Advantages to mulletting a trail bike?

[Twisted Fork]

Long time lurker, first time poster here…

I have noticed that most advocates of a mullet setup seem to point to advantages for enduro style riding in terms of responsiveness and agility.
It seems to me that many of the perceived advantages might cross over to a more trail oriented style of riding, but I rarely hear it mentioned. The slightly lower wheel weight, lower rotational mass, less “butt buzz” on the steep rock rolls, and lower crank-to-ground effective gearing ratio from the smaller wheel circumference would, at fist thought, seem to be advantageous for aggressive trail riding as well.

I currently ride a dual 27.5” Giant Trance E, 160/140, predominantly all-mountain/trail style on forested single track with regular forays into cross country and chunky alpine routes. Still lots of heavy chunder, steep rutted fall lines, drops and jumps that would probably put me into a light enduro style of riding as well. I may only spend a couple of days per year at lift-assisted bike parks where the Trance seems to perform quite adequately for my current skill level.

I’m looking into adding a trail oriented SL style bike to the fleet, such as a Trek Fuel Ex-e that comes with 29” wheels. The flip chip linkage does allow for an easy mullet conversion without much sacrifice to the bottom bracket height. I’m thinking that swapping in my rear 27.5” Nobl TR37 with Onyx hub might be a good setup to try out (gawd, I LOVE that hub!). I was just curious as to the opinions of the group on some of the advantages and disadvantages of mullets on trail-oriented riding that they may have experienced. Photo for colour attached.

Cheers!

 

[KnollyBro]

The slightly lower wheel weight, lower rotational mass, less “butt buzz” on the steep rock rolls, and lower crank-to-ground effective gearing ratio from the smaller wheel circumference would, at fist thought, seem to be advantageous for aggressive trail riding as well.

I was just curious as to the opinions of the group on some of the advantages and disadvantages of mullets on trail-oriented riding that they may have experienced.

It would appear that the cross over between enduro and aggressive trail riding is not a clear line and is very much a rider and location specific choice. The Trek Ex-e would make a nice SL bike but it needs a 170mm fork and a mullet setup for the aggressive trails around here. What part of BC are you from?

 

[Twisted Fork]

It would appear that the cross over between enduro and aggressive trail riding is not a clear line and is very much a rider and location specific choice. The Trek Ex-e would make a nice SL bike but it needs a 170mm fork and a mullet setup for the aggressive trails around here. What part of BC are you from?

I was thinking a 160mm air shaft in the Ex-e might be the sweet spot, otherwise it could be getting a bit too slack for my preference on the tight twisty trails - about 64.6 degrees at 160mm in mullet setup if the geometry table is accurate. My trance is at about 66 degrees and I can notice substantial a loss of snappy steering response in comparison to my hardtail at 68 degrees (although I wouldn’t be comfortable to take the hardtail onto some of the more janky trails either).

I’m in the Shuswap area of BC, so pretty central to a lot of good trails from the Columbia Valley & Revelstoke down to the Okanagan. I’d say that a Revelstoke black diamond is approaching the limits of my current skill level, but something like a typical North Shore black trail is solidly within my comfort range.

 

[KnollyBro]

I was thinking a 160mm air shaft in the Ex-e might be the sweet spot, otherwise it could be getting a bit too slack for my preference on the tight twisty trails - about 64.6 degrees at 160mm in mullet setup if the geometry table is accurate. My trance is at about 66 degrees and I can notice substantial a loss of snappy steering response in comparison to my hardtail at 68 degrees (although I wouldn’t be comfortable to take the hardtail onto some of the more janky trails either).

I’m in the Shuswap area of BC, so pretty central to a lot of good trails from the Columbia Valley & Revelstoke down to the Okanagan. I’d say that a Revelstoke black diamond is approaching the limits of my current skill level, but something like a typical North Shore black trail is solidly within my comfort range.

My wife and I both ride modified Levo SLs running Ohlins 170mm forks, Ohlins TTX22M coil shocks with Cascade links. The HTA is 64 degrees when set in the HIGH position. I think the bike rides noticeably better on our tight and twisty North Shore tech trails than my Kenevo SL. All the bikes weigh 42 - 44 lbs depending on which wheelset we are running.
We have never ridden in Shuswap specifically but we did spend a week days in Reve, Kimberly, Fernie last summer. Boondocker and Gravy Bacon are pretty hectic trails in some spots!

 

[Twisted Fork]

My wife and I both ride modified Levo SLs running Ohlins 170mm forks, Ohlins TTX22M coil shocks with Cascade links. The HTA is 64 degrees when set in the HIGH position. I think the bike rides noticeably better on our tight and twisty North Shore tech trails than my Kenevo SL. All the bikes weigh 42 - 44 lbs depending on which wheelset we are running.
We have never ridden in Shuswap specifically but we did spend a week days in Reve, Kimberly, Fernie last summer. Boondocker and Gravy Bacon are pretty hectic trails in some spots!

View attachment 100860

Looks like you hit up all the sweet spots! Sounds like an epic trip. I haven’t been down to ride the Kootenays yet myself, but it’s definitely on the priority list. The Shuswap generally consists of more classic narrow, hand built rooty lines similar to what the North Shore was like in the late 90’s (minus the heinous stunts though). Not generally thought of as a high profile destination centre, but definitely worthy of a stopover if coming through.

The Trance is such a great all-arounder but I think I’ve made it about as light as I realistically can at 52 pounds. I’m having an internal debate if I want to go with a sub-37 pound xc/light trail style bike that I can remove the battery from for excursions into emtb prohibited areas (I’m really drooling to venture further into the South Chilcoltins). Then I could beef up the Trance to a more enduro oriented setup. Or I could go with a proper enduro SL, which I think could result in the Trance just gathering dust. The Transition Relay looks intriguing for that purpose, but I’m getting a bit impatient waiting for them to release some more details. Will also be interesting to see how Specialized and Orbea respond to some of the new releases. I’ll probably wait until next summer before deciding and see who ends up coming out on top in the great SL battle currently underway. Sounds like good things are on the horizon.