PowerFly mullet style?

[plu29um]

I will be replacing the stock wheels on my 2019 PowerFly LT 9.7 soon and am contemplating setting the bike up in mullet-ish style with a 27.5" rear wheel with 2.8" tire and 29" front wheel with 2.6" tire.
Does anybody have experience with this on the 2019 PowerFly LT 9?
Any thoughts or advises are highly appreciated as well.

 

[averian]

I haven't tried it, but I'm certainly interested in the results. Without measuring or doing any calculations, I'm going to assume the 29" 2.6" is taller than a 27.5" 2.8". So this will change the geometry of the bike and slacken the head tube angle more. If you're running a 160mm fork, you could probably swap air springs to a 150mm and then use the high setting on the mino link flip chip to compensate some.

 

[Martins8]

Hi, I’ve seen someone local to me out riding a 2019 Trek powerfly LT with that set up, but he had upgraded the forks to Fox 36’s. So I would check there is enough clearance under the fork bridge for a 29 inch x2.6 wheel and tyre, before buying one unless you have a setup you can try. Trek might use 29. Inch comparable forks as the wheels & tyres are plus sized. By the way he reckoned he liked the set up although a lot of things are down to personal taste.

 

[plu29um]

[...] So this will change the geometry of the bike and slacken the head tube angle more. If you're running a 160mm fork, you could probably swap air springs to a 150mm and then use the high setting on the mino link flip chip to compensate some.

Good point with setting the fork to 150mm. Thank you!
I have already set the mino flip chip in the high position.

 

[plu29um]

Hi, I’ve seen someone local to me out riding a 2019 Trek powerfly LT with that set up, but he had upgraded the forks to Fox 36’s. So I would check there is enough clearance under the fork bridge for a 29 inch x2.6 wheel and tyre, before buying one unless you have a setup you can try. Trek might use 29. Inch comparable forks as the wheels & tyres are plus sized. By the way he reckoned he liked the set up although a lot of things are down to personal taste.

Thank you Martins8.
The fork on my PowerFly is a 29'er Yari. I did a quick test in a parking lot with a 2.3" tire and there was plenty of space for a bigger tire. However, I will check later today how much clearance I have with my current 2.8" tire on the 27,5" wheel. If it is more than 30mm, then I could even install a 2.8" tire on the 29" wheel.

Unfortunately the 29" wheel I borrowed for the test had no brake rotor installed, so I couldn't take it out on my local trail to test the setup.

 

[Martins8]

Hi looks like it could be a fairly straight forward conversion if the forks have the clearance , I would be tempted to leave the mino chip in high setting and try it, before altering fork travel. This other guys forks were the same travel as standard he reckoned.

 

[averian]

Definitely good advice to try the new setup before swapping air springs. Trek has been quite flexible in their geometry settings with different setups on this bike, which isn't necessarily a positive. You'll have to dial in what feels best to you.

For example, I believe 2018 was a 150mm travel front fork on the LT and they bumped it up to 160mm for 2019 to make it a bit slacker. The non-LT only uses 130mm front/rear with the exact same frame so both most recent years of the LT are much slacker in comparison. This is reflected pretty clearly in the geometry charts. It's also curious they went with a 29er fork when the newish Rockshox 27.5 forks can fit the 27.5 2.8's they spec on these bikes. Maybe they wanted 51mm offset (29er), but I bet the 46mm offset on the 27.5 would be ideal and with less axle to crown height allowing for more flexibility when it comes to modifying fork travel.

 

[liv2ryd]

Here's my 29/27.5 Powerfly. I'm running a 160mm Lyrik /2.5" DHF out front with the stock 150mm out back. This setup is so much better than stock its like riding a trail bike vs a full blown enduro rig. I've done several races so far and this setup holds its own against the best mullet bikes out there. Never going back to stock...

 

[plu29um]

Here's my 29/27.5 Powerfly. I'm running a 160mm Lyrik /2.5" DHF out front with the stock 150mm out back. This setup is so much better than stock its like riding a trail bike vs a full blown enduro rig. I've done several races so far and this setup holds its own against the best mullet bikes out there. Never going back to stock...

Thank you, @liv2ryd

I have already pulled the trigger and am now waiting for the parts for a new mullet wheelset build to arrive. Rims have arrived and the rear hub should be here in a couple of weeks.

 

[33red]

I will read this. What tires are you planning to use?
I would go 2 Rekons i just love my 2.8 rear and many use 2.
Fast and good grip.
If you are wondering about pedal strike i went from 175 arms to 165 and love it.

 

[plu29um]

I will read this. What tires are you planning to use?
I would go 2 Rekons i just love my 2.8 rear and many use 2.

I am planning to go with 2.8 Minion DHR II rear and 2.5 Assegai front.

If you are wondering about pedal strike i went from 175 arms to 165 and love it.

My PowerFly came stock with 165mm pedal arms

 

[33red]

I am planning to go with 2.8 Minion DHR II rear and 2.5 Assegai front.



My PowerFly came stock with 165mm pedal arms

Nice, i meant shorter is OK with assist, i read some are happy with 160, 155

 

[plu29um]

Wheels have been built. I took the bike out for 43km test ride and I am super happy with the result.This mullet-ish setup is, along with the completely silent Onyx rear hub, by far the best upgrade I have done to this bike.

My first impressions are, that the bike is more nimble with better control, predictability and cornering abilities.

Of course most of this may come down to just being this Maxxis tire setup being a better choice for my riding style than the stock Bontrager XR4 tires

 

[Doomanic]

What's the wheel diameter of the 29er front with that tyre?

 

[plu29um]

What's the wheel diameter of the 29er front with that tyre?

Completely non-scientific from floor to top of the center nob it is ~755mm.
I will double check this to night after work.

 

[knut7]

755 sounds reasonable. This table says 754,08mm, and it usually is a good indication BikeCalc.com - How to calculate Bicycle Wheel Size

Good thing you didn't go with Rekon tyres

 

[33red]

Completely non-scientific from floor to top of the center nob it is ~755mm.
I will double check this to night after work.

Nice picture. I am on 27.5 + i will check if my fork is OK i could just buy a 29 rim for front and probably put a Rekon 2.6. How wide are your rims?

 

[plu29um]

Nice picture. I am on 27.5 + i will check if my fork is OK i could just buy a 29 rim for front and probably put a Rekon 2.6. How wide are your rims?

My PowerFly LT 9.7 came with a 29ner Yari fork.

Rims are Spank 395+ with an inner width of 35mm.

 

[plu29um]

Good thing you didn't go with Rekon tyres

My lack of knowledge about the Rekon tyres is pretty much complete. What am I missing out on here?

 

[knut7]

It's not a very agressive tyre, and a strange suggestion for a long-ish travel trail bike. These bikes are usually fitted with tyres such as the Minions.