When I rolled into Nové Město na Moravě last week ahead of the XC World Cup, I expected to see several mountain bike pros racing, or at least training on, prototype 32″ cross-country bikes.

What I didn’t expect was that the only 32″ wheels I would spot over the weekend would be on a gravel bike and a trail bike (besides the mullet trail bike I brought to play with… more on that soon.)

And it was DT Swiss – who just a couple of months ago assured us that they were taking 32″ things slowly – that would be behind both of extra-big-wheeled gravel and trail setups…

32″ DT Swiss XR 1700 Spline aluminum cross-country wheels

First up, a set of pre-production aluminum cross-country wheels on a gravel bike, but this time with an actual product name. We’ve seen a lot of smaller wheel makers debut 32″ wheels and 32″ prototypes. And even some DT prototypes that were just marked as ‘DT Swiss’ on the rims. But never a model name.

So marking these as XR 1700 Spline wheels is a pretty big milestone for one of the biggest wheel makers out there, and a behemoth in the OEM wheel market.

Interestingly, XR classifies these as a mid-tier wheelset for DT Swiss, and their highest spec level with an aluminum rim. (X 1900 would be their entry-level alloy, and from XRC 1700 and up they’re all on carbon rims.)

Caveat emptor

*Editor’s note: Now, you may be asking yourself if your eyes are going blurry from staring at your screen too long, because you can’t definitely read the model name on these prototype wheels anymore? Don’t worry, you are not going blind from too much Bikerumor browsing, today. Yes, the logos did get blurrier.

Because unofficially, DT has since confirmed that the naming of these wheels may not be accurate. Even though these labels align with DT’s product naming strategy, these are prototype wheels, very much still in development. It seems they were probably sent with labels to Superior, both to test their bike and to mock-up what Superior’s gravel prototype would look like when it goes into production in 2027. We’ve been assured that the wheel naming and precise specification are still subject to change before 32″ DT wheels eventually make it to market. Maybe there will be an XR 1700 Spline wheelset like this in the future, maybe not.

A closer look at the production-labeled aluminum rim, and we get quite a bit more useful information.

The 686 bead seat diameter confirms that these XR 1700 wheels are 32″ – as it we couldn’t tell how giant they were. They are 28mm internal. And the feature Tubeless Crotchet rim bead, aka, hooked and tubeless-ready – like all DT alloy rims.

Take a look at the hubs and we see that they are built up with 350-series straight-pull centerlock disc brake hubs. Plus, there’s a small text note next to the XR 1700 marking on the rim, confirming the obvious that these 32″ wheels are named ‘XR 1700 Spline’.

32″ XC wheels, but on a gravel bike

So, production-level 32″ DT Swiss XR 1700 Spline cross-country mountain bike wheels on a… gravel bike.

I guess that supports the Boost MTB standard idea for all 32″ bikes at the moment – excluding Dirty Sixer’s adamant insistence that bigger, heavier riders will need something significantly stronger than current Boost hubs.

The gravel bike fitted with these new wheels is a prototype 32″ Superior XR GR, a model the Czech bike maker say they expect to make available to consumers from the start of 2027. We’ve only really covered their latest carbon XR GR. But the entry-level of that gravel bike already includes an aluminum-framed version that looks pretty much just like this bike with conventional 700c wheels.

All-new prototype DT Swiss 32″ XC/Trail suspension fork

Then, across the race venue, we spied what looks like a mid-travel prototype DT Swiss fork on one of the CNC’d I-Train 32 trail bikes that Actofive built for DT as test mules at the end of last year. The prototype fork looks to include features adapted from both of DT’s current top-tier ONE-level forks – in an all-new fork design with slimmer dropouts than we’ve seen on a production DT fork in years.

What’s new in the fork department?

There’s the more angular but smooth fork brace and some reinforcing edges extending down the front of the legs of the casting, akin to the F535 One.

But the reinforcing ridges in the crown shaping are thinner. And there appears to already be some weight-saving, machined-out sections on the lowers, like seen on the F232 One fork.

Clearly, though, it’s all-new. DT likely could have developed a prototype for testing that shared the same crown of those existing forks. But this appears to be a ground-up redesign. Although it does appear that this might have borrowed the same ‘In Control’ 3-position lockout and external compression damping knob from the F535, hinting that it could share the same or similar PlusPort damper inside the right leg.

Behind the back of the arch, it’s more of a mystery.

There are the traditional carved out stiffening webs in the cast arch, with a single set of threads, presumably for a bolt-on fender that wasn’t installed. There are also 2-bolt brackets on the upper inside of the legs. These could easily be used to mount the fender as well. But the design looks more complex, perhaps hiding some other functionality like bleed ports for the lowers?

DT’s main fork seals also always look strangely low profile, pressed deep into the lowers, with no visible retention spring. These look even lower profile than most of their wipers, but that’s nothing entirely new for them.

So, what do we know?

As for any real concrete details, DT Swiss wasn’t sharing anything at the moment, other than the fact that this is very much “still a prototype fork in development”.

What we can probably sus out from seeing it in person, though – it looks like it probably features 34mm or 35mm stanchions. And based on how high it sits, this looks like120-130mm of fork travel. That fits with the frame itself, which features 120mm of adjustable rear wheel travel. Actofive did design the I-Train 32 for 120-140mm travel forks, and describes it not as an XC bike, but as a Trail bike due to the enhanced rollover capabilities that come with the larger diameter wheels and their larger tire air volume.

Now we just have to be patient as 32″ development soldiers on, and most likely these core components will be available later in the year.

DTSwiss.com

The post Spotted: 32″ DT Swiss Suspension Fork & Wheels At Nove Mesto World Cup, But… appeared first on Bikerumor.

