Are mullet set ups still popular?

Are mullet set ups still popular? Wondering if this would be a good option…

Mullet

Wow, that isnt just a 20″ wheel in a 26″ rear end, but a proper (!) 20″ rear end attached to a 26″ front triangle!

Maybe not that one, but having just built a Santa Cruz Bronson I can confidently say that they have evolved into quite a valid format. Judging from the move in Santa Cruz’s range and others such as Forbidden, there is definitely an advantage to some riders.

As bike manufacturers are embracing the concept they are designing bikes around mixed wheels rather than owners bodging it.

The smaller back wheel ‘thing’ has been commonplace in motorbikes for years and makes a lot of sense.

Several of my riding buddies have bikes with mixed wheels and whilst it isn’t for everybody, or every situation, I am loving it. Not just a marketing thing or something subtle like most geometry flipchips seem to be. I can feel an advantage to a bigger wheel up front in terms of control and comfort matched to a smaller rear which is more playful and quicker to get up to speed.

I haven’t ridden a mullet on a bike that wasn’t originally designed for it, but I can definitely say based on my Bronson that it is a valid alternative. I think that perhaps the 27.5 up front is dead in the water but the mixed wheels size for a trail bike is a valid and lasting trend. For XC and ‘down country’ ( or whatever we are calling just mountain biking these days!), then 29ers are great but I can heartily recommend a mullet.

29ers are great but I can heartily recommend a mullet.

Why? What does it do better NOTICEABLY.

I was 26 for ages when those around me were going 27.5.
By the time I went 27.5, people were going 29.
I’m now 29 front and rear and people are going mullet. 😅 Make up your mind already!

Once you get used to the slight change in feel, I think there’s next to bugger all in it, on a noticeable scale.

Might help with tyre buzz a little but what is it that you’ve actually noticed performance – wise?

Interested in how people are supporting the set up with anything measurable.

I can feel an advantage to a bigger wheel up front in terms of control and comfort matched to a smaller rear which is more playful and quicker to get up to speed.

This I guess…..

Like you I have been around long enough to have ridden 26, 29, 27.5, back to 29 and now mixed. Even as a taller rider I do find 29 a little ungainly at slower more technical stuff. The mullet is kind of the best all worlds and since the smaller wheel is the one delivering the traction and is the following wheel, the smaller rotating mass and more agile feel is perceivable.

I have just changed bikes so a mullet was an option in the mix. Not something I would rush out and do if I wasn’t already in the market for a new bike, but definitely a valid option.

There are various tests around on YouTube if you have a search. Most testify that there is a definite difference in feel, but no measurable speed benefit, and not something that necessarily suits every rider in every situation. It isn’t being touted as the next big thing instead of a 29er but definitely something to consider.

I’m the same as kayak – late to the party and one step behind the trend. Bought my first 29er last December and wheel size is one small piece of the puzzle and I can’t say I actually noticed and thought wow these big wheels are good (or bad). Everything just worked really well and it’s great to ride.

As for motorbikes, they have a small rear wheel to allow for a much bigger tyre to give traction under power. The rolling diameter isn’t as different as the rim size implies.

It’s great mullet works well for some people but it would be expensive to try and keep up so that bike looks like a great way to dip a toe in the water 😉

Everything just worked really well and it’s great to ride.

Ultimately that’s all that matters. I heartily agree. Nobody is forcing the mullet thing on anybody.

Try it, or don’t.

Adopt it, or don’t.

If it works for you, great.

If it doesn’t then stick to what you like.

If you aren’t already planning on changing your bike, don’t rush out and change.

If you are planning on changing your bike anyway, why not throw it into the mix? I did and happen to like it, but I wouldn’t evangelise about it. It isn’t for every situation or every rider.

Otherwise, just enjoy riding whatever puts a smile on your face. I do get grumpy about enforces new standards that are worse than old standards that just seem to exist ‘because’. However in the case of mixed wheel sizes, they exist in parallel rather than as a whole scale movement.

I Have paydirt gold bronson and dissent 297.

Mullets rule…..

IMHO, there’s not actually very much in it. But enough to buy one (instead of a 29er).

If you’re stumpy legged, like myself, the extra bum to tyre clearance is welcome (evolution has precluded me from a 36er for example) and VERY noticeable.

Fast direction changes are slightly (but still noticeably) improved with smaller rear wheel, whereas less traction and braking from smaller rear wheel size is a negligible loss.

The 29er wheel up front definitely improves traction and cornering, that is immediately noticeable.

My bike originally came as a 29er/27.5 fatty, so running mixed wheels was fine. Slightly slacker front end would benefit quite a few bikes anyway.

In my limited experience, I’d agree with lardman – better bum clearance and easier cornering.

Might not be any quicker, but potentially more confident and fun on the most-challenging trails.

Looking forward to trying it again on my new bike.

