[Closed] Do I want a Mullet?

Isn’t the only difference they fit a slackset to it? I read their stuff and couldn’t work out if that was it or if there wa as linkage change on the rear suspension or not.

29er isn’t out of date - that’s where most stuff is moving to. I think mullet has a place but it’s certainly not about to replace all the 29ers.

So no panic.

It's a trail bike, so mullet won't have as big a difference if it was a DH or enduro rig, it'll come down to your riding style and preference, if you love doing tricks, or proper steep and jumpy stuff then mullet has benefits, but again, if you're like most of us, your riding style would just accommodate a 29er or mullet the same, you'd tweak the bike to get it feeling the way you want and learn it all on whatever bike.

Personally, next enduro bike i get will be mullet, but trail is 29 for me as i aim that style of bike at the lower end stuff, so XC and just pootling about, with the added bonus of being able to do fun stuff on it as well.

how tall are you OP? i personally see mullet as a great option for those who are a little shorter. otherwise #29untilIdie/32inchcomesin

I now have a sort of unpleasant feeling that the bike I’ve ordered is already out of date and I haven’t even got it yet.

That's the MTB hype machine in action and working perfectly.

I think mullets are on borrowed time. They only exist because a handful of the world's fastest DH riders are about 5'8".

Well none of us have tried that bike as a mullet, but unless you're all about slashing turns on off-piste trails then I reckon you'd probably be best sticking with the 29er as a more versatile all-rounder.

Are Cotic doing demos again now though? Maybe you could get on one and try it?

Given that a chunk of your riding is XC, I would probably stay with 29. I loved the FM in full 29. I've ridden my Solaris Max as a mullet (out of necessity as I totalled a rear wheel) - didn't notice too much difference (and that was without anglesets).

Downtime Podcast have recently done a podcast comparing 27.5, Mullet and 29er version of the new Canyon back to back over 3 riders of different skill level.  It's worth a listen.

Buy a new 27.5 rear wheel, tyre and a Works 1 degree headset. Instant Mullet.

Try it, if you don’t like it then just put the old wheel and headset back in and sell them.

The mullets I’ve tried are fun and I’d certainly consider getting one when it’s upgrade time.

My personnel experiences are it doesn't make a huge amount of difference.
I've got two bikes that are pretty similar. Geometron G13 and G1.
The G13 has a slackset in it so the geo is pretty similar on both bikes.
G13 is 29 front and rear G1 is mullet.
Apart from the G1 having a fair chunk more travel the actual handling of the two isn't that different.
The two point that I can pick up on are the G1 seems to turn the rear end of the bike in a little quicker on steep tight turns. The other being despite having more travel sometimes it feels like the rear is hanging up a little more on square edged hits.

At some point I'll set the G1 up with a 29er in the rear too to see what it feels like but suspect I already know the answer to this.

If I were you i'd not get too hung up about it as it won't change how much you enjoy the bike anyway.

I now have a sort of unpleasant feeling that the bike I’ve ordered is already out of date and I haven’t even got it yet.

Not at all. It's a 29er that can be adapted to run a mullet set up. You can do that any time you want... headset and rear wheel/tyre is all you need. As for out of date... no one has one of these new Taiwan FlareMAX yet... it's only a few UK build ones that people have actually got a ride on so far. Mullets aren't replacing 29ers, it's just another (less popular) option (although it's all I've been riding exclusively for the last few years as it happens). Well, apart from ebikes... I can see mullet becoming the default there eventually.

I think mullets are on borrowed time.

I think they are just going to be an option that sticks around. One of the best things about mullets is that you're generally not committing yourself to something that can't be easily swapped back, be it the use of an angle set or slightly different linkage for the suspension. I'm even in the rare situation where mulleting a 650b could work out, and the worst case scenario would be getting rid of a front wheel* and fork if it didn't work out

*not even that bad in my own particular case as I've got a 29er wheel to use

Dissapointed that this wasn't a rugby thread.

I think they are just going to be an option that sticks around.

Yeah, unlike plus tyres or full 650b, I reckon they'll be with us for many years - with more brands designing in flip chips or spare linkages to allow riders to easily switch from full 29 to mullet.

Easier than changing the headset, ideally.

“ I think mullets are on borrowed time.”

I think it’s more likely that high-end 27.5 forks are on borrowed time.

I came here hoping for photos of Adam Zampa... 😋

I think it’s more likely that high-end 27.5 forks are on borrowed time.

God really?

I'm 175 cm. Which is helpfully in the middle of everything!
I'm tending towards sticking with the 29 version. Partly because I've been waiting 5 years for standards to settle down!

God really?

No. Mid range 27.5 forks will go before high-end, if this happens at all. High end forks have the after sales market to keep them going, mid-range is all about OEM. If the big brands stop making 27.5 front wheel bikes, then there won't be the scale for updated good affordable mid-range forks to make sense... it'll be the cheapest low end old tech forks and the high-end updated forks that stay in production longer.