Frameworks kicked off the 2026 race season with a bang. A few weeks ago, at the first stop of the World Cup, Asa Vermette took first place. It was Asa’s first Elite-level World Cup race and his first Elite-level win. 

It was also Frameworks’ first Elite-level World Cup win. But that wasn’t the brand’s first big win of the year. Weeks before, founder and team manager, Neko Mullaly, won the Sea Otter DH on a Frameworks.  

Now, surely we aren’t putting the Sea Otter DH race, as fun as it may be, on the same level as a World Cup DH race. But this race was different, for Frameworks, at least, as they were running a rather large wheel up front. 

Neko’s Sea Otter DH rig consisted of a 32” wheel up front and a 29” wheel out back. He used a Fox Podium fork, lowered to 140mm of travel, to get the proper clearance for the large front wheel. And, upon that bike, he took first place.

Surely, Sea Otter is the place to experiment with crazy ideas like that. However, it seems that Frameworks isn’t done experimenting with 32” wheels. 

A video just released by Frameworks shows Neko “testing out the 32” mega-mullet” at Mountain Creek in New Jersey. Faction Bike Studio designed the prototype mega-mullet, one of Frameworks’ partners, with a bonded front triangle to fit the larger front wheel.

Unlike other dual-crown bikes sporting a 32” wheel, Frameworks uses a Fox 40. To get the clearance needed for the larger wheel, the lowers appear to have been cut, extended, and bonded on. 

A larger wheel puts the bars rather high, and the cockpit is something that Neko says will need adjusting.

Unlike the bike raced at Sea Otter, this mega-mullet has a 27.5” rear wheel. Neko explained that a 29” rear wheel didn’t provide the clearance needed. He also mentions that neither the front wheel nor the tire is up to DH standards. 

Ultimately, they were trying to figure out if the 32” wheel, up front at least, is worth pursuing at the DH level. To do so, they will need components, namely a fork, wheel, and tire, that can handle DH abuse. After testing the mega-mullet prototype, Neko feels that “it is worth trying to find components that are equal to do a back-to-back test with a 29er.” 

So we may see 32” in the DH world after all…

The post Frameworks Dabbles with 32” Wheels for Downhill appeared first on Bikerumor.

To answer a reader’s question on the CFR XC prototype aero Reserve gravel wheels story… Yes, that is a new prototype inverted Cannondale Lefty fork, that we’re going to call the Lefty Nueve. Details are officially non-existent at this point. But the Cannondale Factory team clearly has a new suspension fork at their disposal. And everyone is racing on it, suggesting this isn’t just some one-off R&D prototype.

So what makes it better than the Lefty Ocho?

Cannondale’s prototype Lefty Nueve one-legged XC fork

The 8th-generation Lefty Ocho has been around for a long time – officially since 2018, so we’re not too surprised that it was bound for an update. And based on Cannondale’s previous Spanish naming scheme, we’re going to dub this one Lefty Nueve because I simply like how that sounds.

The Lefty has always been divisive, but love it or hate it from a design (or servicing) perspective, this one-legged fork has delivered top-tier lightweight cross-country performance for decades. Just look at the Ocho. What other XC suspension fork has been raced at the World Cup level for 8 years, effectively unchanged?

But it was time for an update. And it looks like Cannondale design engineers have found some tweaks.

What’s new?

Overall, Cannondale’s prototype Lefty Nueve looks a lot like the inverted Ocho fork. But there are plenty of subtle differences that hint at improvements.

First up, they’ve slimmed down the new upper. It is noticeably thinner just above the bulge for the lower bushing & seal. And then it features a smoother tapered transition up to its widest point at the top of the fork leg.

There, it also transitions more smoothly through its one-sided crown up to the headtube. Before, there was about a ~2cm thick step where the steerer heads up into the frame, whereas now the crown looks to be as thin as ~5mm on the right side under the headset. There is also a new hole under the steerer tube. Maybe that could allow a high fender mount, or a light thru-bolt to tension the headset?

New Chamber Damper controls

The top of the leg also reveals some damper control updates. A new simplified top cap still allows for a cable-actuated remote lockout – which the CFR team used to combine with some variation of a 2- or 3-cable Fox Twin Stick lockout that also operated a dropper post. But now it looks like several racers have opted for different setups to control fork & shock lockout, and CFR’s mechanical Fox Transfer dropper posts.

What has really changed here, though, is that compression damping adjustment is no longer tool-free on top of the fork. Now, there’s a new rubber cover on the front of the fork leg, suggesting internal damping adjustment. Maybe you’ll get both HSC & LSC controls?

More open stanchion guard & new StopLock brake mount

Then, the upper brake line guide is slightly tweaked, with a continuous tube for the race team down to the brake line guide on the updated orange lower stanchion guard – with a bigger window that the team straps its race transponder to. The new guard also appears to now be mounted only to the front & inside of the fork, not the outside of the fork leg.

Cannondale also redesigned the Lefty’s StopLock brake mount with a new quick-release. Although it’s hard to know for sure what all has changed or why at this point. We can see they moved the mounting point for the adjustable brake caliper adapter, a bit back from the dropout, while the arm supporting the caliper moves up and closer to the stanchion. The redesign may make it easier to mount different rotor sizes, or it might just simplify disconnecting the caliper to remove the front wheel.

Besides all that, the lower red rebound knob on the Cannondale team’s Lefty prototypes is also a new smoother round shape vs. the existing ridged knob. That doesn’t necessarily confirm any change, but maybe suggests more fine adjustment or greater rebound damping control?

Coming soon?

