Review: The Quarry Rage Bait 32

By MTBSA contributor

Here we go. Despite a quiet few years on the wheel size front, the conversation is back in action, with a flood of 32"-wheeled machines cropping up in the year or so since Maxxis first opened a mold for the 32" Aspen. Some companies are choosing to sit back and watch while others duke it out on the front lines, while smaller players are using size to their advantage and testing things out on the pointy end of development.

Amongst those experimental early adopters is Quarry Cycling Co., an engineer-led outfit dedicated to the hardtail, and keen to explore new facets of the sport. Jim Day, the co-founder of Quarry, spent time as an engineer at Hayes before embarking on this current project, and brings that component engineering background to some of the details you'll see here.

Rage Bait Details

• 0mm frame travel, 140mm fork

• 32" wheels

• Steel frame

• 65° head angle

• 75.5° seat angle

• 450-525mm reach, 716-724mm stack

• 459mm rear centre

• Price: $2,450 USD (frame)

• Weight: 32.1 lb (14.6 kg) / 14.6 kg

• quarrycycling.com

MTBSA's Take

| It's hard to pin down opinions on the first of anything, and the Rage Bait is no exception. It's undeniably fast, and the rollover is certainly impressive, but there's an element of fun that feels lacking when compared to its smaller-wheeled counterparts.— MTBSA contributor

Frame Details

Between the gigantic wheels, the Rage Bait is a good ol' steel hardtail. Straight tubes, plenty of mounting points, and external routing are all par for the course, but Quarry did integrate some nicer details throughout the frame.

Given his engineering background, Jim went through a full FEA analysis on the frame, optimizing various joints to be as strong as need be without adding much extra weight, bulk, or discomfort. The yokes and dropouts have some fancy shaping to "offer 3x more vertical compliance than traditional steel hardtails." At the end of the day, it's still a hardtail, but it might not rattle your teeth out as readily as other options.

The Rage Bait is optimised for 140mm forks, but you can run anything from 120-140mm without issue. Given the early days nature of 32" parts, I'd still go through the process of airing your fork down and checking clearance, just to make sure. Quarry also sells a travel reducer for the Fox Podium, so you can achieve the same 140mm spring travel as the fork I rode here.

Rear tyre clearance is quoted at 2.4", and there's enough room to manage some of the larger tyres that are cropping up for the larger diameter. The Rage Bait uses 12x148mm Boost hub spacing, not opting for any of the potential alternatives like Super Boost or some newfangled Super Duper Uber Boost that might crop up for the big wheels.

Otherwise, the frame has a straight 44mm headtube, a 31.6mm seatpost, and a threaded 73mm bottom bracket. The rear dropout uses the SRAM UDH standard, for use with Transmission drivetrains or easy-access hangers.

Geometry

The Rage Bait's sizing chart is certainly thorough, with 16 options to choose from and reaches ranging from 450 to 525mm. Fit obviously skews large, with stack heights hitting unprecedented heights thanks to the larger front wheel and massive bottom bracket drop.

As it was the first production frame available, I've been riding the 475mm bike - that's a little smaller than my typical sizing preference, but the stack height and overall footprint of the bike feel so drastically different that I could see my preferences shifting smaller for 32" platforms.

The 65° head angle and 75.5° seat angle are extra normal, and fall in line with plenty of hardtails out there. The head angle may seem on the steep side for gravity-focused riding, but as I'll get into in the ride impressions, it has a surprisingly stable feel when trails turn vertical.

The standout geo figures are the bottom bracket drop, and resultant stack height. With 93mm of drop below the axles, you truly are standing in the bike, with more of a stand up jetski feel than anything else I've ridden.

Rear centre lengths are consistent across the full lineup, and are on the long side to clear the massive rear wheel. If you find yourself wanting a longer rear centre to balance with the biggest sizes in the range, it's possible that a semi-custom geo could be achieved to suit. That goes for most figures on the chart, as Jim can adjust things "at little to no cost."

Test Bike Setup

Though build kits are one the way, the Rage Bait is currently only available as a frame. Mine came with a full build, as I don't have a ton of 32" parts lying around quite yet. The Podium fork was already stepped down to the special 140mm length, with a spacer you can purchase directly from Quarry. The carbon fibre-spoked wheelset came from Verum Velo, with the speedy Aspens sporting a stretched-out 29" Vittoria insert to help support the sidewall and prevent any rim damage.

The only part I swapped out for the duration of the test was the PNW handlebar - I prefer the feel of bars with less backsweep, so a Pembree 40mm rise bar was called up for duty on this big-wheeled steed.

MTBSA contributor

Location: Bellingham, WA, USA

Height: 6'3" / 191cm

Inseam: 34" / 86cm

Weight: 185 lbs (83.9 kg) / 84 kg

Industry affiliations / sponsors: None

Instagram: @danger_dario

Testing Info

I didn't really know what the Rage Bait was for when it first showed up, so my rides ranged all over the map to get a feel for where the bike made the most sense. Everything from squiggly XC to steep loamers were on the menu, with most of my rides falling into the typical trail category, with an equal focus on the climbs and descents to push the big wheels and see where they worked best.

Climbing

The Rage Bait is a surprisingly fast climber. Momentum, rollover, and a fast tyre are all your friends here, adding up to a hilariously quick feel when you're consistently pushing the pedals. The spin-up speed feels in line with a 29er rolling on heavier tyres, and never struck me as a major deficit for the trail riding I was doing - that's probably more relevant to anyone racing XC, but that's not what the Rage Bait is about.

Particularly when spinning up rough roads and fast singletrack, the Rage Bait's big wheels do seem to have a leg up on the smaller wheels we're used to. The tyres have a much larger contact patch, which helps with traction, putting more rubber on the ground and over tricky obstacles. There's likely a rolling resistance cost to that extra contact, but the diameter difference is the more noticeable change by a wide margin, so I can't say the resistance had as much perceived effect.

