Hello guys
Im returning to MTB after 10 years off. I always wanted a mullet bike (for no reason whatsoever, its cool to be different) and Im set to buy one, make one to start riding again.
I stumbled upon this ad on fb: https://photos.app.goo.gl/eeedNDUrJkmG7WR78
Im a male, 5 10, so I am set on a large frame, but the 27.5 frame is new to me. My last bike was a 29er. If I were to buy this bike and change the fork and front wheel, would that work?
Also, mullet or not, is this a good bike overall? Should I be concerned about buying a 8yo carbon frame?
What you guys think?
Any help appreciated.
Thank you all!
by LeoMartinx015
7 Comments
Hi! Personally, I would find a trail category 29er five years or less old. I suspect that’ll serve you better. One person’s opinion, but pretty much everybody is on 29ers now. It took them a long time to figure out how to make a 29er fun to ride, but they have, and now pretty much every bike is a 29. I would avoid riding a 27.5, because the sport is kind of progressed past that point. Good luck!
I used to own this bik and I really miss it. This is a fantastic bike. It’s depends on the terrain you are riding but it can feel limited by the 27.5 wheels. Also I tried to mullet this exact lay out and the head tube was way to slack and messed with the steering. I was also cod seed that the angle put stress on the bike it wasnt built for.
My other 4 bikes are full 29. Not a brag just saying I had 4 other chances to choose mullets or 27.5 and didn’t.
Also my pictures are very blurry and I can make out is 2019 stumpy st.
Mullets are ok too. Carbon lasts forever. I wouldn’t worry about the age. But bikes that old will have a very steep head tube, and you want a nice slack bike so you can keep up with your friends that are on modern bikes.
Just fyi while mullet isn’t the best idea for this bike, you could go full 29 on it. I have it and did that with it. It fits 29×2.4 no problems in the rear.
For $1k it’s an incredibly very good deal for carbon frame and wheel set, assuming nothing is broken and the suspension doesn’t need major service. At that price, you could buy it now and, if you outgrow it but still love the sport by the end of the season, easily sell it to fund your ideal bike.
That bike is a smoking deal for a grand as the wheels are worth about 2k. Sounds like the shifters and Der are battery powered, so be aware of that. Looks like he replaced the terrible specialized dropper these bikes tend to come with, which is good. Plus, at 1k, you will probably have some money left over to have the suspension serviced and the brakes bled. Or just swap out the fork if that is what you want Ask the shop to help you set up the suspension too. As that makes a huge difference.
If you want to run a 29er fork on the front, this might not be the best option. You typically need to drop the travel a bit to maintain the geometry and it looks like the travel is 150 / 150 currently, and you will slacken out and already slack ish seat tube. A slacker seat tube angle is a little nicer if you are mostly pedaling flat trails though.
I have ridden a 12 yr old carbon frame hard, regularly for the last 10 years, so I wouldn’t worry about the carbon, that being said, if you can see the bike first and look for any cracks or soft sports that would be good. That applies to alluminum bikes too though. I wouldn’t worry about it.
Smaller wheels are more fun, read or listened to any review of a 27.5″ bike. The taller you are though the less that is true, as the very real downsides of 29ers are less apparent when you are huge and the proportions makes sense. You will get more bike for your money and have more fun on a 27.5″ bike. That is my very strong oppinion coming from an average sized guy.
That being said, what kind of trials are you riding? Where do you live? Being over biked kind of sucks, so a shorter travel 29er might work better for you, if you are mostly on xc trails.
You could mullet this bike, it would improve it’s handling as it has a pretty steep head angle at 67 degrees. A 29r fork and front wheel will make it about 1 degree slacker which is still not very slack by modern standards.
Keep in mind you will have to spend the money for a new fork and front wheel so at that point you might be able to find a more modern bike for the same price. Full 29 is more popular for this style of bike now, the mullet is more common in the bigger travel enduro and DH bikes.