Does this Cannondale Lefty prototype suggest a new Lefty Nueve XC fork is just around the corner? Cannondale Factory Racing seem to have settled in on the new fork. And these forks look like production finishes, not working development prototypes. We wouldn’t be surprised to see a new Lefty Nueve very soon.

Cannondale.com

The post Yes, That’s A New Lefty Nueve. Cannondale Factory Racing is Racing Prototype MTB Fork. appeared first on Bikerumor.

We may keep hearing about how 32″ wheels are set to take over cross-country mountain biking, but Scott’s new 32″ aero gravel bike prototype is set to shake things up. Set for an Unbound gravel racing debut this weekend, the Scott Racing Project hopes to show that big wheel rollover improvements can boost speeds for any off-road racing. And without the need for external suspension providers or complex moving parts, Scott just had to create a new carbon frame and fork themselves…

Scott 32″ Racing Concept prototype aero gravel bike

And don’t think this is just a marketing exercise (which it’s clearly also that), because 2025 Unbound winner and 2025 Lifetime Grand Prix overall winner Cameron Jones will be racing this gravel monster for the 200-mile win again this year!

“This bike makes you feel like you’re levitating over the surface. I’ll be experiencing a road race while everybody else is racing gravel! The driving traction and cornering grip is revolutionary. I’m genuinely scared how fast I’ll be able to corner once on a course with proper descents.”

– Cameron Jones

What do we know about the bike?

At first glance, it almost looked like a Dangerholm project bike with the massive, wide tires and wheels and a slammed cockpit. But no, this is certainly an all-new carbon prototype. And after we haven’t seen a new gravel race bike from Scott in a few years, it kinda looks like an all-new, more aero design.

With the taller front wheel meaning a longer fork and a steeper slope to the downtube, Scott has given their 32″ gravel prototype a short, forward-extended headtube like we’re used to seeing on their mountain bikes that also have to accommodate higher front ends (that’s also where the Dangerholm connection sparked in my brain).

The result is that this 32″ Scott gravel prototype gets a long front end, with sleekly integrated aero shaping coming off the fork crown that makes it look almost more Foil than Addict. And then out back, the longer wheelbase also makes for a lower angle to the dropped seatstays, again making this prototype look more like an aero road bike than your average graveller.

Tech details

Of course, we are dealing with a custom aero carbon frame and fork, both newly developed for 32″ gravel racing. But it does appear to stick with the D-shaped seatpost that you’d find on today’s Addict Gravel RC, as Jones is on a full D-shaped post and Gemperle is running the bump-eating Syncros version.

Individual custom Unbound race builds for Jones & Gemperle

There are also some nice custom aero 32″ wheels for Jones, too. Scott describes them simply as custom Industry Nine wheels, not sharing any more detail about what looks to be maybe a 55mm deep aero carbon rim in the new 32″ wheel diameter.

Other than that, Jones’ bike combines up a few standard components for his build, even if the mix is a bit unconventional.

• premium Shimano 1×12 Di2 groupset combining XTR derailleur, Dura-Ace shifters & brakes, and a GRX crankset
• a 4iiii Powermeter on the short 160mm GRX cranks
• 370mm wide ENVE Aero Road bars
• slammed 100mm Syncros alloy stem
• 50mm Schwalbe RX 32″ gravel tires
• XTR SPD MTB pedals

Jones isn’t the only Scott athlete set to race the 32″ gravel prototype; Robin Gemperle, winner of the 2025 Tour Divide and Silk Road Mountain Race, will also take on Unbound on his own 32″ Scott bike. His setup is a bit different, and maybe more conventional? Although Gemperle does have a different – possibly 60mm deep – aero wheelset that Scott doesn’t share any details on. We can see, though, that it features conventional flange, J-bend hubs, 24-spoke lacing, and visible 3K weave carbon reinforcing the spoke bed on the otherwise UD carbon rims.

• complete SRAM RED AXS XPLR 1x 13-speed wireless groupset, including a Red powermeter
• 360mm flared Syncros alloy handlebar
• 100mm Syncros alloy stem &
• 50mm Schwalbe RX 32″ gravel tires
• HT PK01 carbon road pedals

Both Jones & Gemperle also get subtly different custom paint jobs, with small nods to their individual personalities in the detailing. A kiwi for New Zealander Cameron Jones, and a dotwatching track for ultra-distancer Robin Gemperle.

Will 32″ Scott Addict Gravel RC bike be coming soon to a shop near you?

Scott says simply, no.

These are Emporia-only bikes, but…

“RC stands for Racing Concept, Scott’s performance standard: products designed with racing intent from day one and validated in real competition. It was critical to get Scott’s top gravel athletes on the bike as early as possible in the development process, where fast, honest feedback makes all the difference. What works in theory must prove itself in the real world.”

Officially, these 32″ Scott gravel prototype bikes that Jones & Gemperle will race are “pure prototypes and will never be released on the market“. But we’ll have to see how long Scott keeps their word on that!

Scott-sports.com

The post Scott 32″ Aero Gravel Bike Prototype Set For UNBOUND Racing Debut appeared first on Bikerumor.

One of the most interesting and confounding things about the rise of radial tire construction in mountain biking is that you can’t actually see it from the outside. The angle of the casing inside a tire makes all the difference in the world – as we’ve come to learn by riding modern radials.

But you simply can’t tell anything is different by looking at the tire – either from the outside or inside. So how do we know that Schwalbe cross-country radials are here?

Let’s leave that up to a few pro mountain bike teams and their diligent mechanics…

Schwalbe Radial versions of Rick & Rocket Ron XC race tires

Let’s start with the first hint.

Schwalbe often likes to label their all-new prototype tires with “First Ride” on the sidewall.

