Frameworks kicked off the 2026 race season with a bang. A few weeks ago, at the first stop of the World Cup, Asa Vermette took first place. It was Asa’s first Elite-level World Cup race and his first Elite-level win.
It was also Frameworks’ first Elite-level World Cup win. But that wasn’t the brand’s first big win of the year. Weeks before, founder and team manager, Neko Mullaly, won the Sea Otter DH on a Frameworks.
Now, surely we aren’t putting the Sea Otter DH race, as fun as it may be, on the same level as a World Cup DH race. But this race was different, for Frameworks, at least, as they were running a rather large wheel up front.
Neko’s Sea Otter DH rig consisted of a 32” wheel up front and a 29” wheel out back. He used a Fox Podium fork, lowered to 140mm of travel, to get the proper clearance for the large front wheel. And, upon that bike, he took first place.
Surely, Sea Otter is the place to experiment with crazy ideas like that. However, it seems that Frameworks isn’t done experimenting with 32” wheels.
A video just released by Frameworks shows Neko “testing out the 32” mega-mullet” at Mountain Creek in New Jersey. Faction Bike Studio designed the prototype mega-mullet, one of Frameworks’ partners, with a bonded front triangle to fit the larger front wheel.
Unlike other dual-crown bikes sporting a 32” wheel, Frameworks uses a Fox 40. To get the clearance needed for the larger wheel, the lowers appear to have been cut, extended, and bonded on.
A larger wheel puts the bars rather high, and the cockpit is something that Neko says will need adjusting.
Unlike the bike raced at Sea Otter, this mega-mullet has a 27.5” rear wheel. Neko explained that a 29” rear wheel didn’t provide the clearance needed. He also mentions that neither the front wheel nor the tire is up to DH standards.
Ultimately, they were trying to figure out if the 32” wheel, up front at least, is worth pursuing at the DH level. To do so, they will need components, namely a fork, wheel, and tire, that can handle DH abuse. After testing the mega-mullet prototype, Neko feels that “it is worth trying to find components that are equal to do a back-to-back test with a 29er.”
So we may see 32” in the DH world after all…
