You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
In general are mulleted bikes 29ers with a smaller rear wheel in, or are they 27.5 bikes with a bigger front fork/wheel? Or does it not really matter??
This is a new fad no doubt but as a 29er owner looking for a new frame on a budget, im thinking it might broaden the opportunities…? ie, if I could use my fork and front wheel on a 27.5 frame, then I only need a new rim for the back wheel… saves having to replace the fork which is fairly brand new.
Seems to be 29ers with a smaller wheel at the moment, but it really will matter depending on your starting point. e.g. I would really like to give it a go and think I'd be ok as my 650b bike has a low bb and a short head tube. Therefore I wouldn't end up with a sky high bb, and would be able to keep the front end in a sensible position.
We'll I've done it both ways, with two different bikes. BB height is key with either, you'll probably need a pretty chunky rear tyre if "reducing" a 29er… and need to remember to use ~ 40mm shorter travel forks if "enlarging" a 650b bike.
Didn't they used to called 69ers or 96ers?
That was with a 26" rear wheel.
and need to remember to use ~ 40mm shorter travel forks if “enlarging” a 650b bike.
Can you expand on this? I certainly wouldn't be looking to put a 120mm fork on my bike, I would more be thinking about not making the head angle silly.
Quick check with Sram shows that if I dropped 20mm travel i'd actually lose 1mm A-C length. So if I held the travel the same it'd be 20mm higher at the front (which I can lose with spacers) so 1 degree slacker iirc?
I have done it on 29er ... HT & FS
Meh!
Ride it as it was designed ....
I've done a fair bit of geeky measuring if it helps as considering popping a 27.5 on the rear of a 29er FS - obviously this is bike specific but on a typical average current geo FS popping a 27.5 on the rear in lieu of a 29er (with similar tyres) will drop the BB about 15mm and slacken angles about 1 deg.
Didn’t they used to called 69ers or 96ers?
69ers, but those were with 26ers and 29ers up front. 7.5ty9ers doesn't sound as good, and doesn't have the secksewal reference. Mullet is business at the front, party at the back, so sort of describes the point of a bigger wheel at the front, and sounds better. But is confusing because a mullet is short/small at the fronat and big/long at the back. pff.
I've currently got a sixty pluster, which I might be sixty7.5typlusting soonish.
Can you expand on this?
Swapping from a 650b to 29er fork…
Increased axle to crown length of approx 20mm (assuming same travel).
Swapping a 650b to a 29er wheel…
Increased axle to ground distance of approx 20mm (varies depending on tyres).
So… if changing both the fork and front wheel from 650b to 29er, you need to use a fork with approx 40mm less travel to keep the headtube in a similar place. You don't have to of course, but be sure to consider the strength of you frame, and the geom changes, if going longer.
There is a chance I forgot about wheel sizes being different for a moment there 😀
Well the reason i ask is i quite fancy an alloy bronson frame.
I saw this article about a Juliana Roubion franken-wheeler which is basically the same bike.
its all over pinkbike so i wouldnt imagine santa cruz (Juliana) have any issues with it?
she has maintained the travel too... i have a 150mm 29er lyrik.
https://www.pinkbike.com/news/staff-rides-sarah-moores-juliana-roubion-mullet-bike.html
I've no idea if the Santa Cruz frame is strong enough for that (it may be for her, but not for you), but the article itself talks about how the geometry (and handling) was changed by using a longer fork and bigger wheel. My approx 40mm travel reduction figure was just a guide for keeping the headtube in much the same place (and BB height, frame angles etc unaltered)… feel free to use that info to make your own decisions on changing the geom any way you see fit.
👍 (sorry 😁
Oh, and don't forget that the Santa Cruz has adjustable BB height, which helps with her set up.
Haven't Liteville been advocates of the mullet for several years? I remember riding a 301 in Garda with the larger front and (at the time) 26 rear. I read in their spec sheet that the front should be as large as possible and the rear as large as necessary....it then went on to talk about the push force of the front wheel and pull force (think pulling a wheelbarrow up a kerb) - I glazed over shortly after.