But when they are trying to be a little more sneaky, or just changing up something inside, a little white ‘Tech Notes’ box on the sidewall provides a good spot for team mechanics and tire engineers to keep track of variations that could otherwise be overlooked.

Pretty much every in-development Schwalbe cross-country tire we saw this weekend featured this white box. But only a rare few got a tracking number. Could that mean that they’ve already ironed out the details?

Now, we head to a well-organized team truck.

We’re no snitches, though, so no need to call out who mis-typed Thunderbird for Thunder Burt.

Keeping equipment for a professional XC race team organized certainly isn’t easy, so this team has stackable crates to keep them all straight. Thunder Burt, Rocket Ron, Racing Ray, and just Rick. But what’s especially notable are two of the bottom crates: Rick Radial V3 and Ron Radial with maybe a 6 or 7?

Undeniably, those are two of Schwalbe’s fastest-rolling, lightweight XC tires.

And when we previously asked Schwalbe about whether the same radial construction that has revolutionized their trail & gravity tires, would also work for cross-country, they pretty much dismissed the idea. The radial construction does deliver a lot more grip at the same tire pressures. But that extra grip simply added additional rolling resistance at the same time, making it a no-go for XC where any loss of a rider’s power is a sacrifice a racer isn’t ready to make.

Someone actually raced Radials in Nove Mesto?

While ‘unnamed’ team 1 did have the radials at the World Cup, we couldn’t confirm that any of their athletes actually raced them. Remember, radials look the same on the outside.

But… in a different team paddock, we spotted some revealing bike setup notes. But no hiding here, the name of the current XC World Champion gives this one away – breaking down her different settings for Saturday’s XCC & XCO races. Saturday short-track meant a bigger chainring, stiffer suspension, narrower Thunder Burt tires, and higher tire pressures. But Sunday’s Olympic-distance cross-country race toyed with either Thunder Burt Radials or Rick Radials.

Ultimately, the dry dusty Nové Město conditions determined the choice of 2.5″ Schwalbe Thunder Burt tires, with foam inserts. Jenny’s mechanic Álvaro noted T.B. RED for her final race-day setup, with awesomely low 1.05bar front (15.2psi) & 1.15bar rear (16.7psi) tire pressures!

The question is, does the RED make reference to the Red stripe denoting Schwalbe’s fastest Addix Speed rubber compound? The Thunder Burt only comes in Speed – no blue Mid (previously Speed Grip), orange Soft, or purple Ultra Soft rubber for an XC race tire. And for the most part we only saw red-striped Schwalbes around the pits (but there were a few with no visible color stripe). Plus, all of Álvaro’s other notes primarily mention casing.

In any case, XC World Champ Jenny Rissveds is clearly riding, testing, and maybe racing Schwalbe Radial XC tires. And they are doing pretty well for her. She finished second in the second round of the XCO World Cup, her first time back to the Nové Město track where she won her U23 World Championship stripes a decade ago, then on some unique XC tire tech, too!

The post Spotted: Prototype Schwalbe Radial XC Tires Raced on the Cross-Country World Cup appeared first on Bikerumor.

Orbea also has its own all-new lightweight cross-country race bike in the works. And this prototype we spotted in Nove Mesto over the weekend looks quite familiar, just not like the Orbea Oiz that we know.

Even though it shares the same core single-pivot layout as the current 120mm Oiz, this new OO Lab prototype mountain bike repositions its rear shock, tucked inside the lower half of the toptube for a more integrated, more lightweight look. But what can we tell from our sneak peek?

2026 Orbea Oiz XC bike prototype spotted in Nove Mesto

Unlike Scott-SRAM Racing, who were pretty much openly showing off their new unreleased Spark, the Orbea Factory Team were being a little more coy with their prototype OOLab XC bike.

In fact, the Orbea mechanics had this pretty slick custom wrap to cover up what may be a version of their unreleased Oiz, already finished in the official Orbea Factory Team paint job? That would suggest that even though some of the raw carbon OOLab-labelled prototypes still looked like a ‘work in process’, this painted bike would suggest a launch very soon!

Besides that bike hidden under wraps, we still spotted a couple versions of the new prototype out in the open as it was being set up, worked on, and raced over the weekend. But most of the Orbea riders were still racing on the existing Oiz.

What do we know about the prototype?

The nice bike we got the best look at was being raced this weekend by #69 Simon Andreassen.

The all-new bike design takes Orbea’s in-line shock layout one step further, tucking the rear shock up into the lower half of the top tube. It still has a shortened link to drive a normal shock, but overall, the raw carbon prototype frame appears more slender and visually lighter than the bikes the majority of the Orbea Factory Team were racing at the Czech round of the XC World Cup.

It’s also a frame design that looks very familiar. We’ve seen several bikes align a toptube-mounted rear shock into the actual tube over the years, including the likes of Commencal, MMR, Trek, and… Yeah, this looks a lot like a Specialized Epic World Cup to me.

This Orbea Oiz prototype looks a lot like the current S-Works Epic 9 that launched just last month, but maybe it’s even closer in appearance to the 3-year-old Epic World Cup.

Even down to the way the short linkage attaches from below to the smooth-ended seatstays and the one-sided upper shock mount bolt.

Tech details we can see?

We don’t know how much travel this new bike gets. A short link only gave the Epic WC 75mm and the latest link-less Supercaliber, just 80mm. In an age of more aggressive cross-country racing, we find it hard to imagine Orbea introducing a new XC race bike with any less than 100-120mm of rear wheel travel.

That little silver link does appear to be longer, more in line with the current 120mm Epic 9, so fingers crossed. than the Epi

I’m genuinely really curious to find out more about this machine.

