No, Mondraker Isn't Working on a 31” Wheel Enduro Bike

A rumor surfaced recently on Reddit and in several mountain bike forums that claimed Mondraker was working on a new enduro bike with a 31” front wheel. The pot-stirrer who posted it went on to claim that Fox had developed a fork with 1” longer lowers and thicker stanchions, and that the new bike would have a 0mm stem and prototype tires from Hutchinson.

There are just enough little details in there that the story could almost be believable, which is probably why more than one person brought it to my attention, including Brian Park, Pinkbike's resident proponent of even bigger wheels. I'm perfectly content with the current state of things when it comes to wheel sizes and standards, but on the off-chance that this rumor was true I contacted Mondraker to find out.

The answer? An unequivocal, “No, we're not working on anything like that whatsoever,” and that's from a highly trusted source.


Is there a company somewhere out there experimenting with bigger wheels? Undoubtedly – we've already seen Travis Brown playing around with 32” and 36” wheels while doing R&D for Trek, and there are already some smaller frame builders that make production 32” or 36”-wheeled bikes.

Will they ever gain mainstream acceptance? Personally, I don't think so, at least not for most riders. I could see bigger wheels making sense for the tallest riders out there, but for the vast majority of the riding population I don't think there's a need to shake things up again for another wheelsize. Yes, similar words were written when 27.5” and 29” wheels were beginning to emerge, but I'd say things are different this time around. Bigger wheels are inherently heavier, and when you add in the frame and fork required to accommodate them the final weight is going to be pretty daunting. We're already in an era where the average weight of an enduro bike is creeping closer to that of a full-on DH bike – I personally don't want to see bikes get any heavier, and I know I'm not alone.

There's also the handling / fit issues that accompany going to even bigger wheels. A 32” or 36”-wheeled bike could be a goofy fun time on mellower XC rides, but once things get steep and rough it'll be a different story. There's a reason that mixed-wheel bikes are becoming increasingly common – the extra clearance for the rear wheel comes in handy in the steeps, greatly reducing the chances of butt-to-tire contact.

In any case, I'd like to begrudgingly give the troll who started this big-wheeled rumor props for crafting a tale that gained as much traction as it did. Remember, don't believe everything you read on the internet.

---

Posted In:
Other Op Ed Mondraker