When I built my current bikes I decided to go with 29″ wheels on both of them. This has been a welcome upgrade from the 26″ wheels I was using on my previous mountain bike. Especially on the touring bike, the larger diameter wheels makes cycling distances much less effort and I am happy with the set-up. The only twinge of doubt was that it sometimes felt as though, when out on the mountain bike especially, I was perched on top of the bike. I don’t often go off-road but on the occasions I do go on rougher trails it can feel as if I’m riding “tall”.

So, I started looking into changing my rear wheel for a smaller one. I saw a sale on Hope wheels and decided to buy a 27.5″ which I could swap over. The current disc and cassette will both swap directly and although there is a bit of expense to buy new tyre and inner tubes, if the mullet set-up works I should be able to off-set some of the cost by selling on the 29″ wheel which is in excellent condition.

I’ll try it out for a few months and see which wheel set I prefer and get back with a comparison.

UPDATE: While in the process of ordering the 27.5″ wheel I considered getting one with a 12 speed micro-spline free-hub. I have previously thought about changing from a 10 speed to 12 speed drivetrain but at the time didn’t think it worth the effort. As I’m upgrading the wheel, I’ve decided that I may as well revive my old plan so I’ve also ordered a 12 speed derailleur, shifter and cassette, (all pre-used to keep the cost down!). I also looked at buying a TRP derailleur but the , frankly huge, additional cost has put me off for now. Maybe something for the future.