Until then, we’ll have to speculate beyond the simple facts that we do know. That this next-gen Orbea Oiz will keep a threaded bottom bracket, UDH dropouts, fully integrated internal cable routing through the headset, and 2 sets of bottle cage mounts inside the main triangle.

Is a new Orbea Oiz coming soon?

As for when a new Orbea Oiz XC race bike will drop? We don’t know that yet.

Some signs, like that team-painted bike being hidden from view, point to an imminent launch. This dusty unfinished, raw carbon frameset spotted waiting in the Orbea Factory Team paddock at Nove Mesto World Cup could suggest there’s still some time to wait. But it also has what looks like a more-finished black anodized short link, hinting of a more commercially-ready product than the raw machined link that Andreassen appears to still be testing.

I guess we have to be patient.

Oreba.com

The post Prototype OOLab Orbea Oiz XC Bike Raced At Nove Mesto World Cup Looks Pretty Epic! appeared first on Bikerumor.

Nino Schuter may be out of the racing game, but we’ve still spotted another all-new prototype evolution of the Scott Spark – the single pro XC we’ve featured more than any other over our years covering World Cup cross-country race tech. The new bike bears a striking resemblance to the current Spark – Scott’s first Bold-inspired XC bike design with a hidden internal rear shock that I first rode and wrote about 5 years ago.

But there are a number of significant changes that we can spot in this unreleased prototype. The first being that the rear shock isn’t quite 100% hidden inside anymore.

So why is it peeking out?

Scott Spark RC prototype World Cup XC race bike

The only semi-hidden out shock was the first thing we noticed. It looks like an opening that gives easier, quick access to the AXS battery on the Flight Attendant rear shock.

But really, a closer reveals that this is actually a completely new suspension design. And hiding the shock inside the frame is maybe the only real similarity with the current model.

There’s quite a lot more going on here…

Plus, Scott isn’t really hiding the bike at all. So, it’s likely we’ll have the full technical details in the very near future!

What new tech is coming soon?

Let’s start off with the basic suspension design.

The current Spark is a single-pivot with flex stays and a linkage that drives the internal shock. This new prototype Spark appears to effectively be a virtual 4-bar with an external short link concentric around the bottom bracket and again relying on flex in the rear stays. (Or is it a high-single-pivot(?) depending on whether rear-end flex is in the seatstays of chainstays, I guess? Do we think that distance between that upper pivot and the dropout changes are the seatstay/swingarm flexes through its travel?)

We can’t see what’s happening inside the frame. But because there is a plastic cover over the internal shock with an opening for the AXS Flight Attendant battery, we can see that the rear shock is oriented almost perfectly horizontal. That’s a big shift from the current solution, which is essentially in-line with the slope of the downtube.

Presumably, this would help lower weight in the frame for more stable handling. But importantly, it all still appears to exist quite a bit above the center of the bottom bracket, suggesting ground clearance won’t be an issue.

There’s also very clearly a second access cover behind the seattube, suggesting access to the hidden shock will be much easier on this new bike.

From the driveside, the entire suspension setup of this prototype looks even simpler and ‘cleaner’ than the current Spark. But a glance at the other side reveals a complex multi-part short link around the bottom bracket, that we can only imagine will get filled up with dirt, mud & debris, and will certainly add more maintenance complexity.

Other key tech we can see…

At least it’s nice to see a threaded bottom bracket there, though.

There’s also a new seatpost clamping mechanism. More like we’re used to seeing on road & gravel bikes, this bike looks to get an internal, wedge-style expander.

Unsurprisingly, this prototype appears to be made from Scott’s top HMX SL-spec lightweight hi-mod carbon, based on the writing all over these frames. All other text on the frame appears to be prototype marketing gibberish.

It is not 32″, but there are some new Syncros carbon wheels here!

And lastly, we can confirm that it does not fit 32″ wheels. Only room for 29″ wheels here.

But for quick detour on those 29″ wheels…

For XCC short track, the team were on existing one-piece molded carbon Syncros Silverton SL wheels, known for ultralight weight and supreme stiffness. But for the longer and more technical XCO race, they were riding a new unnamed set of Syncros wheels with conventionally laced (hidden nipples) carbon spokes and silver CNC-machined alloy hubs.

Likely, they will launch with this unreleased 29er Spark RC soon…

Now back to your regularly-scheduled 32″ rant…

Scott-SRAM MTB Racing were, in fact, one of the biggest drivers behind the push to 32″ in racing development. Rumors suggest Nino was one of those strongly pushing Maxxis to make a 32″ option in his favorite Aspen tread for several years, always looking for a technological edge in XC racing.

But the new wheelsize is clearly still being developed. And while we’ve seen working prototypes being developed & tested – and even raced – by several big bike brands, it’s only been this spring where we’ve seen major fork markers with anything close to production-ready. Scott-SRAM’s suspension supplier RockShox has been noticeably absent, so far. And that has to be a limiting factor for a large portion of pro XC racing teams at the moment.

We’re sure there’s a 32″ SID in development, but we haven’t seen it yet.

Maybe soon?

The post All-New Scott Spark XC Bike Prototype in Nove Mesto Teases a Glimpse of Its Hidden Shock appeared first on Bikerumor.

Just one week away from the next stop on the World Cup DH race circuit, next weekend, the world’s fastest will meet in Loudenvielle, France. And there will be another unique prototype bike on the pro downhill circuit, this time from Antidote Solutions with their AS05 automatic gearbox DH bike.

And, yeah, the bike is a little funky. Dare we say, “weird.” Antidote Solutions team rider, Gaëtan Vigé, had this to say about the AS05:

“When I first saw the AS05, I was impressed. It’s so different from anything we’re used to. It really gives you the feeling that you’re on a proper race machine. And once out on track for the first tests, I was honestly blown away. I was immediately able to ride fast while still feeling in control and confident. It almost feels like the bike is doing part of the job for us, it’s incredible.”

