Buying carbon wheels, should I Mullet? Mullet riders- chime in!!!

[Gutch]

So I’ve read the previous posts on the Mullet set up. I loved my Mullet set up on my YT Decoy...
I have ordered the Bontrager Carbon wheels and am waiting on the rear 29”, then I got thinking... 27.5 are available and I could Mullet this bike.
So... Mullet riders, please lmk how your bike performs. Very much appreciated. I plan on running in the high position, 170mm air shaft swap, and drop my stem spacers 10mm. 2.4 tire in the front with 2.6 rear if going mullet.
Thanks for your help, I’ve never ridden a Rail before.

 

[Mr_Price]

Watching.... This is something I might consider in the future for my 9.7........

 

[Gutch]

Any mullet riders on this site? Preferably someone can tell me about the handling.

 

[Mabman]

"I loved my Mullet set up on my YT Decoy..."

Seriously what else do you need to know?

 

[Gutch]

Well, the decoy is a little different geo. Do you own a Rail mullet? Your advice is lame bro.

 

[neiloxford]

Rob tried it and went back to 29

My new 2021 Trek Rail 5 Purple Flip

Btw I went with an ohlins on a large frame.

www.emtbforums.com

On page 5 he found it best to drop the fork back to 160

 

[Gutch]

No Mullet for me. My Trek bike shop cannot change the rear wheel diameter as if they do and then I put a 29” rear wheel on, it will go too fast. They also mentioned that if there was any bottom bracket breakage issues, that it “could” effect my warranty being a Mullet. At the end of the day I say forget it.

 

[Doomanic]

Your shop is lame. My LBS were happy to set the wheel size to suit the 27.5 wheel.

I run my Rail as a Mullet and unlike Rob I have no intention of going back. The bike changes direction better and is more stable on the steeps.
170mm forks and coil shock at 157mm travel. Pedal strikes only an issue if I don’t pay attention.

 

[Gutch]

Your shop is lame. My LBS were happy to set the wheel size to suit the 27.5 wheel.

I run my Rail as a Mullet and unlike Rob I have no intention of going back. The bike changes direction better and is more stable on the steeps.
170mm forks and coil shock at 157mm travel. Pedal strikes only an issue if I don’t pay attention.

I agree, the shop was lame. My YT was a mullet, now my Bullit is mullet. Really like the feel.

 

[folmonty]

Your shop is lame. My LBS were happy to set the wheel size to suit the 27.5 wheel.

I run my Rail as a Mullet and unlike Rob I have no intention of going back. The bike changes direction better and is more stable on the steeps.
170mm forks and coil shock at 157mm travel. Pedal strikes only an issue if I don’t pay attention.

Which model Rail do you have? Haven't compared if geometry varies between them?

 

[Doomanic]

I have a 2020 Rail 7

 

[leftside]

I too have a mullet YT Decoy. I now also a 27 Commencal Meta Power SX that I've been riding for a few months. I told Commencal my plans to mullet the Meta, and they basically said "no problem, but we recommend you keep the bike as a 27". Told me if I do decide to mullet, that a 29 160 fork would give the bike very similar angles/settings to the bike with the current 27.5 180 fork. I have the 29 fork. Am ordering carbon mullet wheels next week.

 

[Bomble]

I tried the mullet setup on my Rail, really liked it but due to the rocky areas i ride and lack of skill went back to 29.
I did the same on my old Levo and it was awesome due to a higher bb.

 

[Black8917]

Going to try this in my 2021 9.8 large with a 180 front fork and 165 rear shock in high setting. I typically ride steep PNW rough trails.

 

[Black8917]

I like it, much more agile on steep sharp corners. Had one pedal strike but I can deal with it. Will keep riding it like this for a bit.

 

[Rocketscience66]

I mulleted (is that a word?) my Rail 7 not long after buying it. I'm quite short-ish and only 63kg, riding a Medium frame. Have found it made the bike much more fun to ride. With 29er setup I felt I was sitting on top of the bike. With 27.5" rear it now feels more like I'm sitting "in" the cockpit. Also, upgrading rims and hubs to custom build was a bonus. I switched the flipchip suspension doodad to high position which slightly offsets smaller wheel. Bike is definately more flickable around tight corners and generally a more playful ride. Pedal strike is slightly more, but that can be a matter of choosing pedal position in rough terrain. I think for shorter peeps, a mullet setup is def worth trying.

 

[Philly G]

Also, upgrading rims and hubs to custom build was a bonus.

Great wheels, I have the same (not mulleted though ) Are you a fellow Kiwi?

 

[Philly G]

I just ate a kiwi. Hairy and sour.

They get sweeter as they ripen unless you mean our native bird not supposed to eat those...

 

[Rocketscience66]

Great wheels, I have the same (not mulleted though ) Are you a fellow Kiwi?

Sure am. In Aucks.

 

[Philly G]

Sure am. In Aucks.

Christchurch, me . Are you managing to sneak some rides in? Hopefully you'll be out of lockdown soon...

 

[Black8917]

My shop set my wheel size to 2175mm for big Betty 27.5”x2.6”. Made a big difference I was hitting the limiting going downhill often.

 

[Jamescoughlan]

I’m 5’8” / 172cm on a medium Rail. I’m going to try mullet this week. Gonna be interesting to see the results. I had some credit with Leisure Lakes bikes and picked up some 155mm Hope cranks to offset the drop in bb height.
There must be peeps out there with feedback?

 

[Doomanic]

There must be peeps out there with feedback?

What feedback do you want?