After my 29er hardtail got stolen, I bought a Bird Zero TR – 27.5″
I liked the low weight and standover height. My old bike was good but a bit tall.
What I didn’t like about the Bird was:

• Didn’t roll as fast/roll over things as well compared to the 29″ wheels on my old bike
• Front end too low
• BB slightly too low – keep hitting things with the pedals
• Seat angle a little too steep
• Head angle could be a tiny bit slacker

After getting my 29er back, I decided I could fix that by taking the front end off it and putting it on the Bird:

So, now have a 29er front wheel with a 2.6″ tyre and 140mm travel forks (vs 130mm travel and 2.4″ tyre). Also have a slightly lower rise bar on it.

Quick blast round the Skelf Park showed the angles are now exactly where I want them – my weight is in the right place, the front end is at the right height too. I will give it a proper go at Glentress over the weekend but I feel like I’ve got it right. I think the Bird’s steep seatpost angle helped a lot.

Nice, so in other words your bird is business at the front and party at the rear?

A mullet is bigger at the back no?.

Also, I think animals might be using your wall as a pass-through.

A mullet is bigger at the back no?.

Yeah, but I think the name comes from ‘business up front, party out back’- the front does the business and the rear can do wft it likes. I like it, it kind of puts me in the mind of El Caminos and awful rock music which is probably the intention.

Nice!

It’s the Anti-Chopper

Spider pig, spider pig…

Pretty shocked you didn’t like the original geometry. Only heard good things about them.

With the left over bits you could make a Tellum.

Hope your head tube stays where it should. Oddly it looks perfectly normal.

If you like it that’s all that matters
I personally think bird know a lot more than most about geo but we’ve all been guilty at some point of getting sucked in to marketing bs
I’m sure they were all sat in an office somewhere like the topgear Peugeot sketch saying we cannot give them another hub width ,we’ve done all the bb standard we can get away with ,we’ve done long low and slack and that paid for my new Ferrari ……I I know mixed wheel size

I did something similar to an Inbred, loved it

Big-Bud

Member

If you like it that’s all that matters
I personally think bird know a lot more than most about geo but we’ve all been guilty at some point of getting sucked in to marketing bs
I’m sure they were all sat in an office somewhere like the topgear Peugeot sketch saying we cannot give them another hub width ,we’ve done all the bb standard we can get away with ,we’ve done long low and slack and that paid for my new Ferrari ……I I know mixed wheel size

You say that, but you could make the argument that bike designers 25 years ago also knew what they were doing, yet we were riding around on bikes that were absolutely hopeless downhill, with 150mm stems, 550mm bars, 71 degree head angles, etc.

Mullet bikes have come more from people actually racing them than any marketing department bs. In fact, I can’t think of any mainstream bike that’s not an e-bike that is available as a mullet bike as stock. There have been, however, EWS and DH World Cup races won on mullet bikes.

JP

Intense have just started selling them on their new bike. Probably because people were trying it and they saw potential.

Intense have just started selling them on their new bike. Probably because people were trying it and they saw potential.

They’re not what I’d call a mainstream brand, though, and it’s very much a post hoc addition to the range.

JP

Was always the USP of Liteville bikes, but they have moved away from it in the past 4-5 years

Surely you’d want a shorter fork not a longer fork to avoid risk of frame failure?

What the op wants is a Zero 29 but then you get into boost hubs etc so it’s not like he could get a Zero 29 and simply swap stuff over. Which is a shame because I love my Zero 29.

Well it’s the op’s risk and bike I guess.

Seat angle not sorted by just adjusting the seat angle on the post?

Or just the seatpost angle steep meaning it’s too far forward? Potentially the frame was a bit short for you?

Other than that, I’d admit on my TR I get the pedal strikes at times, but then I get that with my Santa Cruz 5010. Low BBs are the norm. I’m guessing 29ers though tend to be a bit higher naturally.

Anyway, probably a 29 fits you better. I find them a bit big for me as I’m not that tall or long armed/legged. I love the TR. Rollability with big wheels has advantage once you’re rolling but I do like a bit of quick acceleration and it does the job much the same at speed. I go back to my 26 occasionally and quite surprised how quick I can go on it as my legs are used to cranking it up, so same power and it’s off like a shot. Though the Bird is more agile (same with my 5010).

Front Mullets are where its at!

Watched the Adrian Carter video about it, where he was saying it makes sense on a motorbike. It does, as the rear wheel drives, but it’s the front wheel on a push bike where you need more grip most of the time.

Trailrider Jim

Subscriber

Watched the Adrian Carter video about it, where he was saying it makes sense on a motorbike. It does, as the rear wheel drives, but it’s the front wheel on a push bike where you need more grip most of the time.

He’s also said in the past that hardtails need relatively short reaches. Two years later he’s saying the opposite.

JP

What can I say, it feels right now? It is a good blend of my two bikes – nimbleness and roll over.

Not worried about the head-tube. They build these things strong and I’m no downhiller. If it breaks, it’s not an expensive frame.