ultimately, the Ari folks said they’re using this to platform to experiment and learn more about designing bikes around 32″ wheels before eventually making a production version. Also, worth noting that the prototype frames shown above are using prototype Race Face negative rise stems and rolling on Race Face and Reynolds 32″ wheels. Ari mentioned they might have a frame for one of us to try, so fingers crossed we can make that happen.
1Up USA’s Reeb Cycles 32″ Hardtail
I only had to walk about 30 feet away from the Ari booth before running into the next 32″ mountain bike at the 1Up-USA booth. 1Up was showing off its new adapters that make it easy (and more secure) to transport 32″ wheeled bikes on its racks. To showcase this new product they were using a Reeb Cycles hardtail that we’ve never seen before. This frame does not appear on the Reeb website, but it looks like a modified version of its Re:Dikyelous hardtail that’s been designed around 32″ wheels. Like the brand’s other bikes, it’s safe to assume it’s handbuilt in Colorado using American-made steel.
The Reeb 32″ hardtail was sporting a flashy Intend Samurai 32 inverted fork and a classy-looking build that included a number of anodized silver and red parts that paired nicely with the deep blue frame color. Perhaps the most eye-catching of these was the Industry Nine carbon 32″ wheelset with red hubs and silver aluminum spokes. On that note, Industry Nine makes 32″ wheels now, something we spied way back at the MADE show. More on that below.
Industry Nine’s Neuhaus NOVA32
Industry Nine had this tennis ball yellow Neuhaus NOVA32 hardtail built up in its booth to show off its new 32″ carbon wheels. We first saw the Neuhaus NOVA32 at last year’s MADE show, and the first production batch went on sale on sale back in early March. There were a handful of the NOVA32 frames around the Sea Otter expo at other booths, too. This one was set up with a Bright Racing Shocks inverted fork. It seems like this fork is not 32″ specific, but instead, probably just had its travel reduced to work with the larger wheels. 32″ suspension forks have been in high demand and short supply, but that seems like it will be changing soon.
The bigger story here is that Industry Nine is now offering carbon wheels in the 32″ size. In addition to seeing them on this bike and the Reeb described above, I9 had them on display in the booth. They’re using the brand’s latest Hydra2 hubs, aluminum spokes, and carbon rims. I was told they weigh a bit over 1500 grams for the set, which sounds pretty darn light to me. Also shown above is Neuhaus’ sliding UDH compatible dropout system, which allows riders to make changes to chainstay length.
Two More Neuhaus 32″ Bikes
Nearby, Vittoria tires had a rigid Neuhaus NOVA32 on display to show off its new Peyote 32″ tires. This frame featured this simple yet classy paint job with what look like some 5DEV titanium cranks adding a bit of bling. It’s running a Shimano Deore Di2 drivetrain, TRP brakes, and some unbranded wheels with large hub flanges.
The titanium Neuhaus 32″ hardtail above was on display at the Light Bicyle booth where it was showing off the brand’s Anax 32 carbon wheels. Interestingly, this frame does not appear on the Neuhaus website or social media (I couldn’t find it anyway), so it seems like it’s probably a custom creation. Either way, it looks relatively similar to the NOVA32, and it has a Bright Racing Shocks inverted fork. According to the folks in the Light Bicycle booth, the new Anax 32 rims weigh just 380 grams each and will be sold as rims and complete wheelsets and they are available now on the brand’s website.
Revel’s 32″ Ti Hardtail
It was just last week that we learned about Revel’s Experimental Labs and the 32″ Ti hardtail. This bike was also discussed briefly the other day in a short article about 32″ mullet bikes. Well, this is the full 32″ version, which is stunning to say the least. Like Ari bikes and its prototype frame, the folks at Revel are using this bike to learn about riding and designing a frame around the new wheel size. It might look like a finished product, but it’s an experimental platform that will inform future bike designs. It’s set up with an Intend Samurai 32 inverted fork, a SRAM XX Transmission drivetrain, and some of those brand-new Industry Nine 32″ Carbon wheels.
Revel’s slick sliding dropout system allows for a pretty significant amount of chainstay length adjustment while remaining UDH compatible and opening up the door to run a singlespeed setup. Another detail on the Revel 32″ Ti frame was this wild looking 3D-printed titanium bottle cage. Looks kinda like a Specialized Z-cage, only way more exotic. Regardless, we’re hoping Revel keeps experimenting and letting us follow along.
SR Suntour’s Quarry Alder 32
I’d never heard of Quarry bikes until I wandered into the SR Suntour booth the other day to check out their 32″ Raidon 34 fork. While a budget-friendly Suntour fork might not be the most exciting product in the world, it’s importance, in my mind, is twofold. First, these forks are already in production and will be available to consumers in the U.S. relatively soon. This makes them a viable option for those wishing to build up a 32″ mountain bike, who doesn’t want to wait some unknown length of time for mainstream brands to start selling theirs.
Second, they are projected to be quite affordable (~$350), making them a lower cost way to experiment with the new wheel size than the alternatives. For example, the Intend Samurai goes for €1,699 – €1,899 (incl. VAT). The 32″ Fox 34 SL will likely cost at least $1,200 whenever it hits the market.
Anyway, Quarry Cycling Co. is a small brand located in Wisconsin that makes a couple hardtail models. The Alder 32 doesn’t appear on the brand’s website, but it looks quite a bit like the Stave and Rage Bait 32 hardtail models they have listed. They build their steel frames to order, offering customers the option to choose their preferred reach in 5mm increments. They claim the flex points in the yokes and dropouts increase frame complaince and reduce chatter without sacrificing lateral stiffness. I really appreciated the CNC’d top cap with the state of Wisconsin cut into it. Check them out the brand’s website here.
Plenty more new, bikes, components, accessories, and other gear from Sea Otter to come, so stay tuned.
