Just like when we were kids…your friend gets a new bike, and you wanna hear all about it (unless it’s a time-trial bike… right?). This time, however, my friend’s new bike is something few people have, and it’s a pretty big deal: a custom titanium 32-inch wheel single-speed.
My buddy Dicky took up the 32” wheel charge earlier than any of our crew. But rather than waiting for the frames and forks to come to him, he went out and had a custom frame built up, handpicked some cool available parts, and dove into the deep end of 32-inch-wheel madness.
When talk of a 32-inch wheeled XC (and all MTB disciplines) mountain bike first started bubbling up, it was easy to write it off as internet noise or just bikes for really tall people. At best, we thought it might be a cool thought experiment destined to stay in prototype purgatory. But it seems that 32-inch wheels are rolling fast to the floor of your local shop…
Who Is Rich “Team Dicky” Dillen?
Dicky is one of those characters in the cycling world you instantly recognize. He embodies the joyful, sarcastic, obsessive heart of the sport. A long-time endurance racer and single-speed fanatic, Rich writes with equal parts humor and brutal honesty about gears, trails, and the absurdity of chasing the next big thing on two wheels. His Team Dicky blog has been a landing place for deep thoughts and industry rants. Whether he’s debating wheel sizes, swapping gears, or simply trying to wrap his head around the latest cycling trend. Rich’s voice is unmistakably that of a rider who loves bikes, loves riding, and loves sharing the ride with anyone who’ll listen.
I sat down with Dicky and asked all the pertinent questions, like “What the hell are you thinking?”
Bikerumor: What pushed you to start the journey to build a 32” bike?
Dicky: “When the 32 X 2.4 Maxxis Aspen showed up at the Taipei Bike Show in March ‘25, I could feel my inevitable future slapping me up the backside of my head (children of the ‘70s feel me). Not such a long time ago when 29” bikes started, many of the single speeders that I was racing against at endurance events had already jumped on board. I spent 2006 with my heels dug in with my “forever bike,” but when I witnessed the magic of big wheels as they would roll over everything while leaving me in the dust, I decided stubbornness was not always a good look. I converted in 2007, and although those early bikes were challenged from a geometry perspective to say the least, the benefits of a larger wheel could not be ignored. There were a lot of growing pains and reluctance in the industry, which hindered much-needed progression, but we learned a lot of lessons, and that learning puts us in a better place to give bigger wheels a go.”
BR: Was it tough to find the gear and kit? Run us through a ‘Dicky Pro Bike Check’ of what you have here.
Dicky: “That was my biggest concern when Tom from Vassago asked me if I was serious about getting a 32” mountain bike after all my ranting and general bear-poking on social media. I told him that if he could sort out the wheels with deep hopes that Industry Nine would get in on this, source the not-yet-available Maxxis tires, and design a frame that would fit me (and most importantly, handle the way I wanted it to), I was ready to financially commit. A couple of weeks later, I opened my wallet, the frame was designed, and parts started getting ordered.”
- Vassago titanium 32″ frame, prototype
- 32″ Industry Nine Hydra 2 wheels on Nextie Unicorn carbon rims
- Maxxis 32X2.4 Aspen tires
- ENVE carbon fork and 780mm M6 bar, 35mm alloy stem
- Fox Transfer dropper post w/PNW Loam lever
- Shimano XTR BL-M9220 – BR-M9200 Brakes
- Old and no longer available Ergon SMR saddle
- Race Face ERA 175mm cranks
- Cane Creek Hellbender headset and bottom bracket
- Shimano XTR pedals
- ESI Racer’s Edge grips
BR: Is the frame fully custom? What considerations did you and the builder take into account in creation? Did you tweak the geometry numbers much to accommodate the larger wheels?
