Mullet Ibis HD5
Enjoy a couple photos of this Mullet Ibis HD5 before it heads to it’s new home.
Mullet setups consist of a 29″ front fork and wheel with a 27.5″ rear wheel. Generally mullet bikes are based around 27.5″ frames to keep the bottom bracket from dropping as it would on a 29″ bike.
The larger front wheel offers some interesting advantages that mullet riders take advantage of. Notably are the improved roll over or angle of attack from the larger diameter, the slightly mellowed steering input from the larger wheel as well as improved braking performance.
When we first started testing Mullet HD5 setups we gained a lot of insight from BikeCo Pro Rider Brian Lopes. Brian pointed out how much harder he could confidently get on the brakes before and even into a corner on the larger front wheel.
With a smaller rear tire riders are also able to stay lower on the bike in the steeps or the air. The 27.5″ rear tends to be faster and more agile around tight corners in steep terrain as well. This is one of the reasons you see so many Mullet’s on the EWS circuit – although you may have to look closely as not every brand acknowledges the larger wheel option!
Building a Mullet
We’ve been testing a variety of mullet setups over the past couple seasons. What we’ve found is running a slightly under-traveled fork helps maintain the bike’s personality and performance.
Since the last few mm’s of your bike’s suspension really aren’t where you’re living through the stroke few riders notice that compromise. Compare this to adding a bunch of trail and headtube angle (and with those adding wheel flop) which riders will notice quickly when trying to change directions. Almost every rider leans towards having better handling!
The larger front wheel also creates some “false travel” to make up for some of the change to accommodate the axle to crown measurement.
Questions? No problem. Our team has the answers to help you spec the right bike or upgrades. Call, email or chat today.
Build Details
This HD5 build is highlighted with some of the best bits available in MTB.
FOX Factory Suspension front and rear is Pro Tuned for a personalized setup specific to rider weight, aggression, ground speeds and terrain. With Pro Tune suspension we narrow FOX’s performance range for an individual client. This means every click is a more minute adjustment providing riders even more performance from their FOX forks and shocks.
SRAM X01 AXS shift pod and rear derailleur control a 52t copper cassette and 12sp copper chain pulled by RaceFace Next-R carbon cranks and a Wolf Tooth chainring. The X01 AXS derailleur is slightly more robust than the XX1 counterpart – great for aggressive riding in burly terrain.
Red highlights across the bike include an Industry Nine stem as well as Chris King headset.
Red Chris King hubs are laced to WTB rims built in-house. A variety of DT Swiss spokes are available depending on performance and weight goals.
Keeping this Mullet HD5 under control in the steeps are Magura HC rotors with Magura MT5 brakes with HC levers.