Seems Ebikes have made it a thing again.
I'm looking at whacking 27.5+ wheels in my Stache to see how it rides at some point. Several people say good things - more grip, roughly the same outside diameter as the 29er wheels I'm currently running. I'm going to borrow a wheelset first if I can. I'll probably trey a 27.5+ in the rear to see if it gives a bit more margin for error.
I've run 69ers in the past, almost exclusively with a rigid Singular fork, and one thing I noticed immediately was that the 29er front would roll / rampage over stuff that the rear 26" wheel hooked up on. That said, I was also overtaking people on FS bikes on a local trail on the 69ers, so something good was going on.
No opinion on the geometry change involved in an FS change, but thought I'd raise the issue of a smaller back wheel hooking up on stuff. It might have been entirely subjective, of course. YMMV.
But is confusing because a mullet is short/small at the front and big/long at the back. pff.
I came to post this too. Needs a better name in order to avoid confusion.
Yes, but you do need to do your sums to get them to work.
Have done a few 26” with 29 & 650 rear ( shortened rear shock, offset mounting hardware, and shorter fork, 62 ha at most extreme setup)
Current sonder transmitter will have 29er front but with 42mm offset forks.
& yes mullet isn’t the best name for them setting up with a bigger wheel at the back would be a right pain in the arse 😉
Cannondale dabbled with this a bit many years ago, using 24" rear 😱. How times change!
I’ve run 69ers in the past, almost exclusively with a rigid Singular fork, and one thing I noticed immediately was that the 29er front would roll / rampage over stuff that the rear 26″ wheel hooked up on
May I respectfully call hogwash? You can't really compare that as the wheels are on different ends of the bike, your weight placement would be different and dynamic and technique isn't the same to clear obstacles front then rear. Really, you'd have to try the different sized wheels on the same end and reproduce the exact same speed, approach and technique and weight placement etc.
It's really about wc racers trying different things for marginal gains. For you, me, him and her, on a lap of Cannock or somewhere, there is literally no point.
But still, fill your boots. 😉👍
It’s really about wc racers trying different things for marginal gains. For you, me, him and her, on a lap of Cannock or somewhere, there is literally no point.
You can say the same about any progression of bike design. If something works better, or feels better or feels like it's faster or better or nicer, you'll go faster and/or have more fun.
In the days of 69ers (before 27.5 existed) you took a suspension 26" frame, whacked a rigid fork and a 29" wheel on the front and there you were. Bikes tendd to come with high BBs then anyhow, and a problem with this was that even with the shortest fork you dared, the BB still went higher (depending on the travel the frame was built for, normally 100mm).
With one of these allegedly "29 or 27.5+" bikes (they are mainly hardtails I think) there is the same issue, as a 29" wheel will have a greater rolling diameter unless you are comparing a skinny 29 with a genuinely 3" 27.5+, leading to a high BB with 29" wheels.
The latest incarnation of my Tarn (allegedly either wheel size) has a 29 x 2.4 on the front and a 27.5 x 2.6 on the back, with a 140mm fork (frame designed for 120). This keeps the BB height OK and has slackened things off a bit. Haven't had a good blast on it yet though.
But anyhow, this general approach would seem to have potential for 27.5+ bikes if you want to experiment. Its all good fun.
This is a new fad no doubt
Not that new, did this at least two summers ago 29x3 front 27.5x2.8 rear
This is a new fad no doubt
back in 1982 every Raleigh burner BMX sold came fitted with a MASSIVE 2.1 front tyre and a more modest 1.9 rear.
so no. it's not a new thing in the slightest.
This is a new fad no doubt
back in 1982 every Raleigh burner BMX sold came fitted with a MASSIVE 2.1 front tyre and a more modest 1.9 rear.
so no. it’s not a new thing in the slightest.
