Posted by: XXX_er
I think its a suttle melding of " stuff " but IME ride a mullet and it does turn easier
Totally. But the cynical me multiplies the equation by the M constant. M stands for marketing.
So I’ve done a short mullet experiment.
the Mullet didnt really factor into it cuz I would have bought the bike anyway, bikes were in very short supply at this time last year, I looked at a picture and cha-ching
I think it was the show room lighting
I can get behind this weird science!
Posted by: andy-eunson
Totally. But the cynical me multiplies the equation by the M constant. M stands for marketing.
My wife’s 2003 Enduro (26/24) was a custom mullet from Obsession. Maybe marketing from Lou but I doubt it as both wheels would have been hand built anyway. It was the only bike she could wheelie.
Last edited by: heckler on Sept. 26, 2022, 1:40 p.m., edited 1 time in total.
Posted by: andy-eunson
Another longer ride on some more twitchy trails and steeper black ones. Then I got home took measurements and did some math. The slope between axles is less than a degree. So I have a hard time believing the higher front axle does anything a rider would notice. Ride was good. Maybe the bike was covering different, a touch quicker? Big wheel back on and I’ll try to duplicate the same ride a few days.
My Trance-X has 0.7 degrees HA flip chip. Also just M factor? Personally, I think so but I don't ride it on flat XC so it stays in slack mode
A flip chip lets you change the headtube and seattube angles, along with the bottom bracket height, to fine-tune the handling. You can choose the low position (65.5/77.2 head/seattube angle and 40mm BB drop) for fast, open terrain, or high (66.2/77.9 head/seattube angle and 30mm drop) for slower, tighter singletrack.
Posted by: andy-eunson
Another longer ride on some more twitchy trails and steeper black ones. Then I got home took measurements and did some math. The slope between axles is less than a degree. So I have a hard time believing the higher front axle does anything a rider would notice. Ride was good. Maybe the bike was covering different, a touch quicker? Big wheel back on and I’ll try to duplicate the same ride a few days.
More bb drop on mullet compared to full wagoon.
Also arc distance as someone else mentioned.
Current bike is a mullet (2022 Patrol) and I absolutely love it. The 29er front makes such a difference getting down steep/rough terrain and I never buzz my ass (was a problem on the 29ers I have tired), I'm 5'10" but shorter legs and longer torso. The corner carving is great too. It's probably slower in a straight line on rough stuff than a full 29er (Spire) but I have so much fun and confidence on this bike that I don't care.
i mulleted my meta (just to see what all the hype was about), and the primary difference (unsurprisingly) was ease of initiating manuals. which translates a bit to easier corner exit manuals & what kinda/sorta feels like a more snappy exit once the cornering forces have transferred from front to rear. that said, i've found a couple full 29" bikes with the same reach - but with 10mm longer rear centers - were subjectively faster in corners. so my seat of pants experience suggests that front / rear balance is more impactful to cornering than wheelsize. but mullet can impart a wee bit of fun factor, which is always a good thing. a bit lighter wheel / tire is a nice bonus as well.
Posted by: xy9ine
i mulleted my meta (just to see what all the hype was about), and the primary difference (unsurprisingly) was ease of initiating manuals. which translates a bit to easier corner exit manuals & what kinda/sorta feels like a more snappy exit once the cornering forces have transferred from front to rear. that said, i've found a couple full 29" bikes with the same reach - but with 10mm longer rear centers - were subjectively faster in corners. so my seat of pants experience suggests that front / rear balance is more impactful to cornering than wheelsize. but mullet can impart a wee bit of fun factor, which is always a good thing. a bit lighter wheel / tire is a nice bonus as well.
Being 5’4" what is this ‘manual’ of which you speak?
even at 6/0 i've found initiating a manual on a modern 29'er a bit of a struggle - which is what really instigated the swap. of course skills can usually overcome such technical hurdles, but that seems like work.
random - a while back i had to borrow a kid's bike - which was a 26/27 mulleted version of my old v1 spitfire; holy damn it's SO easy to rotate around that small wheel when you've been riding wagon wheels for a long time. reminds me of the 24/26 letoys i used to own back in the freeride era; could manual those for days. alas...
@endur-bro - yeah, i'm using an WRP link. does the trick.
I still somehow have fun on a 26" Aurum, it's got a Dorado with 27.5" front wheel. My other bikes are a full 29er 170/150 bike and a 27.5 hard tail. I agree, even with a fairly long front-center, the 27.5/26 mullet DH bike is super fun.
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