Almost did this like 5 times. Geo def ends up looking sweet with the mullet. Had a balance that i mulleted but was a bit tall.
Mullet Madness
- Thread starter Andeh
- Start date
Parking lot test today felt good. Yeah I almost bought a balance to mullet. Got the Lithium instead due to the Balance would be to tall and STA too slack. And to see if long travel 29ers would work with my short legs. I did just fine on the Riot. The Lithium has me alway worried about where the rear wheel is. And turning it is a little slow. I'm a little worried about the low BB but we'll see how it works out.
M97 / mixed / 150 mm / carbon / gearbox | INSTINCTIV
High-end gearbox mountain bike. Feel the unparalleled grip, the fast 29″ front wheel with the agility of a 27.5″ machine.
www.instinctiv.bike
These have been in my radar since they popped up with a different brand name. If I wasn't so god damn broke I'll bite the bullet and buy one. They tick a lot of boxes for me.View attachment 180451M97 / mixed / 150 mm / carbon / gearbox | INSTINCTIV
High-end gearbox mountain bike. Feel the unparalleled grip, the fast 29″ front wheel with the agility of a 27.5″ machine.
I wish the seat tube on the medium was 20mm shorter. I've really gotten to love the 170mm dropper in my gg. It also sucks that to get a proper shifter for the gearbox costs 500 euro.View attachment 180451M97 / mixed / 150 mm / carbon / gearbox | INSTINCTIV
High-end gearbox mountain bike. Feel the unparalleled grip, the fast 29″ front wheel with the agility of a 27.5″ machine.
Does anyone have experience with Cascade Comp DHX2 Mullet Eyelet? Kinda seems too good to be true.
cascadecomponents.bike
DHX2 MX Eyelet | US | Cascade Components
*These are all going to be black only when they start shipping* This new shock eyelet increases the eye-to-eye length of your DHX2 to correct geometry of 29" frames when installing a 27.5" rear wheel. Increasing the eye-to-eye length raises the BB. This is what most other mixed wheel set up...
cascadecomponents.bike
^how smart is that doodad? cheap, too (as someone that spent lots more for a wrp clevis).
You better understand what a longer i2i shock does in your frame before getting this.Does anyone have experience with Cascade Comp DHX2 Mullet Eyelet? Kinda seems too good to be true.
DHX2 MX Eyelet | US | Cascade Components
*These are all going to be black only when they start shipping* This new shock eyelet increases the eye-to-eye length of your DHX2 to correct geometry of 29" frames when installing a 27.5" rear wheel. Increasing the eye-to-eye length raises the BB. This is what most other mixed wheel set up...
Check for clearance too.
Wish it would work on my shock! Any get reverced offset bushings to work?
I'm just coming to the point where I can afford my first brand new bike and am sort of stuck on what to get in regards to wheel size. My gut says 27.5 but so many people here seem to like mx and 29"ers.
Do the people here really like their MX and 29"ers that much or are people buying because that's what the markets are selling?
Do the people here really like their MX and 29"ers that much or are people buying because that's what the markets are selling?
Last edited:
My two cents: I'm a 6ft small wheel diehard as yourself. I have played with a couple new geometry 29ers, and while their owners swear by them and categorize them as "fun", I've found them to feel clumsy unless they're pointing down at mach chicken.
I'm not anything that fast anymore (or was I ever?) so I tend to gravitate towards more playful bikes. After cracking my Orbea Rallon R4 and demoing a 29er R5 I found myself a bit out of place, since it felt like a burden to move around. The Commençal Meta 29 is stable as a transatlantic, but on my local twisty trails left me exhausted as if I was hauling a piano up stairs.
I'm still broke AF so I'm not in the market for a new bike, but if I had the money I think it would go towards a mullet Santa Cruz Nomad or a GG Megatrail.
I'm not anything that fast anymore (or was I ever?) so I tend to gravitate towards more playful bikes. After cracking my Orbea Rallon R4 and demoing a 29er R5 I found myself a bit out of place, since it felt like a burden to move around. The Commençal Meta 29 is stable as a transatlantic, but on my local twisty trails left me exhausted as if I was hauling a piano up stairs.
I'm still broke AF so I'm not in the market for a new bike, but if I had the money I think it would go towards a mullet Santa Cruz Nomad or a GG Megatrail.
If I had the choice of two bikes with the perfect geometry - one a 29r and the other 27.5, I'd take the 27.5. The problem is the list of choices for full 27.5 is getting pretty limited.
Depending on whether you're buying complete or building up a frame theres a few still kicking about, depending on the travel you want as well.
Nukeproof offers the Reactor, Mega and Giga as full 27.5 (frame only now on Mega and Giga)
Commencal does the Clash
Propaine Tyee 27.5
Canyon does the Torque and Spectral as 27.5
Norco Shore
Kona Process 153
They'll probably all slowly disappear or migrate to mullet I guess, but for now they're still kicking so long as people buy them.
