Just yesterday morning, we got hints from the Thömus Maxon team that they were testing their new 32″ prototype in Lenzerheide, but didn’t really plan to race it this weekend. Well, that changed quickly overnight. The tests on the track “went so well” that both Alessandra Keller & Mathias Flückiger decided to use the big-wheeled prototypes in both today’s XCC races and Sunday’s XCO.
So, at the last minute, bikemaker Thömus decided to fast-track the 32″ bike, offering a limited 50-bike pre-production run of the Lightrider R32 World Cup, with pre-orders available right now.
The first-ever UCI XC World Cup raced 32″ mountain bike is available now in an ultra-limited edition!
2027 Thömus Lightrider R32 World Cup 32″ carbon XC bike
Admittedly, we know that Keller, Flückiger, and Thömus have been testing these 32″ prototype cross-country bikes for several months now. So it’s not exactly a last-minute decision. But after such positive feedback from their first chance testing the bike on a proper XC World Cup circuit, the two Swiss pro racers decided this morning that Lenzerheide would be the perfect track for the racing debut of their 32″ bikes. And Thömus was ready to back them up, pulling the trigger to push the bike into production.
First World Cup Racing results?
The first 32″ mountain bike to make it onto a UCI MTB World Cup podium!
The Elite Women’s XCC race started just 30 minutes ago, and we saw Keller fighting at the front for much of the race. Ultimately, she came across the line in 3rd place.
As for the Elite Men’s XCC, we’ll have to wait a bit longer. That race kicks off in 20 minutes from when this story goes live, so another half hour after that until we know how Flückiger fares on the bigger wheels.
Then, the real test will be Sunday afternoon when the two Swiss riders face the best cross-country mountain bike racers in the world in their headline XCO races.
What do we know about the bike so far?
Officially, the details are still scant.
We know it has 32″ wheels. It is all-carbon and built around an unreleased, all-new DT Swiss fork. And it looks like it features 120mm of travel front & rear, just like its 29er analogue. What looks kinda like wrinkles in the rear triangles of these pro prototypes suggests Thömus maybe hasn’t 100% refined the carbon layup of the rear end just yet. But clearly, the team is confident in the ride, and it did a solid job for Keller.
So, we’re sure they’ll finalize the layup before they ship bikes out to the first 50 lucky buyers. We don’t often get to see so much raw carbon anyway, so even the pre-production limited series bikes will likely get a bit of paint, too.
The complete Thömus Lightrider R32 World Cup bike we’re being teased now is the team spec with a full XTR Di2 groupset, an Xcadey spider power meter, and unreleased DT Swiss carbon XRC1200 wheels wrapped with 32×2.4″ Schwalbe Rick Race Pro tires.
No word on exact pricing, but the similar XC-Light spec of the 29″ Lightrider R3 World Cup with XTR Di2, powermeter & premium DT kit sells for around 11,500CHF. Translate those Swiss francs into ~$14,250 or 12,420€.
Claim one of 50 ‘Limited Pre-Series’ bikes now!
And technically, it isn’t even a pre-order just yet.
But you can put your name down on the list to “pre-reserve” the bike.
To do so, just go to the special R32 landing page, scroll to the bottom, and fill in your contact details. “Filling out the form does not constitute a binding order – interested parties will be contacted directly by Thömus.”
Who knows how long until Thömus will ship one to you?
“We are an innovative and dynamic company and, together with our partners and the Thömus maxon team, we constantly strive to develop the fastest and most innovative bikes. Projects like this reflect our open approach to developing new products and bike platforms. Together with our reliable partners and the team, we use the racing context as a foundation to build even faster bikes for our customers and riders.”
– Thomas Binggeli, Thömus CEO
