27,5 rear wheel on 29 bike frame?

[Cyclomania]

So I am going to put a 27,5 wheel on a 29 bike frame. Because the only rear motor wheel I have at home now is a 27,5 wheel.

This should be okay, right? Will it look weird you guys think? Perhaps I should also change to 27,5 at the front? Or could I just as well just keep the 28-29 wheel there?

I am going to sell of the bike since I need to get money to buy other ebike stuff

best regards

 

[DanGT86]

This is known as a mullet in the bike world. It is totally fine. The changes will be very subtle. It will slightly lower your bottom bracket and increase the front fork rake angle. This could result in a few more pedal strikes with the ground and reduced ground clearance. The increased rake angle will result in slightly more stability at higher speed. If you were a super discerning rider or trying to optimize for competition where seconds matter you might care. But in that case you arent using a hub motor offroad.

In summary its likely not a big deal at all.

 

[Cyclomania]

This is known as a mullet in the bike world. It is totally fine. The changes will be very subtle. It will slightly lower your bottom bracket and increase the front fork rake angle. This could result in a few more pedal strikes with the ground and reduced ground clearance. The increased rake angle will result in slightly more stability at higher speed. If you were a super discerning rider or trying to optimize for competition where seconds matter you might care. But in that case you arent using a hub motor offroad.

In summary its likely not a big deal at all.

Nice.

Do you think I should switch to 27,5 in the front as well? Or just keep the 29er there. Maybe it looks better visually to have the same.

 

[E-HP]

Ya that's pretty ugly, but maybe I just don't like the color. Have you thought about painting it?

 

[lnanek]

Wouldn't changing the front too make the problems with the pedals and cranks getting closer to the ground worse? I'd rather keep them high as possible rather than having matching wheels, personally.

 

[DanGT86]

Changing the front to 27.5 will lower the bottom bracket/pedals a very little bit. Many forks designed for 29 will have a different offset from the axle to the centerline of the fork legs than forks designed for 27.5. This determines what the "trail" dimension is.

So if you want to get technical then yes swapping wheel sizes will change things. But in reality these changes are so tiny that the majority of riders will never notice. On top of that the changes might actually make the bike better for your personal riding style. It all depends on what the bike is designed for and how you use it.

I ride a downhill bike with almost 8" of suspension travel and a 24" front wheel. Its way outside of its design intent and I have no complaints. Id probably swap the back wheel and see if you like the way it rides before deciding on the front wheel.

 

[E-HP]

Id probably swap the back wheel and see if you like the way it rides before deciding on the front wheel.

Seems like it’s more about what would sell faster than how it rides. Not a lot of mullets on the used market, so maybe they don’t sell well.

 

[2old]

I put duplicate 27.5 on my wife's "29'er mid-drive" and she didn't notice even though we ride off road exclusively. I added fairly fat tires to mitigate the decreased ground clearance.

 

[DanGT86]

Seems like it’s more about what would sell faster than how it rides. Not a lot of mullets on the used market, so maybe they don’t sell well.

Or everyone likes them so much they keep them.