Ive been running the 2022 Turbo Levo since March after upgrading from my old one. It comes as a mullet designed only option. I’ve ridden it local in the Peak mostly but have had two trips abroad with it. The advantages is I can run a longer dropper but that’s more frame design. The disadvantage is taking another spare wheel and tyre on trips.

I’ve ridden it back to back against my Enduro on trails in Finale and Samoens and also on Cutgate against the old Turbo Levo and I cant tell the difference in wheel size. I think it was first used to allow shorter legged riders to use larger longer frames. That’s my understanding from seeing them when they first started appearing on the EWS circuit.

Emily Horridge did a back to back test a few weeks ago

I went from 26 to 29 to 27.5 and that’s where I’ve stayed. Just prefer it. Don’t care what the marketing men tell me I need and I’ve just ordered a new Alpine Evo frame to build up. I find a full 29er either slightly ponderous or a bit plough-like. Maybe because I only came off 26″ wheels about four years ago. The only point to a mullet I can see is it’s something different to sell us. I can’t even tell they’re a mullet just by looking most of the time. If it works for you then great! Just don’t try telling me I need to ‘upgrade’ to 29″ wheels…😂

There’s very little of any difference in mass. The tyres aren’t noticeably lighter nor is the wheel – well, mine aren’t anyway.

Smaller wheel and smaller chain stays on a bike designed for it – that I can understand as it will be a significantly notable difference, but the mass? What? 100g?

I got a giant reign ebike that’s mullet and I love how it rides so I mulleted the firebird too.

I’ll try it sometime soon.

I went straight from 26″ to 29″ yonks ago, bypassing 650b. However, I’ve just built my first 650b wheel to mullet my Geometron – it goes hand in hand with a longer-stroke shock for extra travel, with the smaller rear wheel reigning the geometry back in a bit (along with other tweaks). No idea if I’ll like it or not, but it’d be rude not to try.

Have mulleted a 29er & 27.5 however have bought my 1st proper mullet frame May test ride Friday

Unless you are riding them within an inch of your life. Then they are fast as ****!
Im 5’8″ so can’t be thinking about buzzing my ass on blind drops so the Mullet totally works for me.

For the record it make the handling easier I never buzz my arse on any wheel 😆

You must have long legs and a short body lol

I’ve just taken delivery of a new Commencal Meta SX (mullet) – yet to ride it, but I decided I didn’t want a 29er or another 650b bike

I was 26 for ages when those around me were going 27.5.
By the time I went 27.5, people were going 29.

Interesting. There were several years where 26 and 29 were availalbe but 27.5 wasn’t.

Interesting. There were several years where 26 and 29 were availalbe but 27.5 wasn’t.

Ah yes, the halcyon days of the 69er. That was quite a thing back then.

Interesting. There were several years where 26 and 29 were availalbe but 27.5 wasn’t.

Yeah, I had a 1st gen 26″ mega for years. By the time I got around to changing it (Cotic Rocket) and went 27.5, long travel 29ers were starting to become a thing, and some friends were moving on to them.

I mulletted my Rail almost immediately after purchase. I’d come from a 27.5 ML Powerfully to the 29 M Rail and was buzzing my arse far too often. I think it turns better. I even tried it as a full 27.5 but would have needed longer forks and shock to get the BB back to a sensible height, plus the 29er front was definitely better over rocks and roots.

I mulletted my KSL before my first ride (I had a couple of demo rides on a stock bike) and several of my friends have subsequently mulletted theirs, all claiming it turns better.

Full 29er HB916 is really nice, but so is the same as a mullet.

It is my first 29er and got used to repositioning myself so as not to buzz my arse, but the mullet is easier to pedal uphill i think. Need to try it properly for a few weeks

Wheel set up the same on both. Pro4 on DT XM481, with 2.4 Big Betty.

“ the mullet is easier to pedal uphill i think”

The mullet has lower gearing but won’t be as efficient uphill.

However I’m 99.9% certain that mullet isn’t a fad – from arse and saddle clearance to the physics of a rear wheel when moving a bike about or hitting bumps, it just makes sense. Full 29” works well for me but I have long legs and ride a lot of undulating trails where the better rolling of a 29” rear wins. If I had more steep trails near me I’d probably have a 27.5” rear on my full-sus.

They’ve never been popular.

HTH.

They’re definitely not popular now because I have one, therefore dooming it. I wouldn’t personally say it’s the best way to build a bike, but, it’s a really good way to lower and slacken an older frame. And if I do the Mega again, I might switch to it purely because it’ll be better than 29er for my incompetent rider glacier tyre-sitting strategy.

Also, the “tragic” failure of 650b means the wheels are cheap. And the tragic success of boost rear axles means 142 650b wheels are even cheaper. So I got a brand new flashy Mavic carbon wide-rimmed wheel for dented second-hand money. Take that, bike industry.