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Mullet 2021 Trek Slash

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Mullet 2021 Trek Slash

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flag whistler-rich
Posted: Oct 28, 2021 at 4:39 Quote
I mulleted my newish stock 2021 Trek Slash 9.8 XT M/L and flipped the chip to the high position. I took loads of measurements by marking key points on a wall. Any measurement ~3mm I wrote "same" as it was a really rough way to measure and I definitely couldn't feel a difference over the test days. My main reasons for trying were a) wanted reach reduction; b) ass and nuts buzzing rear tyre c) coming from a 2016 Giant Reign 27.5, full 29ers feel like a boat on my normal trails at my normal speed.

I found the following applies as a mullet in high (compared to full 29er low):
- Reach 10mm less
- 20mm more ass to tyre clearance
- BB height measured ~5mm lower
- Head angle around 63 (as opposed to 64 in 29er low)
- Seat fully extended was same height but 10mm back so I slid it forward 10mm i.e same
- Wheelbase same
- Chainstay same
- Bar height (stack) same

Pros: The reach reduction if you need it. No more ass and nuts buzzing the rear tyre. You can slash everything and whip the back out noticeably more, it's quite fun, but also gets very loose at times. With the seat up while pedalling non-techy terrain it felt identical to the full 29er.

Cons: Gets very loose at times, very drifty in corners and off camber. Pedal Strikes... and lots of them. Didn't seem as "rocket-ship" fast up climbs/tech. Wheelies seemed harder to balance as a mullet for some reason.

Results...

Mullet: Way more pedal strikes (the ones going downhill were very sketchy), 15 hits vs just 4 as a 29er on the test track and that was all due to a few mm lower bb. Zero ass buzz though! If you're used to full 27.5, then the style of weighting the bike will be familiar. The back is very drifty which can be fun but also demands a lot of input/control.

Full 29er:
Climbs faster up tech and requires significantly less energy than the mullet. Very few pedal strikes compared to mullet. Requires commitment and practice to weight the bike properly for cornering, drops and hops... but once you've got it the thing is a monster truck on rails.

So, I'm keeping it 29er. I've done about 10 hours testing on the local mountain and jumps now, switching between the two and I realised I had to learn how to handle the 29er properly. Now it out-performs the mullet hands down. I thought the reach on my M/L was too long initially because it felt like a nose-heavy boat but I wasn't weighting it properly or timing my drops and hops for the big wheels. Now it hooks up in turns way better than the mullet and the reach issue disappeared once I was confident to ride at a newfound faster pace overall and timing my pops/drops better. P.S yes I still buzz my ass once or twice per ride but it doesn't feel dangerous anymore and I can live with it.
flag sheplivingston
FL
Posted: Oct 28, 2021 at 15:04 Quote
Thanks for sharing. This was really interesting to read.
flag nmorrish
FL
Posted: Nov 5, 2021 at 8:52 Quote
Thanks for sharing.
Was mullet curious as well...
flag PJSANAB
Posted: Dec 17, 2021 at 18:40 Quote
Thanks for sharing.
flag Waade
Posted: Sep 4, 2022 at 9:40 Quote
I was thinking of mulleting my slash and I think that answers my questions
flag notphaedrus
Posted: Sep 17, 2022 at 0:58 Quote
Cascade or someone should see a market here for a revised rocker link. I know of loads of shorter riders struggling with the full 29 a bit, wanting a more playful bike that corners sharper.

One other thing I know about people running mullet just using the flip chip, is that they are changing their cranks - the 175mm cranks the bike comes with are pretty old fashioned. 165mm will gain 10mm more for pedal strikes and be more suited to riders less than 6 foot tall.

Does anyone know of a company who have made a revised rocker link to restore the geometry with a 27.5 on the back?
flag kawulafr
Posted: Oct 17, 2022 at 7:00 Quote
Guys, what about slash 27,5 front and rear?

Anybody riding full 27,5? I want to change to Trek Remedy or slash. Now i'm riding i9 wheels 27,5 and it will be cool to stay with them. I,m focused on rather buying slash than remedy. If 27,5 front and rear than what about button bracket height?
flag KoAStR
Posted: Oct 24, 2022 at 3:17 Quote
Thanks for sharing the detail writeup. How tall are you @whistler-rich?
flag jhaythesender13
FL
Posted: Nov 25, 2022 at 11:07 Quote
whistler-rich wrote:
I mulleted my newish stock 2021 Trek Slash 9.8 XT M/L and flipped the chip to the high position. I took loads of measurements by marking key points on a wall. Any measurement ~3mm I wrote "same" as it was a really rough way to measure and I definitely couldn't feel a difference over the test days. My main reasons for trying were a) wanted reach reduction; b) ass and nuts buzzing rear tyre c) coming from a 2016 Giant Reign 27.5, full 29ers feel like a boat on my normal trails at my normal speed.

I found the following applies as a mullet in high (compared to full 29er low):
- Reach 10mm less
- 20mm more ass to tyre clearance
- BB height measured ~5mm lower
- Head angle around 63 (as opposed to 64 in 29er low)
- Seat fully extended was same height but 10mm back so I slid it forward 10mm i.e same
- Wheelbase same
- Chainstay same
- Bar height (stack) same

Pros: The reach reduction if you need it. No more ass and nuts buzzing the rear tyre. You can slash everything and whip the back out noticeably more, it's quite fun, but also gets very loose at times. With the seat up while pedalling non-techy terrain it felt identical to the full 29er.

