We figured it was only a matter of time before we started seeing mixed wheel bikes with 32″ front wheels and 29″ in the rear. Well, that time has apparently already come, and we’ve spotted a couple of examples of what will likely become a trend in the coming months.
The first 32″ mullet we spotted was in the Fox suspension service booth. Neko Mullaly is here racing in the Sea Otter downhill race, and he brought a super custom Frameworks bike. Framework’s bikes are pretty eye-catching on their own, but this one was obviously running a 29″ rear wheel with a 32″ wheel in the front. The Fox Podium fork reportedly had its travel reduced to 140mm to compensate for the larger wheel size, but beyond that, everything else looks pretty standard.
Sea Otter’s DH course is notoriously mellow, quite pedal-y, and generally smooth, so the 140mm fork and Maxxis Aspen 32″ front tire should probably serve him well. The Pro DH race isn’t until tomorrow, so it remains to be seen how the 32″ mullet setup performs on course, but we’re excited to find out.
Revel Experimental Labs Ti Hardtail
Just a few days ago, we reported on Revel’s new Experimental Labs and the new 32″ Ti hardtail. They have the full 32″ bike here on display, but they also brought along a mullet version. It was on a rack in the Revel booth, so I didn’t get the best picture of it, but it looks like it’s seen a few miles already. The full 32″ version was getting the most attention, of course, but it appears to be a flexible platform that Revel is having fun with while figuring out the new wheel size.
One thing working in Revel’s favor is the well-executed sliding dropout system that allows for significant changes to chainstay length. This should make it easy to switch between wheel sizes or dial the bike in to your preferred setup, while remaining UDH-compatible and convertible to a singlespeed if you want. Pretty slick.
