SCOTT officially enters the 32” with these competition gravel bikes

The craze for 32” wheels is no longer just the territory of small manufacturers or experimental projects. SCOTT has just taken the most significant step we have seen so far from a major brand by officially presenting its first 32-inch gravel bike. And although the brand itself makes it clear that this is a pure prototype that “will never reach the market,” the mere fact of seeing it compete in UNBOUND Gravel turns this project into a very serious message about where competitive gravel could evolve.

SCOTT is already rolling with a 32” gravel bike: this is the most radical prototype ever to arrive at UNBOUND

The Scott RC Gravel 32 will debut at the 2026 edition of UNBOUND Gravel, probably the toughest and most demanding race on the global gravel calendar. There, two of SCOTT's top riders, Cameron Jones and Robin Gemperle, will compete on different versions of this new SCOTT RC Gravel 32”.

The first official SCOTT 32” is already a reality

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Until now, we had seen some isolated projects of 32” mountain bikes, especially linked to XCO and experimental developments of wheels and suspensions. But never has a brand the size of SCOTT shown so openly and officially a complete platform specifically developed around this size.

Moreover, the move is even more relevant because we are not talking about an MTB, but a gravel bike conceived from scratch for ultra-distance and high-speed competition. This completely changes the technical approach of the project.

SCOTT defines this bike as an “RC,” short for Racing Concept, a designation that within the brand identifies products created directly with a competitive mindset and developed alongside professional riders from the early stages of the project.

UNBOUND Gravel as an extreme laboratory

SCOTT has chosen the toughest possible setting to validate this bike. UNBOUND Gravel is not just any race. Its 200 miles over the broken and wild tracks of the Flint Hills of Kansas are one of the most destructive environments in the world for a bike.

Sharp stones, deep mud, extreme heat, constant vibrations, and endless hours of fatigue turn this test into a true laboratory of real stress.

The brand explains that no laboratory test can reproduce what happens in a race like this. In a test bench, forces are analyzed in isolation and controlled, while in UNBOUND all factors appear simultaneously and unpredictably.

That is precisely why SCOTT has decided to take this bike out of the laboratory and put it directly under the fastest riders in its gravel structure.

Cameron Jones and Robin Gemperle, the chosen ones to compete with the Scott RC Gravel 32

The bet could not be in better hands. Cameron Jones arrives as the winner of UNBOUND Gravel 2025 and the overall winner of the Life Time Grand Prix. Robin Gemperle, for his part, won in 2025 extreme races such as the Tour Divide and the Silkroad Mountain Race.

Both have been using this prototype since last year.

SCOTT explains that the project started simply as a theoretical idea, a “what if...?” that quickly passed to the R&D department. According to the brand, from the first test, both Jones and Gemperle were clear that they wanted to compete in UNBOUND with this bike.

Cameron Jones's statements make it clear to what extent the behavior of this bike breaks with what has been known so far in gravel.

The New Zealander assures that “this bike makes you feel like you are levitating above the surface”. He even goes so far as to say that “I will be racing on a road bike while the rest will be racing gravel.”

Jones particularly focuses on two aspects that have historically limited fast gravel on broken terrain: traction and cornering.

As he explains, “the traction when pedaling and the grip in corners are revolutionary.” He adds a particularly revealing phrase about the dynamic potential of 32” wheels: “I am honestly scared of how fast I will be able to enter corners when we race on circuits with real descents.”

Why a 32” wheel can change gravel?

Although SCOTT does not go into deep technical details about geometries or specific figures, the concept behind the 32” does have a very clear logic.

A larger diameter wheel reduces the angle of attack against obstacles. This allows the bike to roll over stones, holes, and terrain deformations with less loss of speed and fewer impacts transmitted to the rider.

In ultra-distance tests like UNBOUND, this can translate into several huge advantages:

• Greater ability to maintain speed over broken terrain
• Less muscle fatigue after many hours
• More stability at high speed
• More traction in loose areas
• More lateral grip in corners
• Less rolling resistance on uneven surfaces

The main problem has always been the geometric and structural compromise that a wheel of that size implies. Maintaining a reactive, lightweight, and manageable bike with 32” wheels is much more complex than doing so with 700c or even 29”.

That is precisely why this project is so relevant. Because it shows that SCOTT is already investing real competitive resources in solving those problems.

In detail, Cameron Jones's SCOTT RC Gravel 32”: MTB group, road levers, and gravel cranks

Cameron Jones's bike mixes top-level road, gravel, and MTB components.

Cameron Jones's complete setup

• Frame: SCOTT RC Gravel 32” Prototype
• Stem: Syncros ST-R100-AL 110 mm
• Handlebar: ENVE Aero Road 370 mm
• Drivetrain: Shimano XTR with Shimano Dura-Ace levers
• Cranks: Shimano GRX
• Power Meter: 4iiii
• Crank Length: 160 mm
• Wheels: Prototype I9 Wheels
• Tires: Schwalbe RX 50 mm on 32”

The combination is particularly striking because it mixes an XTR MTB group with Dura-Ace road levers and GRX gravel cranks, a solution very oriented to optimize ergonomics, range, and efficiency.

Also noteworthy are the extremely short 160 mm cranks, an increasingly present trend in gravel and ultra-distance to reduce muscle fatigue and improve aerodynamic and biomechanical efficiency.

Robin Gemperle's bike opts for SRAM

Robin Gemperle's setup follows a completely different philosophy, entirely based on SRAM.

Robin Gemperle's complete setup

• Frame: SCOTT RC Gravel 32” Prototype
• Handlebar: Syncros HB-R 100 Alloy 80/360 mm
• Group: SRAM RED AXS XPLR electronic 13-speed
• Cranks: SRAM RED XPLR Power Meter
• Chainring: 46 teeth
• Wheels: Prototype 32” Wheels
• Tires: Schwalbe RX 50 mm on 32”

Gemperle also leaves a very interesting reflection on the development of the project. He explains that he started riding on a still unfinished bike, with key parts still in development, but that even in that initial state he was clear that he wanted to compete with it.

The Swiss rider assures that the successive tests ended up confirming his initial impression and concludes with a very significant phrase: “this big guy is really the wheel size that competitive gravel, and especially UNBOUND Gravel, has been waiting for.”

SCOTT makes it clear that it will not reach the market

Despite the enormous interest this project has generated, SCOTT insists that the bikes used by Cameron Jones and Robin Gemperle are pure prototypes and that there is no intention to commercialize them.

Even so, the recent history of cycling shows that many technologies that started as “concept bikes” ended up reaching production sooner or later.

Just a few years ago, it seemed impossible to imagine tires over 50 mm in competitive gravel, integrated suspensions, or geometries as radical as the current ones. Today they are common.

And now one of the largest brands in the industry has just put a 32-inch bike at the starting line of the most important gravel race in the world. That alone already makes this SCOTT RC Gravel 32” one of the most important and groundbreaking developments we have seen in a long time.