Antidote Solutions prototype AS05 DH race bike

The team at Antidote Solutions says the entire development and design process was in-house, except for some industrial manufacturing support. 

Dialing the AS05 to the rider’s preference was one of the team’s top priorities. The chassis and suspension adjust independently of one another within five minutes. Riders can easily adapt the AS05 to their preferences, with Antidote Solutions providing more than 1,000 setup combinations. 

The AS05 consists of a bonded carbon and aluminum front triangle and a 7075-T6 aluminum rear. The bonded front triangle allows Antidote Solutions to quickly make changes to the rider’s preferences while modulating stiffness. The AS05 accommodates both a 29” or 27.5” rear wheel, and an interchangeable bridge system at the rear triangle offers six different stiffness options. 

Under all that pizzazz is an automatic gearbox fully developed by the team at Antidote Solutions. The team designed the gearbox to “deliver significant gains at the start and during pedaling phases” of the race. The concept of an intuitive gearbox that can choose the correct gear and shift automatically seems like an obvious advantage in a DH race, when the racers attention is intensely focused on picking lines and maintaining control.

To be clear, Antidote Solutions says that the gearbox is still very much under development.

“The initial tests have completely met our expectations. The bike is already incredibly fast and performing brilliantly, even though development is only beginning.”

So, what is the AS05, really?

Well, obviously, it is a prototype DH bike. And we can see that there’s some form of high-pivot suspension design with an idler pulley going on.

And Antidote calls it a gearbox bike. But clearly there’s also still a rear derailleur, and what appears to be a tightly-spaced DH cassette, right? Well, for sure, it’s not a belt-drive gearbox bike that would make it eligible for the Gates €100K Purse.

As far as the nitty-gritty details, it seems that Antidote Solutions is keeping its cards close. We know that the team consists of “18 experts,” with nearly all development done in-house.

But what about things like component choice and some “how” questions? I guess we’ll need to just pore over these photos we could rustle up from the team.

No geo chart, no leverage charts. The claim that front- and rear-triangle stiffness is adjustable trackside? That’s likely via the six interchangeable bridges on the rear triangle, but what about the front? Your guess is as good as ours on that front.

Or does that have something to do with those presumably carbon body panels / fairings we see on the front? Color us intrigued.

Weight? Who knows?

Components? Well, I see some Mavic wheels and Schwalbe tires (although not the latest Pro models), so it is unclear if those brands partnered with Antidote Solutions.

Suspension? The body panels of the race-ready bikes hide the rear shock well. We can see that the inverted fork looks like EXT’s Vaia. But there aren’t any logos on the race bikes, so maybe there’s some prototype action or in-house team modification, too? However, in other pictures without the body panels, we see an EXT Arma V4 coil shock and that Vaia fork.

Again, it isn’t clear what brands, if any, partnered with Antidote Solutions. We also don’t know what components will be on the bike at the next World Cups. But we’ll be keeping our eyes open – especially on May 28th!

Antidote-Solutions.com

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The latest example? Cannondale Factory Racing (CFR) showed up to the Nové Město World Cup with a LAB71 Scalpel sporting a set of Reserve 48|53 GR aero carbon gravel wheels. Deep-section gravel wheels. On a World Cup XC bike. At one of the fastest short-track courses on the calendar. In fact, these are deeper aero prototype wheels that aern’t even available for gravel bikes yet!

You can see all the details on the RideCannondale Instagram.

Cannondale LAB71 Scalpel with custom unreleased Reserve 48|53 GR aero gravel wheels

According to CFR, they’re the first team to race aero gravel wheels in short track, possibly the first in top-level XC racing altogether.

In fact, the Reserve 48|53 GR wheelset deosn’t even exist yet. We’ve covered their shallower, ultra-wide GR 40|44 aero gravel wheels before. So, we can only assume that they are the same front 27.4mm & rear 27mm internal widths. Reserve already offers the shallower GR rims separately, and lets buyers pick from a couple of different hub options. So, it was likely no issue for the CFR team to lace them in Lefty & MTB rear-specific hubs for XCC racing.

Although, interestingly, these 48|53 GR wheels are laced with 28 spokes front & rear, unlike the 24 on the existing 40|44 GR gravel wheels. So, maybe it wasn’t as simple as you might think!

The XCC race-ready wheels in question are paired with Shimano’s new XTR Di2 drivetrain and an aggressively fast Schwalbe Thunder Burt 2.1 tire setup, which tells you pretty quickly what the goal was here: outright speed.

Prototype Deep Aero Gravel Wheels on an XC Bike?

At first glance, the Reserve 48/53 GR wheels look a little ridiculous on a mountain bike. Deep carbon rims usually belong on aero gravel bikes or road bikes built by people who know exactly how many watts their socks save (I’m that guy… and it’s 2-12 watts, sock-dependent).

But short-track cross-country XCC has changed, and it’s all about the demands of race day.

Teams can’t swap frames between events, but they can change almost everything bolted onto them. Narrower bars, shorter-travel suspension, firmer setups, and even gravel tires are becoming increasingly common. Chris Blevins won the Nove Mesto short track race last year, running a Specialized gravel tire, so the line between modern XC and gravel equipment is already getting blurry.

Today’s short-track courses are smoother, faster, and much more draft-heavy than traditional XC racing. Riders are spending long stretches above 20mph, and once speeds reach that level, aerodynamics start to matter, whether mountain bikers like it or not.

