I ran 29” front / 27” rear for a couple years on the bike I muled parts on for NSMB. Any photo of my Ti Explosif in articles had this setup.
I ran it with three different suspension forks to play with offset (44/51/55) as well as a custom rigid fork. 100mm travel (or corrected) with a 29” wheel front.
I’ve also spent hours on a Cannondale Jekyll with a 29” setup up front with good results (140mm fork + 29” setup instead of usual 160mm + 27” setup). Originally I tried it just to get some hours on a 29" Trace 34 that weren't on my hardtail but it was my favourite way I rode the Jekyll.
I’ve tried the setup with other bikes (29'ers) but the big issue vs Angleset for me is how much slacker the STA gets. This is much easier to compensate for on a 27” bike when going 29" up front - as we’re seeing with Maes etc - than it is through installing a 27" wheel on the back of a 29" bike.
This is even true to some extent going 29" to 27+. As with most things folks just look at static geo - where 27+ is close enough to a 29" standard setup - but the sag on a Plus tire can make a notable difference compared to a regular tire. Hence why most 29/27+ bikes either have too low of a BB with 27+ or too high of a BB with 29".
I’m fully an advocate of folks trying stuff for themselves - have at it - but I'll also note, word to the wise here, like any hot trend there are a bunch of cons vs just running a dual 29” - especially on hardtails. There are reasons my Walt is 29+/29 and my next bike will be 29/29 as well.
April 3, 2019, 7:42 a.m. - Andrew Major
I ran 29” front / 27” rear for a couple years on the bike I muled parts on for NSMB. Any photo of my Ti Explosif in articles had this setup.   I ran it with three different suspension forks to play with offset (44/51/55) as well as a custom rigid fork. 100mm travel (or corrected) with a 29” wheel front. I’ve also spent hours on a Cannondale Jekyll with a 29” setup up front with good results (140mm fork + 29” setup instead of usual 160mm + 27” setup). Originally I tried it just to get some hours on a 29" Trace 34 that weren't on my hardtail but it was my favourite way I rode the Jekyll.  I’ve tried the setup with other bikes (29'ers) but the big issue vs Angleset for me is how much slacker the STA gets. This is much easier to compensate for on a 27” bike when going 29" up front - as we’re seeing with Maes etc - than it is through installing a 27" wheel on the back of a 29" bike. This is even true to some extent going 29" to 27+. As with most things folks just look at static geo - where 27+ is close enough to a 29" standard setup - but the sag on a Plus tire can make a notable difference compared to a regular tire. Hence why most 29/27+ bikes either have too low of a BB with 27+ or too high of a BB with 29". I’m fully an advocate of folks trying stuff for themselves - have at it - but I'll also note, word to the wise here, like any hot trend there are a bunch of cons vs just running a dual 29” - especially on hardtails. There are reasons my Walt is 29+/29 and my next bike will be 29/29 as well.