Forget 32. Enduro pro Zakarias Johansen says 30.5″ wheel is “very impressive”

Last weekend buzzed with Red Bull Hardline BC and the last enduro racing of 2026 and, maybe, the final enduro race on the World Cup circuit. The Enduro World Championships were held in Finale Ligure, with one very interesting bike in the mix: one wheel larger than the rest — but not too big.

Cube teases a 30.5” front wheel on its enduro race bike

In an Instagram post, the Cube Action Team shows a picture of Zakarias Johansen and his custom Cube Fritzz, teasing in the caption:

“Spot the difference in the wheels? 👀 There’s something special about this bike… Can you figure out what it is? 😉”

At first glance, no. But a closer look might make you wonder whether the front wheel is just a touch larger than the back. Is it the camera angle? Are my eyes playing tricks on me?

The Fritzz is Cube’s big bruiser enduro bike, which can be set up as a mixed-wheeled bike (29/27.5 front and rear) or a full 29er. Johansen’s Fritzz is just a little different, however. While the rider opted for the larger 29” rear wheel, Cube later confirmed that Johansen was indeed racing on a 30.5” front wheel.

“So we just finished World Champs here. First race on the 30.5 wheel. Very impressive; I think it definitely helped me out a lot today. Those two long stages were super rough on the hands, and I could definitely feel the benefit of the bigger wheel. Yeah, so, history made here today.”

And the 30.5” wheel did pretty well. All said, the race covered over 60km across six stages, with top finishers racing for a rough total of 36 minutes. Johansen finished 17th on the day, a little less than 1:30 behind the 2026 EDR World Champ, Ryan Gilchrist.

Will 30.5” wheels actually be a thing?

As far as we can tell, Cube is the only brand currently experimenting with the idea — bike brand, that is. Pictures of the bike show that Schwalbe is also involved, as it is their tire wrapped around the larger 30.5” wheel.

We reached out to Schwalbe about the 30.5” tire, but a brand representative said that it was “too early at this stage to share further details.” So, is it a one-off? A fluke? A marketing ploy?

Schwalbe went on to tell us that they “only bring products to our partners that we fully believe in ourselves. We are currently building our first samples and will then conduct extensive testing – with no predetermined outcome.”

Perhaps it’s a bit more than a marketing ploy, then. This isn’t the first “big wheel” we’ve seen on the World Cup stage — but those were the even bigger 32” offerings. At the downhill World Championships in Val di Sole, Orbea racer Martin Maes raced a 32/27.5 mixed-wheeled bike, notably also with Schwalbe tires. On the XC circuit, 32” wheels were first introduced in Lenzerheide, with a third-place finish.

Are there other 30.5” bikes?

While the introduction of 32” wheels caught many of us off guard, the size isn’t as unusual as you think. With 32” anything still incredibly hard to find, many two-wheeled engineers and designers first experimented with 32” unicycle tires and wheels.

But not so with 30.5” wheels, with any bike designed around the niche wheel size being very unique.

However, I was able to find a bike that might scratch your 30.5 itch. The company is FSD Bicycle (FuShengDa Sports & Leisure Equipment Co., Ltd.) from Tianjin, China. The Sorun is a 30.5” aluminum hardtail with a 30.5 DGB-branded “air suspension” fork, “alloy wide” wheels, and “Compass Jumping Hare” 30.5 x 2.25 tires.

The Sorun features components from brands we’re more familiar with, like Shimano (drivetrain and brakes) and Selle Royal (saddle).

But be ready to order a bunch of Soruns. While the price is right to try a 30.5” bike (the website says $330-$400), there is a minimum order quantity: 300 bikes.

So, maybe round up some interested friends and get a “Bikes for sale” listing ready for your local classifieds.

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