DirtySixer announced their newest bike with 32″ wheels today, the 32er MonsterEnduro. The aluminum alloy enduro bike is designed to deliver 140mm of suspension travel front and rear, with complete bikes priced at $8,999.
Designed primarily for tall people, but the smallest size can fit 5’7″ riders
DirtySixer builds bikes around 32″ and 36″ wheels primarily for the benefit of exceptionally tall bikers. However, to ensure DirtySixer’s partners and fabricators are able to test the bike, the smallest size MonsterEnduro is being designed to fit riders over 5’6″. That height is significantly shorter than the average man’s height in the US (5’9″), making the bike accessible to a wide range of riders.
Sizes for the MonsterEnduro start at large and go up to 4XL. The final geometry numbers are still being refined, and the prototype bike shown in the photos here is said to be a size that’s between XL and 2XL. DirtySixer says the headtube angle should land somewhere around 65° with a seattube angle that’s about 75°. The bike will have very long chainstays — around 490mm — according to a release.
The full-suspension DirtySixer MonsterEnduro bike uses a 4-bar Horst-link suspension design with 140mm of rear suspension travel, which is about the mid-range of what most riders would consider to be a trail bike. The general consensus is that enduro bikes have at least 160mm of rear suspension travel.
An argument could be made that bigger 32-inch wheels increase a bike’s ability to roll over rocks and roots, effectively allowing a bike to wring more performance out of less travel. Similar arguments were made with early full-suspension 29er bikes, though it’s yet to be seen how capable 32-inch wheels are for aggressive, enduro-style riding. So far, the most promising early applications of 32-inch wheels involve cross-country racing, where larger-diameter wheels offer rolling efficiency gains.
The 32er MonsterEnduro takes some Qs from fat bikes
DirtySixer is making use of fat bike standards to compensate for the MonsterEnduro’s big wheels and frames, and also to handle the weight of exceptionally tall riders. The MonsterEnduro uses a T47 bottom bracket, a size typically seen on fat bikes, yielding a 186mm Q-factor. Q-factor measures the distance between the outside edges of a bike’s crank arms, and for most mountain bikes, the Q-factor sits at around 170mm. Though 186mm is wider than what’s found on a standard mountain bike, it’s on the narrow side for a fat bike. And for very tall riders with long legs and wide hips, the wide Q-factor could provide a better fit than a standard 170mm width.
The rear axle spacing on the MonsterEnduro is said to be 197mm, a standard that’s currently utilized by fat bikes. With larger diameter wheels, wider hub spacing is necessary to improve strength. Standard mountain bikes utilize either 148mm (Boost) or 157mm (Super Boost) rear axle spacing.
How do you even spec the components for a 32″ enduro bike?
As an early adopter of 32″ and 36″ wheels, DirtySixer continues to experiment and push for expanded component choices.
“We are working with existing brands to bring adapted [tire] inserts to this diameter (but also the 36″ ones) that we will use during the Megavalanche [downhill race] among other test tracks,” DirtySixer founder David Folch wrote in an email.
The MonsterEnduro will be specced with 32×2.4″ Maxxis Dissector tires. According to Maxxis, the Dissector is a trail/enduro tire designed for riding “dry, hard, rocky terrain.”
Finding a long-travel fork that fits 32″ wheels is a challenge. Folch says DirtySixer is using a modified dual-crown Manitou Dorado with a custom crown for the MonsterEnduro. A stock Dorado fork delivers at least 180mm of suspension travel, so it’s likely the fork’s travel is being restricted to ensure proper tire clearance.
DirtySixer is also developing their own wheelsets for use on the MonsterEnduro and other bikes the brand offers.
The MSRP for the DirtySixer MonsterEnduro is $8,999 plus shipping. Pre-order customers who make a 100% deposit can get a 30% discount with delivery expected by late summer of this year. However, buyers may want to wait until the final geometry numbers are available before committing to buying a specific size.
Singletracks has reached out to DirtySixer for a link to the pre-order form and will update this post once it’s available.
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