That’s what makes this setup interesting. Reserve didn’t design the 48/53 GR wheels specifically for XC, but modern gravel racing and modern short track are starting to ask for similar things:

• high sustained speeds
• quick accelerations
• smoother terrain
• tight packs
• and efficiency over outright forgiveness

XC keeps drifting toward gravel, gravel keeps drifting toward XC, and somewhere in the overlap, you get bikes like this.

The Wheel Choice Is the Story

The wheel setup itself is the headline:

• unreleased prototype Reserve 48/53 GR aero carbon wheelset
• 48mm deep front rim / 53mm deep rear rim
• ~27mm inner width
• Schwalbe Thunder Burt 29 x 2.1″ SPEED tires

That combination isn’t about surviving rough terrain. It’s built for fast laps, rapid accelerations, and carrying speed once the course opens up.

And visually? It works way better than it probably should.

The deep rims tucked into the LAB71 Scalpel make the bike look equal parts futuristic and slightly questionable – I love it. Plus – it feels pretty close to where elite XC equipment is heading anyway.

Cannondale Factory Racing Nove Mesto Build

Cannondale Factory rounded out the build with:

• Shimano XTR Di2
• Fox Float SL rear shock, with remote lockout
• Fox Transfer SL 75mm dropper
• FSA KFX carbon cockpit
• Prologo Nago 3D saddle

The slammed -12° FSA KFX stem really finishes the look for me. Combined with the deep wheels and low-profile tires, the whole bike gives off a very clear “we are absolutely not wasting watts today” vibe.

Aero Is Just Part of XC Now

The bigger takeaway probably isn’t the wheelset itself; it’s what it says about where XC racing is going.

For years, aerodynamics sat pretty far down the mountain bike priority list. Weight mattered, and suspension needs to be dialed, same with tire choice. Aero was mostly road-bike territory. That’s changing.

As XC speeds keep climbing and courses keep getting smoother, teams are becoming much more willing to experiment with equipment that would’ve looked completely out of place only a few seasons ago.

This won’t seem weird for very long.

Because once a factory team shows up with deep-section gravel wheels and proves they work, somebody else is going to copy it. That’s usually how these trends start. I’m guessing it’s about 3-4 weeks out from hitting your local short track series.

Oh, and also don’t forget, even the shortened Nové Město XCC track has some proper jumps on it. So these prototype gravel wheels are gonna see some serious airtime this weekend!

I bet Reserve’s gravel “Guaranteed for Life” policy is at least a little nervous…

Update: Does riding like Cannondale Factory Racing void your Reserve GR carbon gravel wheel lifetime warranty?

The post Cannondale Factory Racing in Nove Mesto on Prototype Deep Aero Reserve Gravel Wheels appeared first on Bikerumor.

After seeing Harriet Harnden finish first in qualies in Korea, then 4th overall in the DH finals, we started digging into her AON Racing Gates belt-drive bike setup, quickly finding these prototype Gamux gearbox downhill bikes under the three men on her team. Completely CNC-machined with a single massive open U-shaped frame member, it’s one of the wildest race bikes we’ve seen – beyond the high-pivot, gearbox & belt-drive setup.

Plus, the AON Racing team are hiding a lot of unreleased kit on these gravity sleds. New fork & shock tech, new brakes, new grips, wild stems, and more! Let’s dig right in…

AON x Gamux DH Prototype belt-drive, gearbox downhill bike

OK, so first off, a micro-refresher on AON Racing.

The team was established just last year by 2020 DH World Champion Reece Wilson to create a “pure prototype downhill race team” free from bike sponsor pressures, allowing them to develop innovative race bikes and components.

Swiss CNC bike maker Gamux was a core partner, enabling the AON team to develop what they thought could be the best DH race rig, without being locked into an existing commercial bike model. Sure, Gamux already had the Sego. But even that bike allowed them to customize the platform tailored to the racer, just like the bike Harnden raced isn’t exactly the same as the one you would buy directly from Gamux.

Now onto the next new bike…

Again, built around a Pinion gearbox to get weight low, protected, and to drop unsprung mass. And again, a high-pivot design, driven by a Gates belt-drive system with an idler pulley and a belt tensioner, which put AON Racing in the running for a shot at the 100,000€ Gates Belted Purse offered to the first Elite man or woman to win a UCI MTB DHI World Cup on a Gates belt-drive bike.

But that’s where the similarities with the previous Sego end. Everything else has changed.

unnamed AON Gamux Prototype DH race bike

Ridden by the 3 guys on the AON Racing team – Reece Wilson, Henry Kerr & Stan Nisbet – the prototype bike doesn’t have a name yet. Actually, a contact inside the team confirms that it does have a name, they just aren’t ready to go public with it yet.

But while the team couldn’t officially share photos of Wilson or Kerr’s bikes because of how many secret unreleased products are on both, they were happy to share still photos of Nisbet’s rig. And don’t worry, it has plenty of tricks up its sleeves, too.

I’s a wild-looking bike, so we have plenty to talk about without a name. First off, it looks more like some kind of off-road cruising moto than a bike, right?

The heart of the AON Gamux Prototype is the completely new, all-aluminum CNC-machined construction, opting for a single monolithic but hollow main frame tube instead of a more conventional front triangle. Then, a seat mast gets bolted on top, the gearbox hung down below, and an all-new high-pivot 4-bar suspension system bolted onto the back.

Pinion gearbox + Gates belt-drive

While the Sego is a high single-pivot with a linkage-driven shock, this new AON Gamux Prototype is a more classic Horst-link, four-bar. It’s still a high-pivot, maybe even a tad higher if my eyes don’t deceive me. And it still has a chainstay-mounted i-track idler pulley, plus a quite complex belt tensioner pulley to keep the Gates connection happy and tight.

