German steel bike maker Sour has just given their popular Pasta Party XC hardtail a 32″ upgrade. Dubbed simply the Pasta Party 32, it reimagines their versatile cross-country bike for even faster speeds and better rollover with the up and coming bigger wheelsize. Alluding to how their customers build up their Pasta Parties for everything from backcountry bikepacking rigs to racy trail shredders, Sour describes the bike as “bigger wheels, same party energy”.
While 32″ wheels continue to draw in those looking to innovate, the real world availability of such 32-specific components like wheels, tires, and suspension forks continue to be a limiting factor to broader adoption of this fast-growing wheelsize. So, it’s especially interesting that this new Sour Pasta Party 32 debuts 3 new 32″ products that have never been seen before:
- a Manitou MRD R8 32″ prototype fork that we’re told gets 120mm of travel
- a set of Reynolds A32 aluminum cross-country mountain bike wheels, and
- a pair of 32 x 2.4″ Schwalbe Rick Race Pro XC mountain bike tires!
Sour Pasta Party 32″ production steel XC hardtail
Unsurprisingly, it was that same 32″ Maxxis Aspen 32 that we spied last year in Taipei that sparked Sour’s curiosity about bigger wheels. Sour founder and owner Christoph Süße dug in with industry connections at the Hayes group and Schwalbe to see how they could make a production 32″ bike happen. Of course, sourcing big wheel components was a major challenge, but so was figuring what needed to change to make the bigger-wheeled bike as nimble as a 29er…
What’s new?
Sour explains that the 32″ bike “retains the core character of the [original 29er] Pasta Party“. But it also looks to take a bit of extra inspiration from their Trail-rated Crumble hardtail on account of the idea that riders will be pushing the Pasta Party 32 harder over rougher terrain thanks to the increased rollover of bigger wheels, and to fit bigger 2.4” tires since that has become the new XC standard.
That meant revising proven XC geometry to deal with larger wheels, the longer wheelbase, higher standover, and a taller front end. There was quite a bit of geo tweaking to be done. But looking at the numbers comparing it to Sour’s other bikes, it’s less extreme than you might think, with chainstays just 2cm longer and suspension fork length just 2.4cm longer than a 29er trail hardtail.
32er XC geometry
To make it all work, Sour gave the new 32″ bikes more BB drop to keep rider weight the same height off the ground so you don’t feel like you are sitting on top of a monster truck. Then, they adapted the shortest tapered zero stack headtubes from their more burly Crumble hardtail to keep frame stack as low as possible, without needing a reinforcing gusset. Frame Reach got increased over the standard Pasta Party, but still less than the Crumble to keep riders in a neutral position, and to keep overall length in check. In the end, the medium Pasta Party 32 is 44mm longer overall than the 29″ Pasta Party, but just 7mm longer wheelbase then the same sized Crumble, making for a similar trail bike feel.
All in all, Sour calls the Pasta Party 32 a “production-ready” frame, and it is available to order now with an approximate three month lead time. But Sour is acutely aware that this bike we see today is on of their earliest prototypes, which they’ve only been riding in the woods since the start of this year. I wouldn’t be surprised at all, if they decided to make any small geo tweaks between now and when their Saxony frame shop lights the torch on these new bikes in the coming weeks.
How does the 32″ hardtail ride?
Sour says the Pasta Party 32 has a “familiar balance of control, comfort, and playfulness” like its older 29er sibling. They describe the larger wheels a providing:
- Significantly improved rollover performance on technical terrain
- Increased stability at higher speeds
- Better momentum retention and climbing efficiency
- More traction through corners and over mixed surfaces
“Our goal was simple: take the benefits of the new wheel size and integrate them without losing the signature handling of the Pasta Party.”
– Christoph Süße, Sour founder
We haven’t had a chance to ride it yet, but plan to make a trip to Dresden next month to give the big-wheeled bike a whirl. Until then, we have to take Chris’ word for it, “The results feel familiar, just faster over everything in front of you… I just hope people do not take this too seriously. We want to try and find out, we want to play and so the people should.“
Tech details
- custom-drawn, multi-butted & partially heat-treated chromoly steel tubing
- ovalized top and seat tubes for comfort & precise steering (“don’t crash“) and better power transfer (“go fast“)
- TIG-welded in Germany
- all new in 32″ wheelsize with clearance for up to a 2.4″ tire
- designed for 100-120mm fork travel
- ultra-short tapered headtube for drop-in ZS44/ZS56 headset
- modular external cable routing under the toptube, plus internal dropper post routing
- UDH compatible with all derailleurs
- T47 73mm threaded bottom bracket
- max 38t round or 36t oval chainring for mega speed with these big wheels
- Boost 148x12mm rear thru-axle spacing
- 31.6mm seatpost with Sour’s custom machine integrated seatpost clamp
- 160mm Post Mount direct rear brake mount (PM160)
- 2 bottle cage mount inside the main triangle, plus a 3rd under the downtube
- Sour also offers additional mounts (like for a toptube bag) for an extra fee
- available in three sizes M-XL
Sour Past Party 32 – Pricing, options & availability
The most important first point is that the new is available to order starting today. The first batch of production frames is expected to be completed around the middle of May 2026, after which it’ll be a couple of weeks more for Sour’s customizable, colorful and ultra-tough powdercoat paint jobs. Pricing for the German steel hardtail mountain bike frame starts at 1300€
