Sea Otter Pt. 2 - Big Wheels Keep on Rollin'

Sea Otter Pt. 2 - Big Wheels Keep on Rollin'

From Marginal Gains Cycling Podcast, Presented by Silca by SILCA

April 30, 2026 · 41 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the emerging trend of 32 inch wheels in cycling, particularly their application in gravel bikes versus mountain bikes, featuring insights from Daniel Yang and other industry representatives.

Our first episode that covered the topic of 32 inch wheels focused on the bigger wheels being used on mountain bikes. Daniel Yang of Neuhaus Metalworks put us on a prototype rigid mountain bike and took us for a ride. It was eye opening. But it also raised questions. At Sea Otter we saw a shift by some builders and manufacturers as to where they thought the big wheels might perform best. Drop Bar bikes supported by 32 inch wheels were just as common as Flat Bars at this year's show. Straight line speed and all day comfort was the reason given for developing a 32er gravel bike over a mountain bike. Like a lot of bike media, we set out to get some answers on the future of this "Big Idea." Daniel Yang is back with his report card on the trend. We also hear from two companies that were showing Gravel bikes that attempt to answer the question: Is bigger, better?

People in this episode

Host: SILCA

Guest: Daniel Yang

Topics covered

  • 32 inch wheels
  • mountain bikes
  • gravel bikes
  • Sea Otter
  • bike performance
  • cycling trends

Keywords

  • 32 inch wheels
  • mountain bikes
  • gravel bikes
  • Sea Otter
  • cycling performance
  • Daniel Yang
  • bike trends

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Neuhaus Metalworks

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