Dicky: “This frame was essentially fully custom, but Tom is currently working on stock geometry for an early ’26 release. It was meant to feel as much like my current Vassago 29er frame as possible, while accommodating the larger wheels. The design isn’t suspension-corrected because the big fork manufacturers are being tight-lipped about anything they might have in the works, and I didn’t want to wait for them to shit or get off the pot. Obviously, the chain stays are longer, but the wheelbase only grew 30mm compared to my 29er, and that includes going from a 44m offset to 52mm using the flip chip on the ENVE fork.”
BR: What was your first impression?
Dicky: “I took it to a very familiar trail where I’ll be racing at our local winter series for five weeks. I hit the first turn, and I honestly started to grin in the hardest ‘no fucking way’ manner. I took the first lap cautiously, waiting for something hinky to happen, but the second lap? I just went for it. The stability, traction, predictability… the way that I could get away with whatever I was willing to in the corners just gobsmacked me. Go high on a berm in the chatter or take an inside line over a loose-as-marbles surface. It was, for lack of a better word, nuts. At the A-Line (very technical)/B-Line (longer and not technical) climb options, I managed to get up the A-Line, not with enough consistency to use it in a race lap after lap, but it was the first time I’d made it up on a single speed since 2020. On the third ride, I took it to the twistiest, rockiest, rootiest, obviously built back in the day trails in the area. Nothing about the wheels held it back, although riding rigid is always going to be an acquired taste.
BR: Looking at your bikes, you have a very similar-looking 29” bike in the stable. How does this compare to your 29” race bike? Are there give-and-takes for each?
Dicky: “Before I got the 32” bike, I had three way too similar titanium single speeds, rigid, 130mm, and 140mm. The redundancy became apparent when I only rode the more aggressively oriented 140mm bike seven times in 2025. It had to go, but that made room for me to make this wonderfully rash decision. I do find that I “need” my rigid bike a few times a year, because rigid single-speeding is always going to be part of what I do. It’s less of a give-and-take and more horses for courses, so they are all “race bikes” as much as they are pleasure boats.”
BR: How tall are you? We see that 32” is getting a bill as a “tall person’s option”, but that’s not exactly what you’re saying. Do you feel that a 32” bike can service the entire bike population (within reason) and not just the tall folks?
Dicky: “I’m only 5’ 6.5” (my physician doesn’t want to give me the extra .5”, but I’m taking it). I honestly do not think a 32” wheel will work for everyone. I have a longer inseam than most people my height, but this bike is intended to be my go-fast/stay-low machine. As most of the online critics are eager to point out, I can buzz my butt with the rear tire easily when things get extra XC rowdy. This is not only due to the larger wheel size. I’m also 35mm lower in the frame than my 29er due to the increased bottom bracket drop. I will eventually take this bike to Pisgah for shits and giggles, but I can already picture which trails are going to be a challenge as far as clearance goes when things get steep. I’ve reduced the dropper from 180mm to 160mm, but I can still put my rear end in all the bad places.”
BR: You recently raced some STXC on the new 32” big boy bike. What are your impressions after having some more time on the bike? How did it handle at race speed compared to the 29”?
Dicky: “Being that it’s a single speed on a course I know well, I thought I had the gearing all figured out. That said, my exit speed out of the corners is faster, the bike doesn’t get hung up when things get lumpy, and the momentum rolling into the climbs is greater, so I geared it higher (in terms of roll out) than I would on a 29” wheel. That aspect really surprised me. I guess you can also throw out any preconceived notions about slow acceleration as well, because somehow this 130lb old man got it up to speed off the start line and into the woods with only one rider ahead of me.”
“We had a rainy go at the course the first week, and the Aspens wouldn’t be my first choice in the baby diarrhea mud we have in Charlotte. That said, all of the other advantages still had me grabbing the 32” bike as opposed to one of my other two single speeds that could have sported a more aggressive tread pattern.”
BR: Do you see 32” as a progression of 29”? Will 29” go the way of 26”?
