Research write-up from public Trek / industry coverage of the Soldier Hollow World Cup debut. Not a BIKE198 trail or race-day test.
Trek just stopped whispering about 32-inch wheels and put one on a World Cup start line. Evie Richards and Trek Factory Racing XC are racing a full-suspension 32″ prototype at Soldier Hollow (September 19–20, 2026) — and the bike isn’t a garage one-off. It shows up with a RockShox SID Ultimate Flight Attendant built for 32″, Bontrager textile-spoke wheels, and prototype Pirelli tires. That’s the biggest brand yet to treat 32″ as race kit, not a trade-show concept.
Here’s what we actually know, what we don’t, and how this fits the 32″ story we’ve already been tracking on BIKE198.
What Trek showed
After a teaser (“something big is coming”), Trek posted build and bike photos plus a mechanic assembly clip for the Soldier Hollow kit. Coverage across Brújula Bike, Singletracks, Ride MTB, and off-road.cc lines up on the basics:
- Platform: Carbon full-suspension XC race bike — single-pivot with flex stays, visually related to Trek’s current 29″ World Cup direction, but not a simple Supercaliber with bigger hoops bolted on.
- Wheels: True 32″ front and rear (not a 32/29 mullet), Bontrager rims with textile spokes.
- Fork: First clear look at a RockShox SID Ultimate Flight Attendant sized for 32″ — also spotted on Scott’s prototype Spark RC at the same event.
- Tires: Prototype Pirelli rubber (sidewalls say as much). Likely in the Scorpion XC RC race family; exact width isn’t confirmed from photos, though most early 32″ MTB tires have landed around 32×2.4″.
- Rider: Evie Richards (~160–164 cm). The slammed, extreme negative-rise stem is a tell that stack is tall and Trek is compensating for a shorter rider on bigger wheels.
Project One paint shows up in some shots. That does not equal a confirmed consumer model — it just means Trek is treating this chassis like a serious race program bike, not a duct-tape mule.
From the Bike198 shopHate Bike Love Bike$24.99Shop What Trek has not said
Be careful with the hype cycle. As of the Soldier Hollow reveal, Trek has not published:
- A production name (this is still “the 32er” / prototype language)
- Travel, weight, geo chart, or sizes
- Price, availability, or a “coming to dealers” date
- Whether RockShox will sell that 32″ SID to anyone outside the pits
Singletracks estimated head angle from photos in a rough ~65° ballpark (other tools swung 63–67°) — much slacker than today’s Supercaliber (~67.5°). Treat that as photo math, not a factory chart. Longer stays and more BB drop are also likely if you’re packaging a taller wheel without toe overlap disasters on a small rider.
Why this matters more than another Instagram mule
We’ve already covered the two signals that usually come before a wheel-size shift goes mainstream:
- 32″ on the Cape Epic podium — rollover and momentum stopped being theoretical when stage wins showed up on big wheels.
- Super Boost stiffness talk — Newmen and others flagging that longer spokes may want wider hubs, which is a quiet industry-retooling problem if 32″ leaves the XC pits.
Trek racing a 32″ bike at a UCI World Cup is the third signal: the biggest American MTB brand is willing to put World Cup points on the format. Scott showing up with its own 32″ Spark RC prototype the same weekend means this isn’t a one-team science fair. RockShox and Pirelli showing real 32″ hardware in the same pits is how standards get born — fork legs, tire molds, and rim bed widths have to exist before dealers ever see a SKU.
Who should care (and who shouldn’t yet)
XC / marathon racers: Watch Soldier Hollow results and the next few World Cups. If Richards (and the Scott camp) can hold speed on rough, open courses without giving away punch on short climbs, the production pressure goes up fast.
Shorter riders: Richards on a 32″ bike is the interesting human-factors story. Bigger wheels usually punish small riders with toe overlap and awkward stack. If Trek’s geo works at ~5’3″–5’5″, that removes one of the loudest objections from the 29er era.
Trail / enduro shoppers: Don’t rebuild your quiver yet. 32″ still wants to go straight. Tight trees, steep switchbacks, and park laps are still a 29er (or mullet) conversation. Our Cape Epic write-up still stands: discipline matters.
Anyone buying a bike this month: There is nothing to order. No MSRP, no size chart, no dealer allocation. This is race intel, not a buyers guide.
Bottom line
Trek’s Soldier Hollow 32″ bike is the clearest “this is real” moment the format has had from a major brand — full chassis, 32″-specific SID Flight Attendant, textile-spoke Bontragers, prototype Pirellis, and a World Cup rider who isn’t six-foot-something. Production is unconfirmed. Geo is guessed from photos. The smart move is the same one we said after Cape Epic: watch the race results, watch whether Super Boost or new hub standards hitch a ride, and don’t confuse a pit prototype with a bike you can buy on Monday.
We’ll update this page when Trek (or RockShox / Pirelli) publishes real specs — or when Soldier Hollow gives us a results-based read on whether the big wheels were an advantage or just a headline.
Shop Trek — affiliate link to Trek’s US homepage (no consumer 32″ model to link yet). We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Sources (Robb’s stack + follow-ups): BIKEPACKING Friday Debrief; Singletracks geo estimate; BikeRadar / Bikerumor / Bike Mag coverage of the Trek social tease + Soldier Hollow reveal; Trek Factory Racing Instagram (“Something big is coming” / “32″ wheels have landed”); BIKE198 Cape Epic 32″ and Super Boost hubs posts. Research only — not a hands-on or race-pit test.
I founded Bike198 back in 2008 and started riding bikes seriously in 1994. A lot has changed since that time and one of the greatest releases is still getting out on the bike and shredding trail or tearing up the road.