But the same diameter rim
#factfail
Luckily, I've a 27.5er and a 29er in my shed which share an axle standard and chainline. Honestly, in 2019 what are the chances of that?
Dirt magazine ran a comparison with a 29er Enduro frame, a shock shuttle and a 27.5 rear wheel. Here:
I'm tempted to try it, I've a 27.5 shock linkage fitted too so in theory I'd have a super-slack Enduro with a stiffer wheel.
Wouldn't 79er do? Just forget the point 5.
Hmm I could try 29x3 front 26x4 back in my frame
Hmm I could try 29×3 front 26×4 back in my frame
[img] 
[/img]
I seem to remember the stooge was designed to have a slightly fatter front than rear like an old bmx.
I run my stooge with a 29+ front and b+ rear. Keeps the chainstays short, handles bumps really well and loads of front end grip. Great setup.
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/887/40409811204_15048a54a1_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/887/40409811204_15048a54a1_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/24ySR1Q ]Untitled[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/84161150@N02/ ]Sam Hodgson357[/url], on Flickr
No idea! I swapped the wheel over for the photo and took anther bike out!
hmm I could try 2.8 27.5 with a 2.5 29 front.
anyone with a 27.5+ / 29 capable bike tried a plus-niner nine-plus
tomhoward it looks like a dragster!
You are going to take some flak for that kitchen too judging by the usual lawn/garden comments...
Oh I know. I had it the first time I posted it, kitchen is now tidy just cba to retake the pic...
Knolly Warden - looked at all the numbers. Went round in circles and borrowed then bought a mates spare fork. Bike designed around 150mm or 160mm 27.5 fork and has adjustable geo. I previously ran 160 and alternated between slack/steep setting. Now run it slack and lower BB position, gone to a 150mm 29er fork with different offset, slammed stem. And also chatted to Knolly. It feels great and makes me feel more of a man. Happy I gave it a go. My main bike now.
You can't really tell in this pic, but been dabbling with B-plus rear and 29in front on the SolarisMax last month...
Interesting but very specific to off-piste trails with a bit of gradient to them, for me.
You can’t really tell in this pic, but been dabbling with B-plus rear and 29in front on the SolarisMax last month…
That looks almost identical to how mine did before it got new grips!
😉
Loving the chubby rear, direct front, on mine, still.
My Dartmoor Primal is a semi-mullet I think.
It’s a 27.5+/29 frame, and I bought some 160mm 29” Pikes for it, but run it with 27.5 wheels and 2.4 tyres. The extra height at the front makes it ride really well (although I’m sure it would ride nicely anyway) and I’m keen to get a 29” wheel on the front at some point to fully commit but funds don’t allow right now. I’ll totally embrace the mullet bike if it works though. That said i’ll Probably buy a pair of 29” wheels when I get the front so might just big wheel it front and rear.
i think most people will have popped a bigger wheel on the front. thus slackening it a bit and getting more roll over. I dont see the advantage on a smaller rear unless your doing really steep stuff.
i used to run a litville. it was a good setup and i also found the smaller rear would not step out as much.
I've only heard a bike-related mullet being tubeless front, inner tubed rear...
May I respectfully call hogwash? You can’t really compare that as the wheels are on different ends of the bike, your weight placement would be different and dynamic and technique isn’t the same to clear obstacles front then rear. Really, you’d have to try the different sized wheels on the same end and reproduce the exact same speed, approach and technique and weight placement etc.
Of course you may, Kayak. I was making an observation, not an absolute statement, and observations based on Just Riding A Bike tend to be really subjective. Mind you, it did make me go out and buy a 29er and sell all my 26" bikes. And the thing about the current mulleting thing is that it seems to involve wheels that have roughly the same outside diameter: 27.5+ and 29. A bit more cush at the back - as Chaka's done above - would probably be pretty handy for an elderly geezer such as I.