Dicky: “It obviously has sizing limitations, and some are still just going to stick with 29” regardless of any benefits of going bigger. There will always be those who want to go anaerobically fast and others who want to huck their meat through the air, so choose the right wheel size for the riding you prioritize. Granted, people were saying 29ers weren’t “flickable,” that is, until they were. My bike is just a hard tail, but designing suspension into the mix is going to limit just how tall you must be to get on this ride.”
BR: The industry seems to be getting behind the 32” craze quicker than the 29” one. Do you feel that the industry is pushing 32” because some don’t want to come late to the game? Or is there a measurable advantage to this wheel size that World Cup XC riders will need?
Dicky: “It’s both. The move to 29ers proved that you don’t want to be late to the game. I remember when Specialized said they would never make a 29er. How did that work out? Oh, they’re still in business? Color me surprised.”
“Pardon me while I put on my flameproof suit…”
As far as UCI XC racers… oof. Those who can manage to ride a 32” wheel on the super gnarly courses are going to get an advantage. The least that the UCI could do is get rid of their pointless rule against mixed wheel sizes in XC, because what’s the point? I’m not saying a mullet is going to get you 50% of the advantage that’s available, but I think it will make a difference. I’m heavily considering a mullet for my personal “Pisgah bike” once forks are available, although it would be nice to keep a bike that fits in a travel case without removing the tires. I know there are inverted Euro options, but I’m not going down that road.”
BR: What are your predictions on 32” gravel bikes? (kinda joking here, but…you never know with this industry right now).
Dicky: “It will happen, but I have no idea how small the frame can get before you have toe overlap. I’m nowhere close to it on my 32” mountain bike, but my 700c gravel bike is already pretty tight, and I have friends that I ride with who just ‘deal with it.” Maybe gravel bikes will go down the longer front end/short stem road, but I know enough about gravel bike geometry to fill my navel and leave enough room for an elephant to run around.”
BR: What’s next for you? Are you eyeing up any more 32” builds, maybe a full suspension bike?
Dicky: “Just a possible mulleted single speed for aggressive riding. I’ll regretfully buy another full suspension bike when I feel as old as I really am, but I can’t imagine my taint can handle the 32” in the rear as it’s closing in on my backside.”
BR: Give us 32 parting words about the future of 32” bikes.
Dicky: “If you asked me to tell you my name in thirty-two words or less, you would find my name at the bottom of the page.”
“I’ve been riding mountain bikes since the late ‘80s, and when I started living the family life a few years later, I reduced my number of hobbies to one. I’ve been geeking out on the minutia of the sport ever since. Now that I’m fifty-seven, I realize that if I wait for the industry to give me the chance to try big wheels out myself (and have an informed opinion), it’s going to be a long while. I see 32” bikes being an option in the near future, but that’s all it is, an option. There seem to be two groups that are most vocally opposed to 32” wheels, and the Venn diagram of them has more overlap than an extra small 32” wheel gravel bike. You have those that say we’re making mountain biking too easy, neutralizing the challenge they so desire. Unless they’re riding a 26” rigid single speed with V-brakes, I think there’s a lot of challenges they’re missing out on. Then there are those who are complaining that the industry is just trying to create a new standard to make money. I’m guessing they’re all still enjoying their Bridgestone MB-1s if they are really that entrenched in the “desperate marketing disguised as technological improvements” camp. I’ve been around long enough to hear all the arguments. “We don’t need clipless pedals, front suspension, rear suspension, threadless headsets, disc brakes, tubeless tires, 29 ‘wheels, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12 speeds..’ Well, I don’t “need” a microwave, a cordless drill, or indoor plumbing… but I do quite enjoy them in my world.”
“I do my best to live my life without yucking anyone’s yum while also tuning out any yucks that are bleated in my general direction. Options are nice. Ride a 32 or don’t. Select from the menu and enjoy...Was that 32 words? Big wheels have apparently warped all my senses.…”
You can follow Dickys’ 32-inch journey on his site and on his socials.