*edit*
Pivot Mach 6
Banshee Rune
Ibis HD5
Pivot Shadowcat
Last edited:
If your PNW I'd say let's hook up and you can try my Mullet Honeymaker. It jumps like a DJ and shreds singletrack like a trail bike. Never had a bike like it. My buddy went for a ride with me and by the end he was sold. He had a frame in hand a week later. We've been riding together for 15 years and he puts the miles behind him. He has about 100 miles on it now and says the only problem is he's not sure when he'll ride his GG Smash again.
Mullet is in Boise and there's bikes to demo there. There's a shop in California somewhere that is a Mullet dealer and has bikes for demo.
It's cool how jumpy and hoppy it is yet stable and composed. The bike feels safer which really just means its way faster.
*Banshee makes the Spitfire which has an option for 26" or 27 5" dropouts.
Mullet is in Boise and there's bikes to demo there. There's a shop in California somewhere that is a Mullet dealer and has bikes for demo.
It's cool how jumpy and hoppy it is yet stable and composed. The bike feels safer which really just means its way faster.
*Banshee makes the Spitfire which has an option for 26" or 27 5" dropouts.
Last edited:
There are a few (I have the Shore), however there's not nearly as many options as there used to be. If you're a bike nerd and had a long list of must-haves there's a good chance what you want isn't out there.
Fairly sure NP's full 27.5s are only available in the smaller sizes. Fair enough really.
But thats also what makes the demise of 26 even more retarded. You see sub 5ft ladies on mullets... They more often than not look like they're being taken on a ride by the bike as opposed to the other way round. Same with plenty 5ft6 guys on L reach frames TBF.
The idea that modern geo gives riders more choice is pure fallacy
Last edited:
Its listed as discontinued now. I'd bet real money a mullet HD6 is coming.
In the UK unfortunately, shame as well looks like an interesting bike.
Think I'll build some kind of trail bike and a dh bike. Listening to the people here I think the ones on my list are:
Transition scout
Banshee spitfire
Airdrop filter
5010 just so long as it doesn't go mullet when it's updated
Any others I should consider? Does anyone have strong feelings about any of the above?
I'm really confused at why mullets have taken off so much. They don't seem to be that much better than a modern 27.5". I understand 29"ers for full plow bikes but why the compromise, may as well go one way of the other.
*Edit
What also gets me is everyone compares 29"er to mullets but not mullets to full 27.5" and I don't think the latter comparison is anywhere near as favourable.
Last edited:
For me it still comes down to whether you like how a 29 front wheel steers and turns in. I don't. And for that reason alone I still to this day prefer full 26 over even a 27.5. Mullet doesn't change that.
What part of the UK you in and whereabouts are your preferred regular mtb riding spots/areas?
What part of the UK you in and whereabouts are your preferred regular mtb riding spots/areas?
Last edited:
Having ridden a buddy's long travel 27.5 (SB165) compared to my Megatrail MX (which has 10mm less rear travel & 20mm less front travel but similar geometry), the 27.5 front felt like it got kicked around constantly in chunk and bomb holes. Since there's no issues with butt clearance on the front wheel, the only trade-off I feel that a 29 front is weight. And you're only talking about maybe 100g there total between rim and tire, tops.
The only applications I think that full 27.5 is probably better suited are teenagers / adults <5'4" and is doing tricks in the air, and the number of people who need that are a tiny percentage of the biking population.
The new Pivot Shadowcat looks like a blast for meollwer trails or if you like a playful bike...
Ah.. I get why you want a nimble bike. and with the short climb there a playful bike makes even more sense.
I'd have a trip over to Dyfi and have a word with the boys.
I've got both a dual 29er trailbike (transition smuggler) and a dual 27.5" Enduro bike (NP Mega). The 29er front wheel definitely has a few benefits for blindly sending off things and landing in chunk or bombholes. They also tend to feel calmer at speed, as if they "slow down" the trail even at the same pace or faster. If you're silly enough to think racing is a good way to waste a bunch of money and time, and get upset if you don't go home with any new silverware, it can be very tempting to go the 29er option just for race days. I'd say they're a tiny bit safer when you're super tired too, just less likely to wash out or get hooked up on edges when you're fatigued and basically a passenger on the bike.
The mullet thing only really comes into it for short legged people who like to ride over the back of the bike I think. Just for clearance. I don't think a mullet is actually faster than dual 29 if you can fit on one fine.
If you're not racing and just doing it for fun just grab whatever. The Transition Scout is a pretty awesome little bike. I had one of the OG ones (nothing like the new one) and loved it, a brief spin on the new one makes me want another. The dual 27.5 bikes are still way nicer through tight, quick alternating turns and for rut bashing fun.
Could you imagine how much nicer a bike with a further 1.5" reduction in wheel diameter might feel through those?
We can but dream, eh?
Last edited:
I just got a new 26" bike AND it has a 20mm thru axle and its coil sprung. Ridemonkey will be happy.
Except for the "really comes into it for short legged people" I'm with you. I'm tall and lanky and can fit on a 29er just fine, but since I'm not racing at all, IDGAF about times. I just like the 29ers ability to handle off camber chunder, launching blind into holes, and general grip. And I like a 27.5's ability to actually be fun, slide the back end around, reposition and fine tune, move it around in the air, and generally let me ride a little looser on the bike. Seems like the mullets I've bounced around on fit that bill decently, although it still seems like there's some geo tweaking to be worked out.