Megamo unveils a 32-inch MTB in Misano: meet the Megamo Track 32 Prototype V1

The 32-inch wheels continue to appear in new mountain bike projects, but Megamo wants to make it clear that there are still many questions to answer before discussing a possible change in standards. The brand has just showcased its Track 32" Concept V1 at the Italian Bike Festival in Misano, a spectacular dual-suspension MTB developed to investigate what happens when a competitive XC platform is completely rethought around larger diameter wheels.

Megamo Track 32" Concept V1: this is the prototype with which the brand investigates 32 inches in XC

The bike is part of the experimental projects currently being developed by Megamo, which the brand has decided to take out of its R&D departments to show publicly in Misano and Sea Otter. The goal is to test geometries, configurations, and technical solutions, gather data, and discover how far the concept of 32 inches can go before making decisions about a possible future application.

And they emphasize that this Track 32" Concept V1 is not the next Megamo Track nor does Megamo claim that 32 inches will become the evolution of the current 29".

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The starting point of the project is particularly interesting. Instead of developing a 32" MTB without previous references, Megamo has utilized all the accumulated knowledge around its current Track.

This is a platform that the brand has been developing and using in competition for years, including the Cape Epic, where it has achieved stage victories. Megamo therefore knows its behavior in detail, allowing it to be used as a reference to compare the results obtained with the new diameter.

The question posed by Megamo is simple to formulate but much more complicated to answer: What would happen if a competitive XC platform were rethought around 32-inch wheels?

The key lies precisely in the word rethink. It is not simply about taking a Track and finding space to install two larger wheels.

The larger diameter offers on paper a better ability to overcome obstacles and maintain speed, but it also modifies other fundamental aspects of an MTB: weight, stiffness, acceleration, geometry, rider position, and dynamic behavior. Finding the balance between all of them is precisely the project's goal.

A geometry completely conditioned by the enormous wheels

Although Megamo has not yet provided information about the geometry of this Track 32", the unit presented in Misano allows us to appreciate how much it has been necessary to reorganize the proportions of the bike.

One of the main challenges is to prevent larger wheels from turning the bike into an excessively tall and long XC.

At the front, there is a very low head tube, accompanied by a stem with a negative angle. The frame also features very pronounced shapes, with a bulky down tube and a specially molded seat tube.

The latter is crucial because the 32" rear wheel takes up much more space and forces a compromise between tire clearance, the length of the rear triangle, the rider's position, and the available space for the dropper post.

And precisely the rear area is one of the most striking when observing the prototype.

An extremely compact rear triangle for 32" wheels

Megamo has managed to fit the enormous rear wheel while keeping the rear triangle visually contained. And to do this, it is noticeable that the tire clearance is significantly reduced.

This is one of the details that best illustrates the challenges posed by this diameter. Increasing the size of the wheels can provide greater ability to overcome obstacles, but it also requires reconsidering proportions, geometry, and position on the bike. These are precisely some of the variables that Megamo wants to test, measure, and compare with this Concept V1.

At this point, it is also worth remembering that we are observing an experimental prototype.

Suspensions and wheels? DT Swiss for 32"

The frame is just one part of the equation. The jump to 32 inches also requires other manufacturers to develop compatible components, and this Track allows us to verify that this process is already underway.

The unit shown in Misano is equipped with DT Swiss suspensions, with a R 232 ONE shock at the rear and a Swiss brand fork designed for 32" wheels that we already saw on the Thömus Lightrider R 32 used in the World Cup.

A similar situation occurs with the wheels. The Megamo uses DT Swiss hubs, although the rims do not feature the graphics of the 32" XRC 1200 that we had previously seen on the Thömus and show an asymmetric profile. For now, there is not enough official information to identify their manufacturer or model.

Megamo does not want to replace the 29": it wants to know if the 32" can offer something more

The brand does not present this development program as a search for a replacement for 29" wheels. On the contrary, it believes that the current 29" platforms have reached an extraordinarily high level of evolution and competitiveness and uses that knowledge as a reference to explore other possibilities.

The Track 32" Concept V1 is, for now, a development tool. Megamo wants to use it to verify on the ground what the larger diameter really offers: its ability to overcome obstacles and maintain speed, but also how it affects weight, stiffness, acceleration, rider position, and the overall behavior of a competitive MTB.

In that sense, the public appearance of this bike is almost more interesting as a window into Megamo's development department than as a preview of a product. The brand itself defines these prototypes as a way to showcase part of the work that normally remains out of the spotlight: testing technologies and concepts that could, or may not, end up being part of their future bikes.