For truly technical climbing, I think there's a use case for the larger wheels, though it will probably come down to personal preference as much as anything else. The bike feels a bit more gangly, so hopping and finessing your way up is a bit trickier, but the upsides of traction and rollover do offset that a bit. Dominate the terrain, humiliate the landscape, whatever term speaks to you the feeling is definitely one of moving over the trail, rather than threading through it.

As you might expect given the very high stack height, the Rage Bait's seated fit is very upright. You have a tall stance over the bars, so expect to use some flexibility or novel cockpit setups to get lower over the bike if that's your preference. I was quite happy with the feel of things, but that taller stack fit does tend to be my preference.

Descending

Most bikes are fun, but some require a certain level of speed to feel like you're really doing anything. For better or worse, the Rage Bait falls into that category. No matter how fast you're going, the big wheels and lack of rear suspension lock you into the bike, with less room for body English than I'm used to. I did find ways to ride around this, but it took a bit more commitment than I like to ride with on a daily basis.

In the moments when you do lock in and let the bike dictate direction and speed, it is impressively quick and capable. I can imagine a lot of people enjoying the ride on flatter tracks without features, where rolling speed and grip are the ultimate value adds. For more diverse and challenging riding, it was a bit of a tradeoff, with moments of excellence interspersed with those of terror. That tradeoff comes down to how much you can move yourself around on the bike, mostly dictated by the rear wheel's proximity to your delicate undercarriage. Perhaps this is what shorter people have been experiencing with 29ers for years, but the 32fer does take things to new heights.

There is one positive that absolutely cannot be ignored here, and that's grip. The massive contact patch available thanks to the larger diameter wheels is immediately noticeable, even with the semi-slick Aspen tyres front and rear. Especially while cornering, there's far less drift than I'm used to, allowing for some surprisingly hard turns on tricky terrain. Obviously, they're still slick tyres that don't dig in when the soil gets deep, but the meatier tread options that are quickly hitting the market should solve for that.

Though I might not be totally convinced of the elusive fun-factor benefits for the 32" platform, I am fully aware that this is currently a sample size of one. As the first 32fer I've ridden, I think the Rage Bait is an impressively solved platform, with a balanced feel and geometry that takes advantage of the inherent benefits of the bigger hoops. It may sound silly, but it's important to remember that this is a hardtail first, and a novel wheel size second. Don't approach the bike expecting a category-shifting experience - just think of it as a different flavour of the typical hardtail ride.

For people more focused on carrying speed and covering ground, this could be a great fit. For folks that want to play on trail, cut tight lines, and hit some features, I'd stick to the three smaller wheel size options we've grown used to. All that said, this is only my first go at the big boys, so there's a decent chance that my mind gets changed sometime soon.

How Does It Compare?

There's not much to compare here yet, only because we're still on the front of whatever wave may be coming our way. I was excited to give the Rage Bait a go, and am still looking forward to whatever 32" full-suspension arrives first, but at this point all I have to compare it against are 29" hardtails.

The biggest differentiators are grip and ability to move around on the bike. A 29" hardtail allows for more body English and weight shifting, with body travel helping you on the bigger hits. The 32" chassis locks you into one position a bit more firmly, with smaller shifts available to help offset the hits. Grip is notably more available on the Rage Bait, but you'll have to commit a bit harder if you really want to lay it over in turns. As it stands, I think those looking for a dynamic riding experience will still prefer the 29er, but those seeking out speed up and down the hill could be convinced by the benefits brought on by the larger wheel option. As you'd probably guess, the bigger wheels also take the edge off smaller bumps along the way, leading to a slightly smoother experience, despite the still-rigid rear end.

Technical Report

Maxxis Aspen 32" Tyres: These things are crazy. A tyre this bald shouldn't offer as much grip as these do, but it turns out that putting more rubber on the ground does in fact help on that front. I experimented with tyre pressure a fair bit here, and ended up liking the Aspens at 21-22psi front and 22-23psi rear. Jim managed to stretch some 29" Vittoria tyre inserts onto the rims, helping with sidewall stability and giving the light carcass a bit more protection from potential doom. Given how much grip I found with these minimal treads, I can begin to imagine what more aggressive 32" tyres could offer.

Verum Velo Wheels: The fibre-spoked Verum wheels have a stark look to them, and add to the already flexy feel of the light-casing Aspen tyres. In a way, I prefer to have the wheel system feel similar as a whole, so this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does take some getting used to. The wheels can wind up a fair bit in corners, but after a few laps it becomes a predictable experience. I'm not convinced that there's a perceivable amount of vertical flex felt here, but you do notice a reduction in chatter as you throw the bike into chunkier bits of trail. I experienced no issues with the wheels, despite pushing them fairly hard throughout the review period.

140mm Fox Podium: I don't have too many notes on this front, I'm mostly just impressed at the clever little hack Quarry designed to shorten the air spring. I definitely wasn't pushing this Podium as hard as the Podiums I've ridden on my Frameworks or bikes like the Shuttle LT, so it felt like a nice safety blanket that kept the front end of the bike planted and comfortable through the rough. If anything, it can get you into trouble, as you plow through things with the front of the bike, only to have the rear wheel remind you that you're still on a hardtail.

Pros

+ Surprisingly fast up and down the hill

+ Smooth rolling comfort

+ Impressive tyre grip

Cons

- Hard to ride dynamically

- Wheel/tyre system flex

- Application feels niche

Action photos: Eric Mickelson

For South African readers

Overseas prices in this report are not confirmed South African retail prices. Check local availability, warranty support and the complete rand price with your retailer. No MTBSA test score has been assigned.