Cons: Gets very loose at times, very drifty in corners and off camber. Pedal Strikes... and lots of them. Didn't seem as "rocket-ship" fast up climbs/tech. Wheelies seemed harder to balance as a mullet for some reason.

Results...

Mullet: Way more pedal strikes (the ones going downhill were very sketchy), 15 hits vs just 4 as a 29er on the test track and that was all due to a few mm lower bb. Zero ass buzz though! If you're used to full 27.5, then the style of weighting the bike will be familiar. The back is very drifty which can be fun but also demands a lot of input/control.

Full 29er:
Climbs faster up tech and requires significantly less energy than the mullet. Very few pedal strikes compared to mullet. Requires commitment and practice to weight the bike properly for cornering, drops and hops... but once you've got it the thing is a monster truck on rails.

So, I'm keeping it 29er. I've done about 10 hours testing on the local mountain and jumps now, switching between the two and I realised I had to learn how to handle the 29er properly. Now it out-performs the mullet hands down. I thought the reach on my M/L was too long initially because it felt like a nose-heavy boat but I wasn't weighting it properly or timing my drops and hops for the big wheels. Now it hooks up in turns way better than the mullet and the reach issue disappeared once I was confident to ride at a newfound faster pace overall and timing my pops/drops better. P.S yes I still buzz my ass once or twice per ride but it doesn't feel dangerous anymore and I can live with it.
flag jhaythesender13
FL
Posted: Nov 25, 2022 at 11:19 Quote
whistler-rich wrote:
I mulleted my newish stock 2021 Trek Slash 9.8 XT M/L and flipped the chip to the high position. I took loads of measurements by marking key points on a wall. Any measurement ~3mm I wrote "same" as it was a really rough way to measure and I definitely couldn't feel a difference over the test days. My main reasons for trying were a) wanted reach reduction; b) ass and nuts buzzing rear tyre c) coming from a 2016 Giant Reign 27.5, full 29ers feel like a boat on my normal trails at my normal speed.

I found the following applies as a mullet in high (compared to full 29er low):
- Reach 10mm less
- 20mm more ass to tyre clearance
- BB height measured ~5mm lower
- Head angle around 63 (as opposed to 64 in 29er low)
- Seat fully extended was same height but 10mm back so I slid it forward 10mm i.e same
- Wheelbase same
- Chainstay same
- Bar height (stack) same

Pros: The reach reduction if you need it. No more ass and nuts buzzing the rear tyre. You can slash everything and whip the back out noticeably more, it's quite fun, but also gets very loose at times. With the seat up while pedalling non-techy terrain it felt identical to the full 29er.

Cons: Gets very loose at times, very drifty in corners and off camber. Pedal Strikes... and lots of them. Didn't seem as "rocket-ship" fast up climbs/tech. Wheelies seemed harder to balance as a mullet for some reason.

Results...

Mullet: Way more pedal strikes (the ones going downhill were very sketchy), 15 hits vs just 4 as a 29er on the test track and that was all due to a few mm lower bb. Zero ass buzz though! If you're used to full 27.5, then the style of weighting the bike will be familiar. The back is very drifty which can be fun but also demands a lot of input/control.

Full 29er:
Climbs faster up tech and requires significantly less energy than the mullet. Very few pedal strikes compared to mullet. Requires commitment and practice to weight the bike properly for cornering, drops and hops... but once you've got it the thing is a monster truck on rails.

So, I'm keeping it 29er. I've done about 10 hours testing on the local mountain and jumps now, switching between the two and I realised I had to learn how to handle the 29er properly. Now it out-performs the mullet hands down. I thought the reach on my M/L was too long initially because it felt like a nose-heavy boat but I wasn't weighting it properly or timing my drops and hops for the big wheels. Now it hooks up in turns way better than the mullet and the reach issue disappeared once I was confident to ride at a newfound faster pace overall and timing my pops/drops better. P.S yes I still buzz my ass once or twice per ride but it doesn't feel dangerous anymore and I can live with it.

Try offset bushing it gives 2mm more bb height I believe for the Trek Slash mino link gives 0.7mm bb height. 27.5 and 29er have 1.5inch difference (3.81cm) which if you add up minolink and bushing there are 1.11mm left maybe a knobier tire can give more bb height
flag ads10
Posted: Nov 7, 2025 at 19:14 Quote
kawulafr wrote:
Guys, what about slash 27,5 front and rear?

Anybody riding full 27,5? I want to change to Trek Remedy or slash. Now i'm riding i9 wheels 27,5 and it will be cool to stay with them. I,m focused on rather buying slash than remedy. If 27,5 front and rear than what about button bracket height?

Did you do this? How’d it work out? I made my tr11 full 26 and was fine with that but I didn’t really like it
flag Upat1intheMorning
FL
Posted: Dec 12, 2025 at 14:41 Quote
I know its been a few years but did you find any worries with the bb being so low you were worried of it catching? Especially on aggressively pitched slab drop ins or even deep, rooty tech?

Thinking of mulleting my Slash and giving it a dual crown, wanted to check feasibility first.
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