Boulder, Colorado-based Mosaic Cycles has launched the GT i55 32, a 32-inch wheel gravel bike.
The GT i55 32 is handmade in titanium and Mosaic says it’s designed to take advantage of a larger wheel. “It’s the first 32er gravel bike you actually want to ride - it’s fast, nimble, and fun,” Mosaic says.
It suggests that many 32in bikes just adapt an existing frame for the larger wheels. In contrast, it says it’s designed the new bike from scratch around the larger wheel size to deliver higher performance.
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Designed around 32in wheels
Mosaic cites the advantages of 32in wheels for gravel as their better roll-over on rough ground, due to a lower angle of attack when encountering obstacles, and greater momentum and stability.
But it suggests that potential disadvantages include a higher stack, longer wheelbase, possibly increased toe overlap and longer chainstays. It claims that these factors can result in a cumbersome ride feel, rather than fast.
Mosaic says that its solution is to tuck the wheels under the rider as tightly as possible.
There’s a purpose-designed gravel fork from Zero Components, a new component company from Mosaic’s founder Aaron Barcheck.
The fork has a 60mm offset and space for 55mm/2.2in gravel tyres that Mosaic says minimises front-end height and avoids excessive toe overlap. It says that its design allows the GT i55 32 to provide a fit for shorter riders, not just tall ones.
It offers the same tyre clearance at the rear, which it has kept tight by using a curved seat tube that delivers chainstay lengths between 440mm and 445mm across frame sizes.
3D printing at the chainstay yoke allows Mosaic to offer tyre clearance and a standard gravel chainline with space for a 46-tooth chainring. That’s despite a move to Boost axles, 148x12mm at the rear, 110x15mm at the front.
Mosaic offers the bike in its custom programme, so the fit can be tailored to the rider, but will subsequently introduce a batch built option. Prices start at $5,000 with semi-integrated brake routing or $8,250 with full internal routing, both with custom geometry.
32in bikes “largely felt like experiments”
Mosaic claims that the first crop of 32in bikes “largely felt like experiments”. To some extent, that’s a view we’d concur with; 32in wheels were hot at the Bespoked show in April, with almost every exhibitor seeming to have a 32in bike or 32in mullet on its stand.
Russel Stout of Stout Cycles told BikeRadar that its hardtail MTB was “quickly bashed together” and that it was an opportunity to offer something “not on the high street”.
Several major brands have told us they’re experimenting with 32in wheels without committing.
Scott expressly labelled its 32in gravel bike a prototype that will never go into production when it unveiled it ahead of Unbound 2026, despite Robin Gemperle winning Unbound XL on the bike.
