Mullet / next season build recommendations?

Bicycling
#1

Been mulling over a change in setup for the coming season.

My bike came equipped with 27.5+ wheels, 2.8" tires. The frame will support 29ers up to 2.35", so I’ve been considering going with a reverse mullet setup as a relatively inexpensive way to get into 29" riding.

Just wondering if anyone has experience riding a setup like this on local trails (McIntosh, Whopper, Railyard, Empire are by far my most ridden trails) and if so, is this a viable setup?

I’d probably leave the rear tire as-is for now, and scale down to match the width of the front at some point if that even matters.

I figure a Stan’s front wheel and a good grippy tire should be a decent upgrade compared to the house wheels and Kenda rubber that came stock.

#2

I ran a mullet setup (29x2.5 front, 27.5x2.5 rear) for a couple of weeks in McIntosh Run and loved it! Felt like a tank specially going downhill. Nimble on the turns. It did feel heavy on the ascends but I’m attributing it to the DH casing rear tire with tube.

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#3

I haves tried it on my sensor, the geo felt completely out of whack, which makes sense because it’s a 29/29 bike. I also tried my buddy’s bike which was 27.5+ and I used my 29er front wheel. Bike felt “Ok”. I would recommend if you can afford to lower your forks travel, do it, reducing your axle to crown will help compensate for the increase in BB hight and Shortening of the reach. Ideally test it out first on your bike and see how it feels.
I really noticed the imbalance between tire width and weight from the 27.5x2.8 and 29x2.4 front tire. I didn’t like the feeling but I am also particular about my setup.
Hope this was somewhat helpful. :+1:

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#4

Hadn’t even considered the shortened reach. That aspect of my bike feels pretty dialed right now so the idea of changing that is less than ideal.

I was also worried about the imbalance of the tire widths, getting the front through a rut or notch that might catch or kick out on the rear would be frustrating.

Appreciate the insight! Very helpful. Will def. be looking to try this out before committing to it.

#5

I’ve heard that the improvement in downhill / nimble / rowdiness of the bike was changed for the better in these situations. As mentioned in the other reply, a little worried about changing the geo in a way that might precipitate a need for futher upgrades.

Seems to a preferred setup of a good number of DH riders, but I definitely ride more trail / XC, with the occasional downhill / park.

#6

Keeping the bike balanced is key. It’s a hard sensation to describe as it can be personal to each rider and bike. if you are able to run a 27.5 rear tire that matches or is similar to the front tire width then I think this setup is possible. How wide are your rims?

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#7

Rims are 36mm, so I think I could get away with matching the witdth on the rear tire. Wouldn’t be the ideal tire fit, but would probably work.

Switching out both wheels is an option but at that point I’d probably just go 29 on both and keep the plus tires for winter riding.

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#8

Agree with both points.

If you can afford it, swapping out for 29/29 is the safest route. Plus, will be fun to experiment back to back with plus vs 29 options.

Cheers.

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#9

Actually I ran 27.5+ with a 29er the end of the season last year and I really enjoyed the way it felt. Bearing in mind, I didn’t do a bunch of km’s of single track, but it felt great and as natural as riding with both 29 wheels. There was the obvious feel difference, but it rolled beautifully and ate up the bumps as normal.
Next year i’ll be building up a set of i9’s (or just the rear) so I can roll on the reverse mullet set up as I only have 29’s at the moment.

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#10

Full moto style. Did you notice the level of grip front/ rear felt much different? That would be my concern, that the bike would want to understeer more vs drifting the back end. Would climb like a beast I’m sure.

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#11

It felt as natural as on both 29 wheels. Really not as drastic as one might think. I can’t wait to do it again tbh haha

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#12

I actually have a set of 29 wheels for sale if you are interested? DT Swiss

#13

It’ll be a few months before I’m looking to get on some new wheels, appreciate it though. I’ll shoot you a message when the time comes just in case you still have 'em at that time.

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Mullet set up
#14

Was there any strava pms set or KOM on the Mullet Cause that would be bad ass and a great pick up line once bars open up again.
Hey there, my bike is a mullet set up eh.” Got a few PR’s on flat lake descent and climb of champions. It’s totally a rad set up.

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