No official word on length of rear wheel travel, other than that the team is still tweaking and playing with different figures via various link and shock setups.

It also appears to get a decently low bottom bracket height, and has tons of travel. So North Shore Billet supplies their short and strong Talon cranks to put power into the Pinion gearbox.

Of course, the bike also gets a bashguard / skid plate that wraps around the gearbox for protection, as well.

Intricately CNC-machined U-shaped main frame beam

But much of the beauty of the bike comes from the intricate CNC machining by Gamux. Instead of a simple I-beam structure reinforced with bonded-in carbon, this new AON Gamux Prototype is 100% Swiss CNC’d aluminum.

The main frame is a single massive U-shaped beam.

Completely open on the top, it forms the wide backbone of the downhill bike.

The sides of the mainframe tube are mostly smooth, just with wider reinforcing ribs along the upper edge. But the underside of the downtube(?) features a honeycomb relief machined into the main U-shape, before ribs taper out to form the mounting points for the gearbox and skid plate.

The team explains that this externally relieved design allowed Gamux to significantly increase/control the frame’s torsional & directional stiffness and strength, without adding unnecessary weight. And it also lets them showcase some sweet machining style.

Plus, the external honeycomb machining makes it much easier to manufacture, allowing Gamux to smoothly machine out the inner well of the frame, only keeping a few side-to-side ribs remaining inside for stiffness.

Gamux kept the AON Racing team prototype a bit simpler by designing a modular bolt-on seat mast. That gives them freedom to tweak geometry a bit. But it also simplifies production again – keeping the overall height of the CNC-machined part low, and allowing the frame to remain completely open on top.

Then with a single mainframe member, AON & Gamux are free to tweak the ride and performance of the prototype DH bike by iterating separate suspension parts, like: the rocker link, various length seatstay bridges for different wheel sizes (all mullets so far, but full 29er will be possible, too), or different chainstays and seatstays to fine-tune geometry or rear end stiffness.

Weird and wild cockpit setup

Continuing the wild-looking concept, Nisbet and his teammates were riding various high, set-back cockpit setups.

Prototype negative setback stem?

Here, it looks like Nisbet is riding a ~80mm tall stem with -40mm of offset relative to the steerer tube. That’s also holding a high-rise Ergotec 70mm rise handlebar for a very upright and back position. The unconventional cockpit is uniquely set up to race super steep tracks, on a bike with longer frame Reach designed that way for extra high-speed stability.

We only slightly get a peek at it, but that big silver headset suggests (unsurprisingly) that there’s also plenty of space available for head angle adjustment to further fine-tune geometry to each track.

AON Racing works closely together with the Hayes group – which means Hayes brakes, Manitou suspension & Reynolds wheels. And the team generally has raced on purple Hayes Dominion A4 brakes, plus Sinter brake pads. But those rotors aren’t from the Hayes line-up, though.

They appear to be 2.3mm Hope Fixed Rotors, instead.

Prototype RevGrips with integrated bar ends?

Next to the purple Hayes brake levers, we also spot a curious unreleased product on the AON x Gamux Prototypes.

Medium shock-absorbing RevGrips get fitted with an external bar end flange, designed to let racers push outward on the bars for added control. And they claim to allow a looser grip in the roughest sections of a DH track, without worrying about your hands slipping off the end of the bars. It’s a concept that seemed niche until a few weeks ago, when Joe Breeden and Wolf Tooth made a strikingly similar setup more readily available.

Many more unreleased secrets on Reece Wilson & Henry Kerr’s bikes…

We didn’t get still life bike pics from the other guys, but there’s still plenty of Mona Yongpyong, South Korea World Cup race photos to spot more prototype tech on AON bikes.

Prototype Hayes Dominion brakes?

First, notice that there are no purple Hayes on either of these guys’ bikes.

A closer look reveals the brake lever bodies are, in fact, hidden under what looks like a soft neoprene cover. The silver brake calipers on both racers’ bikes look to have the same layout as the 4-piston Dominion A4s on Nisbet’s bike, but with sharper edges. And the silver levers have a gold piece visible that looks like the end of the tool-free reach adjust on current Dominions.

Perhaps these are the more premium set of Dominion brakes we’ve heard rumored for a while?

Both bikes also appear to have that same mysterious extra wire run along the left/rear brake line like Nisbet’s. We’re guessing it’s just an easy access to charge the Pinion Smart.Shift battery that is tucked inside the frame, right?

Prototype Manitou Dorado fork?

One last key secret we can clearly see is a big piggyback hanging off the damping side of Reece Wilson’s Manitou Dorado fork, with a special blue anodized fork end screaming, “Look at me!”

The standard Dorado puts external TPC+ (Twin Piston Cartridge) high-speed compression damping control at the bottom of the right fork leg. The bottom of Wilson’s fork is clearly missing that adjustment, which likely moved into an extra external piggyback reservoir for more oil volume, adjustability, and control.

What’s also interesting, though, is that Wilson didn’t race exclusively with this fork prototype. So clearly, it isn’t yet the best solution for all DH racing situations, just yet.

Also, all of the team are on Manitou forks labeled as Dorado Pro, which would normally come with carbon upper legs, but they all have alloy upper legs. AON confirms that these are all MRD (Manitou Racing Development) prototype forks using alloy uppers that the team riders are testing for Manitou R&D.

And lastly, what could be hiding under that sock over Wilson’s rear shock, tucked inside the top of the frame? It definitely isn’t the same Mara PB Pro air shock that’s on Nisbet’s & Harnden’s bikes.

Could it finally be a Mara Coil shock from Manitou?

Who knows for sure, but we’re going to keep on the lookout!

AONracing.com & GamuxBikes.com

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